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97-640: Niihama is positioned in the north-center area of the island of Shikoku , in the eastern part of Ehime Prefecture. Niihama is enveloped by mountains to the south and east, hills to the west, and the Seto Inland Sea to the north. The Kokuryo River flows from the mountains to the Seto Inland Sea and divides the city into an areas east of the river ( kawahigashi ) and west of the river ( kawanishi ). Being surrounded by mountains, Niihama feels geographically isolated from its closest neighbors, Saijō to

194-434: A bitter taste from the peptides and a strong sour taste from the citric acid, which is sometimes compared to strawberry or red wine . Sake fermentation is a three-step process called sandan shikomi . The first step, called hatsuzoe , involves steamed rice, water, and kōji-kin being added to the yeast starter called shubo : a mixture of steamed rice, water, kōji , and yeast. This mixture becomes known as

291-690: A higher mineral content is known for producing drier-style sake. The first region known for having great water was the Nada-Gogō in Hyōgo Prefecture . A particular water source called Miyamizu was found to produce high-quality sake and attracted many producers to the region. Today Hyōgo has the most sake brewers of any prefecture. Typically breweries obtain water from wells, though surface water can be used. Breweries may use tap water and filter and adjust components. Aspergillus oryzae spores are another important component of sake. A. oryzae

388-519: A narrow northern subregion, fronting on the Seto Inland Sea , and a southern part facing the Pacific Ocean. The Hydrangea hirta species can be found in these mountain ranges. Most of the 3.8 million inhabitants live in the north, and all but one of the island's few larger cities are located there. Mount Ishizuchi ( 石鎚山 ) in Ehime at 1,982 m (6,503 ft) is the highest mountain on

485-412: A new method of making starter mash, and in 1910, a further improvement, sokujō , was developed. Yeast strains specifically selected for their brewing properties were isolated, and enamel-coated steel tanks arrived. The government started hailing the use of enamel tanks as easy to clean, lasting forever, and devoid of bacterial problems. (The government considered wooden tubs to be unhygienic because of

582-420: A side). The column is covered with a fabric top (usually red and white), which symbolically represents the sun; it is surrounded by long black cushions folded into a figure of 8 with hanging tassels, representing the clouds and rain. The design is intended to show gratitude for a good harvest. Gold dragons adorn the top panels of the float while the lower panels show traditional buildings, animals or legends. Inside

679-505: A synonym not commonly used in conversation. In Japan, where it is the national beverage, sake is often served with special ceremony , where it is gently warmed in a small earthenware or porcelain bottle and sipped from a small porcelain cup called a sakazuki . As with wine, the recommended serving temperature of sake varies greatly by type. The origin of sake is unclear; however, the method of fermenting rice into alcohol spread to Japan from China around 500BCE. The earliest reference to

776-439: A type of deep-fried tofu pockets seasoned with sugar, mirin, and soy sauce. A thin slice of kamaboko , a halfmoon-shaped fish cake, is often added. Shichimi can be added to taste. Another specialty is Kōchi 's signature dish, seared bonito . The warm climate of Shikoku lends itself to the cultivation of citrus fruits. As a result, yuzu , mikan and other citrus fruits are plentiful on Shikoku and have become synonymous with

873-492: A world beverage with a few breweries in China, Southeast Asia, South America, North America, and Australia. In addition to Aspergillus oryzae (yellow kōji ), Aspergillus kawachii (white kōji ) and Aspergillus luchuensis (black kōji ), which are used to brew shōchū and awamori , have been used to brew sake since the 21st century. More breweries are also turning to older methods of production. For example, since

970-433: Is Matsuyama (population: 507,137) and is the capital of Ehime Prefecture . Shikoku is the main island with the third largest population density, at 193 inhabitants per square kilometre (500/sq mi). Per Japanese census data, and, Shikoku region's peak population was at 1950 and has had negative population growth from 1950 to 1970 and 1990 onward. Shikoku has historically been quite isolated and therefore it has kept

1067-506: Is 13.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1839 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in January, at around 24.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.0 °C. Per Japanese census data, the population of Niihama peaked around the year 1980 and has decreased slightly in the decades since. Niihama is located in ancient Iyo Province and has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Under

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1164-405: Is 50% of the rice weight, mainly to increase the volume, while the maximum amount of distilled alcohol added to special-designation sake is 10% of the rice weight, to make the sake more aromatic and light in taste, and to prevent the growth of lactic acid bacteria, which deteriorate the flavor of the sake. It is often misunderstood that the added distilled alcohol is of poor quality, but that is not

1261-443: Is a microorganism used to manufacture food, its safety profile concerning humans and the environment in sake brewing and other food-making processes must be considered. Various health authorities, including Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), consider A. oryzae generally safe for use in food fermentation, including sake brewing. When assessing its safety, it is important to note that A. oryzae lacks

1358-530: Is also famous for its 88-temple pilgrimage of temples. The pilgrimage was established by the Heian-period Buddhist priest Kūkai , a native of present-day Zentsūji-cho in Kagawa prefecture. According to legend, Kūkai still appears to pilgrims today. Most modern-day pilgrims travel by bus, rarely choosing the old-fashioned method of going by foot. They are seen wearing white jackets emblazoned with

1455-435: Is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran . Despite the name Japanese rice wine , sake, and indeed any East Asian rice wine (such as huangjiu and cheongju ), is produced by a brewing process more akin to that of beer , where starch is converted into sugars that ferment into alcohol, whereas in wine , alcohol is produced by fermenting sugar that

1552-418: Is an enzyme-secreting fungus . In Japan, A. oryzae is used to make various fermented foods, including miso (a paste made from soybeans) and shoyu ( soy sauce ). It is also used to make alcoholic beverages, notably sake. During sake brewing, spores of A. oryzae are scattered over steamed rice to produce kōji (rice in which A. oryzae spores are cultivated). Under warm and moist conditions,

1649-450: Is called bodaimoto , which is the origin of kimoto . These innovations made it possible to produce sake with more stable quality than before, even in temperate regions. These things are described in Goshu no nikki , the oldest known technical book on sake brewing written in 1355 or 1489, and Tamonin nikki , a diary written between 1478 and 1618 by monks of Kōfuku-ji Temple in

1746-721: Is involved in almost every major sake brewing process, from washing the rice to diluting the final product before bottling. The mineral content of the water can be important in the final product. Iron will bond with an amino acid produced by the kōji to produce off flavors and a yellowish color. Manganese , when exposed to ultraviolet light, will also contribute to discoloration. Conversely, potassium , magnesium , and phosphoric acid serve as nutrients for yeast during fermentation and are considered desirable. The yeast will use those nutrients to work faster and multiply resulting in more sugar being converted into alcohol. While soft water will typically yield sweeter sake, hard water with

1843-431: Is larger, stronger (if a grain is small or weak, it will break in the process of polishing), and contains less protein and lipid than ordinary table rice. Because of the cost, ordinary table rice, which is cheaper than sake rice, is sometimes used for sake brewing, but because sake rice has been improved and optimized for sake brewing, few people eat it. Premium sake is mostly made from sake rice. However, non-premium sake

1940-463: Is mostly made from table rice. According to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, premium sake makes up 25% of total sake production, and non-premium sake ( futsushu ) makes up 75% of sake production. In 2008, a total of 180,000 tons of polished rice were used in sake brewing, of which sake rice accounted for 44,000 tons (24%), and table rice accounted for 136,000 tons (76%). Sake rice

2037-492: Is naturally present in fruit, typically grapes. The brewing process for sake differs from the process for beer, where the conversion from starch to sugar and then from sugar to alcohol occurs in two distinct steps. Like other rice wines , when sake is brewed, these conversions occur simultaneously. The alcohol content differs between sake, wine, and beer; while most beer contains 3–9% ABV , wine generally contains 9–16% ABV , and undiluted sake contains 18–20% ABV (although this

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2134-405: Is no evidence to indicate A. oryzae is a harmful pathogen to either plants or animals in the scientific literature. Therefore, Health Canada considers A. oryzae "unlikely to be a serious hazard to livestock or to other organisms," including "healthy or debilitated humans." Given its safety record in the scientific literature and extensive history of safe use (spanning several hundred years) in

2231-472: Is not allowed to be added, and under the provisions of the Liquor Tax Act, 50% of the weight of rice is the upper limit for the most inexpensive sake classified as futsū-shu . After the war, the breweries gradually recovered and the quality of sake steadily improved, and there were various innovations in sake brewing. The term ginzō ( 吟造 ), which means carefully brewed sake, first appeared at

2328-466: Is of better quality than sake made with rice milled less. Sake made with highly milled rice has a strong aroma and a light taste without miscellaneous taste. It maximizes the fruity flavor of ginjō . On the other hand, sake made with less milled rice but with attention to various factors tends to have a rich sweetness and flavor derived from rice. Rice polishing ratio , called Seimai-buai 精米歩合 ( せいまいぶあい ) (see Glossary of sake terms ) measures

2425-490: Is often lowered to about 15% by diluting with water before bottling). In Japanese , the character sake ( kanji : 酒 , Japanese pronunciation: [sake] ) can refer to any alcoholic drink , while the beverage called sake in English is usually termed nihonshu ( 日本酒 ; meaning 'Japanese alcoholic drink'). Under Japanese liquor laws , sake is labeled with the word seishu ( 清酒 ; 'refined alcohol'),

2522-509: Is often used for making rice crackers , Japanese sweets (i.e. Dango ), and other food stuffs. If the sake is made with rice with a higher percentage of its husk and the outer portion of the core milled off, then more rice will be required to make that particular sake, which will take longer to produce. Thus, sake made with rice that has been highly milled is usually more expensive than sake that has been made with less-polished rice. This does not always mean that sake made with highly milled rice

2619-463: Is recommended that sake with the name ginjō be transported and stored in cold storage. It is also recommended to drink chilled to maximize its fruity flavor. Junmai ( 純米 ) is a term used for the sake that is made of pure rice wine without any additional distilled alcohol. Special-designation sake which is not labeled Junmai has an appropriate amount of distilled alcohol added. The maximum amount of distilled alcohol added to futsū-shu

2716-463: Is slowly fermented for about 30 days at a low temperature of 5 to 10 degrees Celsius (41 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit ). Sake made in ginjō-zukuri is characterized by fruity flavors like apples, bananas, melons, grapes, peaches, pineapples, citrus, etc. In general, the flavor of sake tends to deteriorate when it is affected by ultraviolet rays or high temperatures, especially for sake made in ginjō-zukuri and un pasteurized namazake . Therefore, it

2813-516: Is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu . Shikoku's ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima ( 伊予之二名島 ) , Iyo-shima ( 伊予島 ) , and Futana-shima ( 二名島 ) , and its current name refers to the four former provinces that make up the island: Awa , Tosa , Sanuki , and Iyo . Shikoku Island, comprising Shikoku and its surrounding islands, covers about 18,800 square kilometres (7,259 sq mi) and consists of four prefectures : Ehime , Kagawa , Kōchi , and Tokushima . Across

2910-400: Is tax-free, the logic was that by banning the home-brewing of sake, sales would increase, and more tax revenue would be collected. This was the end of home-brewed sake. The Meiji government adopted a system in which taxes were collected when sake was finished, instead of levying taxes on the amount and price of sake at the time of sale to ensure more revenue from liquor taxes. The liquor tax for

3007-614: Is the Sudo Honke in Kasama, Ibaraki , founded in 1141 during the Heian Period (794–1185). Sudō Honke was also the first sake brewery to sell both namazake and hiyaoroshi . Hiyaoroshi refers to sake that is finished in winter, pasteurized once in early spring, stored and aged for a little while during the summer, and shipped in the fall without being pasteurized a second time. In terms of excavated archaeological evidence,

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3104-439: Is the equivalent of table wine and accounts for 57% of sake production as of 2020. Tokutei meishō-shu refers to premium sake distinguished by the degree to which the rice has been polished and the added percentage of brewer's alcohol or the absence of such additives. There are eight varieties of special-designation sake. Ginjō ( 吟醸 ) is sake made using a special method called ginjō-zukuri ( 吟醸造り ), in which rice

3201-558: Is the job title of the sake brewer . There are various theories about the origin of the word, but the most popular is that it is a corruption of the word tōji ( 刀自 ) , which was used for housewives and elderly women who supervised miko (shrine maidens). This is because sake brewing was the work of housewives at home and miko at Shinto shrines . It is a highly respected job in the Japanese society , with tōji being regarded like musicians or painters . The title of tōji

3298-569: Is the largest Buddhist temple in Niihama. The mountainous area between Niihama and the village of Besshi includes two major waterfalls : Chōshi no Taki and Mato no Taki (Waterfall at the Demon's Door). Niihama is home to the national headquarters of the Otedama no Kai (お手玉の会, Traditional Japanese Juggling Association). Niihama was home to the world's largest planetarium until the renovation of

3395-454: Is the largest of Japan's islands to completely lack them. But Shikoku did experience volcanic activity in the distant prehistoric past; a major volcanic caldera in the area of Mount Ishizuchi was active during the Miocene around 14 million years ago and the small volcanic cone of Mount Iino at an unknown date. Shikoku has a total population of 3,630,320 in 2022. The largest city

3492-456: Is the spectacle of eight taikodai (floats) being loaded onto barges to travel to another location by sea. The Taiko-carrying teams are known to start fights, in which two teams ram their floats into each other until one or both floats are destroyed. Zuiō-ji is a Sōtō Zen temple at the edge of the mountains in south Niihama. It welcomes foreign visitors to participate in a Sunday morning zazen meditation session, or even to stay overnight. It

3589-431: Is unique to it. This distinguishes sake from other brewed alcoholic beverages like beer because it occurs in a single vat, whereas with beer, for instance, starch-to-glucose conversion and glucose-to-alcohol conversion occur in separate vats. The breakdown of starch into glucose is caused by the kōji-kin fungus, while the conversion of glucose into alcohol is caused by yeast. Due to the yeast being available as soon as

3686-429: Is usually polished to a much higher degree than ordinary table rice. The reason for polishing is a result of the composition and structure of the rice grain itself. The core of the rice grain is rich in starch, while the outer layers of the grain contain higher concentrations of fats, vitamins, and proteins. Since a higher concentration of fat and protein in the sake would lead to off-flavors and contribute rough elements to

3783-416: The moromi (the main mash during sake fermentation). The high yeast content of the shubo promotes the fermentation of the moromi . On the second day, the mixture stands for a day to let the yeast multiply. The second step (the third day of the process), called nakazoe , involves the addition of a second batch of kōji , steamed rice, and water to the mixture. On the fourth day of

3880-640: The A. oryzae spores germinate and release amylases (enzymes that convert the rice starches into maltose and glucose). This conversion of starch into simple sugars (e.g., glucose or maltose) is called saccharification . Yeast then ferment the glucose and other sugar into alcohol . Saccharification also occurs in beer brewing, where mashing is used to convert starches from barley into maltose. However, whereas fermentation occurs after saccharification in beer brewing, saccharification (via A. oryzae ) and fermentation (via yeast) occur simultaneously in sake brewing (see "Fermentation" below). As A. oryzae

3977-498: The Edo Period Tokugawa shogunate , it was largely administered as part of Saijō Domain or Komatsu Domain . The Besshi Copper Mine was opened in 1744. The village of Niihama was established with the post- Meiji restoration creation of the modern municipalities system on December 15, 1889. It was raised to town status on January 1, 1908. On November 3, 1937 Niihama merged with the villages of Kaneko and Takatsu to form

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4074-668: The Heian period (794–1185), sake was used for religious ceremonies, court festivals, and drinking games. Sake production was a government monopoly for a long time, but in the 10th century, Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines began to brew sake, and they became the main centers of production for the next 500 years. Before the 1440s in the Muromachi period (1333－1573), the Buddhist temple Shōryaku-ji invented various innovative methods for making sake. Because these production methods are

4171-614: The Kansai area which has a large population, including the large conurbations of Osaka , Kyoto , and Kobe . Therefore, the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway carries a large traffic volume. Many highway buses are operated between Kansai and Tokushima Prefecture . The central part of Shikoku is connected to Honshu by ferry, air, and – since 1988 – by the Great Seto Bridge network. Until completion of

4268-611: The Nara period (710–794). The fermented food fungi traditionally used for making alcoholic beverages in China and Korea for a long time were fungi belonging to Rhizopus and Mucor , whereas in Japan, except in the early days, the fermented food fungus used for sake brewing was Aspergillus oryzae . Some scholars believe the Japanese domesticated the mutated, detoxified Aspergillus flavus to give rise to Aspergillus oryzae . In

4365-539: The National Tax Agency 's brewing research institute developed kijōshu ( 貴醸酒 ). New players on the scene—beer, wine, and spirits—became popular in Japan, and in the 1960s, beer consumption surpassed sake for the first time. Sake consumption continued to decrease while the quality of sake steadily improved. While the rest of the world may be drinking more sake and the quality of sake has been increasing, sake production in Japan has been declining since

4462-558: The Onin War (1467–1477). Sake was brewed at Tenryū-ji during the Muromachi Period (1336–1573). The rice used for brewing sake is called sakamai 酒米 ( さかまい ) ('sake rice'), or officially shuzō kōtekimai 酒造好適米 ( しゅぞうこうてきまい ) ('sake-brewing suitable rice'). There are at least 123 types of sake rice in Japan. Among these, Yamada Nishiki , Gohyakumangoku, Miyama Nishiki and Omachi rice are popular. The grain

4559-464: The Seto Inland Sea lie Wakayama , Osaka , Hyōgo , Okayama , Hiroshima , and Yamaguchi Prefectures on Honshu . To the west lie Ōita and Miyazaki Prefectures on Kyushu . Shikoku is ranked as the 50th largest island by area in the world. Additionally, it is ranked as the 23rd most populated island in the world, with a population density of 193 inhabitants per square kilometre (500/sq mi). Mountains running east and west divide Shikoku into

4656-541: The Tokugawa shogunate issued sake brewing restrictions 61 times. In the early Edo period, there was a sake brewing technique called shiki jōzō ( 四季醸造 ) that was optimized for each season. In 1667, the technique of kanzukuri ( 寒造り ) for making sake in winter was improved, and in 1673, when the Tokugawa shogunate banned brewing other than kanzukuri because of a shortage of rice, the technique of sake brewing in

4753-506: The 21st century, the use of wooden tubs has increased again due to the development of sanitary techniques. The use of wooden tubs for fermentation has the advantage of allowing various microorganisms living in the wood to affect sake, allowing more complex fermentation and producing sake with different characteristics. It is also known that the antioxidants contained in wood have a positive effect on sake. The oldest sake brewing company still in operation, as confirmed by historical documents,

4850-423: The 21st century. From the 1980s, research was conducted to brew sake using Aspergillus kawachii (white kōji ), which is used to make shōchū , and sake made with Aspergillus kawachii became popular when Aramasa Co, Ltd. released "Amaneko" using Aspergillus kawachii in 2009. Aspergillus kawachii produces about 10 times more citric acid than Aspergillus oryzae , and thus has a strong ability to suppress

4947-516: The Ehime Prefectural Board of Education. The Niihama National College of Technology is a technology college in Niihama. [REDACTED] Shikoku Railway Company - Yosan Line The Niihama Taiko Festival is a harvest festival held over 16–18 October each year. Each of 50 neighborhoods in Niihama has its own Taiko float, which consists of an ornately decorated wooden center frame, covered in panels made of gold thread (three to

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5044-574: The Japanese food industry, the FDA and World Health Organization (WHO) also support the safety of A. oryzae for use in the production of foods like sake. In the US, the FDA classifies A.oryzae as a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) organism. In addition to Aspergillus oryzae (yellow kōji ), Aspergillus kawachii (white kōji ) and Aspergillus luchuensis (black kōji ), which are used to brew shōchū and awamori , have been used to brew sake since

5141-467: The Muromachi period. A large tub with a capacity of 10 koku (1,800 liters) was invented at the end of the Muromachi period, making it possible to mass-produce sake more efficiently than before. Until then, sake had been made in jars with a capacity of 1, 2, or 3 koku at the most, and some sake brewers used to make sake by arranging 100 jars. In the 16th century, the technique of distillation

5238-805: The Nada-Gogō area on the coast, where the weather and water quality were perfect for brewing sake and convenient for shipping it to Edo. In the Genroku era, when the culture of the chōnin class, the common people, prospered, the consumption of sake increased rapidly, and large quantities of taruzake (樽酒) were shipped to Edo. 80% of the sake drunk in Edo during this period was from Nada-Gogō. Many of today's major sake producers, including Hakutsuru, Ōzeki, Nihonsakari, Kikumasamune, Kenbishi and Sawanotsuru , are breweries in Nada-Gogō. During this period, frequent natural disasters and bad weather caused rice shortages, and

5335-580: The Nagoya City Science Museum in March 2011. Shikoku Shikoku ( 四国 , Shikoku , lit.   ' four provinces ' ) , Japanese pronunciation: [ɕikokɯ] is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan . It is 225 km or 139.8 mi long and between 50 and 150 km or 31.1 and 93.2 mi at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It

5432-784: The Oboke Koboke sections of the river. Shikoku has four important capes: Gamōda in Anan, Tokushima on the easternmost point on the island, Sada in Ikata, Ehime on the westernmost point. Muroto in Muroto, Kōchi and Ashizuri, the southern extreme of Shikoku, in Tosashimizu, Kōchi , jut into the Pacific Ocean. The island's northernmost point is in Takamatsu . Unlike the other three major islands of Japan, Shikoku has no active volcanoes, and

5529-431: The ability to produce toxins, unlike the closely related Aspergillus flavus . To date, there have been several reported cases of animals (e.g. parrots , a horse ) being infected with A. oryzae . In these cases the animals infected with A. oryzae were already weakened due to predisposing conditions such as recent injury, illness or stress, hence were susceptible to infections in general. Aside from these cases, there

5626-409: The bridges, the region was isolated from the rest of Japan. The freer movement between Honshu and Shikoku was expected to promote economic development on both sides of the bridges, which has not materialized yet. Within the island, a web of national highways connects the major population centers. These include Routes 11 , 32 , 33 , 55 , and 56 . The Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) serves

5723-622: The characters reading dōgyō ninin ( 同行二人 ) meaning "two traveling together". Tokushima Prefecture also has its annual Awa Odori running in August at the time of the Obon festival, which attracts thousands of tourists each year from all over Japan and from abroad. Kōchi Prefecture is home to the first annual Yosakoi festival. The largest festival in Kōchi, it takes place in August every year and attracts dancers and tourists from all over Japan. One of

5820-544: The city of Niihama. . Niihama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 26 members. Niihama contributes four members to the Ehime Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ehime 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . The Besshi copper mine (once considered to be one of the most productive in

5917-437: The degree of rice polishing. For example, a rice polishing ratio of 70% means that 70% of the original rice grain remains and 30% has been polished away. As of 2023, the most polished sake will have a polishing ratio of 0.85% or less, with at least 99.15% of its rice grains polished away. This sake will be Reikyo Crystal 0 ( 零響 Crystal 0 ) , released by Niizawa Brewery Co. (新澤醸造店), priced at 1,375,000 yen for 720 ml. Water

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6014-540: The diet in Kagawa Prefecture (formerly Sanuki Province) in the Edo period . The larger southern area of Shikoku is mountainous and sparsely populated. The only significant lowland is a small alluvial plain at Kōchi , the prefectural capital. The area's mild winters stimulated some truck farming , specializing in growing out-of-season vegetables under plastic covering. Two crops of rice can be cultivated annually in

6111-520: The earliest representative varieties. In 1923, Yamada Nishiki , later called the "king of sake rice," was produced. Among more than 123 varieties of sake rice as of 2019, Yamada Nishiki ranks first in production and Omachi fourth. The government opened the sake-brewing research institute in 1904, and in 1907 the first government-run sake-tasting competition was held. In 1904, the National Brewing Laboratory developed yamahai ,

6208-431: The end of the Edo period, and the term ginjō ( 吟醸 ), which has the same meaning, first appeared in 1894. However, ginjō-shu ( 吟醸酒 ), which is popular in the world today, was created by the development of various sake production techniques from the 1930s to around 1975. From 1930 to 1931, a new type of rice milling machine was invented, which made it possible to make rice with a polishing ratio of about 50%, removing

6305-471: The fermentation alone can take two weeks. On the other hand, ginjō-shu takes about 30 days for fermentation alone. Like other brewed beverages, sake tends to benefit from a period of storage. Nine to twelve months are required for the sake to mature. Maturation is caused by physical and chemical factors such as oxygen supply, the broad application of external heat, nitrogen oxides, aldehydes, and amino acids, among other unknown factors. Tōji ( 杜氏 )

6402-419: The fermentation, the third step of the process, called tomezoe , takes place. Here, the third and final batch of kōji, steamed rice, and water is added to the mixture, followed by up to ten days or so of additional fermentation to complete the three-step process. The multiple parallel fermentation process of sake brewing, where starch is converted into glucose followed by immediate conversion into alcohol,

6499-460: The float, a drummer beats a deep booming taiko drum, providing the rhythm that guides 150 men below, who carry the float by four long wooden beams at the float's base. Four crew members stand on the beams and control the rest of the crew with flags, whistles and chants while four more are perched precariously on the top some 5.4 m above ground. The floats weigh over two and a half tons and can cost over $ 100,000US to build (collected by donations within

6596-571: The floats in parades all over the city and park them for display, drinking copious amounts of sake . Sake bottlers even release commemorative bottles with labels featuring pictures of various float-carrying teams. The main events include a display of the Taiko floats in Yamane Park, Takihama Station, Kasenjiki Park, Shinto shrines across the city and at several Supermarket and shopping complexes (Jusco, Fuji Grand, M2, Co-op). On alternate years there

6693-445: The four seasons ceased, and it became common to make sake only in winter until industrial technology began to develop in the 20th century. During this period, aged for three, five, or nine years, koshu ( 古酒 ) was a luxury, but its deliciousness was known to the common people. In the 18th century, Engelbert Kaempfer and Isaac Titsingh published accounts identifying sake as a popular alcoholic beverage in Japan, but Titsingh

6790-512: The glucose is produced, the conversion of glucose to alcohol is very efficient in sake brewing. This results in sake having a generally higher alcohol content than other types of beer or wine. After the fermentation process is complete, the fermented moromi is pressed to remove the sake lees and then pasteurized and filtered for color. The sake is then stored in bottles under cold conditions (see "Maturation" below). The process of making sake can range from 60 to 90 days (2–3 months), while

6887-796: The growth of bacteria that damage the flavor of sake. It also imparts a sour, citrus-like flavor to sake. Because it produces so much citric acid, older sake-making methods such as kimoto or yamahai can produce a starter mash as quickly as modern sokujō . Kimoto and yamahai do not add artificial lactic acid, which allows them to be labeled "additive-free," giving them a marketing advantage when exporting. As of 2022, sake made with Aspergillus luchuensis (black kōji , ) will not be as popular as sake made with Aspergillus kawachii . It produces more citric acid than Aspergillus kawachii . However, it produces less amino acids , which produce complex flavors such as umami , bitterness, and sweetness, and more peptides , which produce bitterness, resulting in

6984-1030: The island and connects to Honshu via the Great Seto Bridge . JR lines include: Private railway lines operate in each of the four prefectures on Shikoku. Shikoku lacks a full international airport but has four regional/domestic airports ( Tokushima Airport , Takamatsu Airport , Kōchi Ryōma Airport and Matsuyama Airport ). All of these airports have flights to Tokyo and other major Japanese cities such as Osaka , Nagoya , Sapporo , and Fukuoka . International flights to Seoul , South Korea are serviced by Asiana Airlines from Matsuyama and Takamatsu . There are periodic international charter flights as well. Sea Travel Ferries link Shikoku to destinations including Honshu, Kyushu , and islands around Shikoku. 33°45′N 133°30′E  /  33.750°N 133.500°E  / 33.750; 133.500 Sake Sake , saké ( 酒 , sake , / ˈ s ɑː k i , ˈ s æ k eɪ / SAH -kee, SAK -ay ) , or saki , also referred to as Japanese rice wine ,

7081-507: The island. Industry is moderately well developed and includes the processing of ores from the important Besshi copper mine . Land is used intensively. Wide alluvial areas, especially in the eastern part of the zone, are planted with rice and subsequently are double-cropped with winter wheat and barley. Fruit is grown throughout the northern area in great variety, including citrus fruits, persimmons, peaches, and grapes. Because of wheat production, Sanuki udon ( 讃岐うどん ) became an important part of

7178-427: The local area). Men and boys as young as 16 begin the festival before sunrise on its first day by carrying the floats to their local shrine for a blessing by shinto priests. The most spectacular of these happens at Utsunomiya Jinja near Yamane Ground where several floats are carried up many steps at about 4am to a small shrine on the top of a hill. For three days straight (October 16–18), 12 to 14 hours per day, they carry

7275-403: The major foods of Shikoku is udon . Udon is often served hot as a noodle soup in its simplest form, as kake udon , in a mildly flavoured broth called kakejiru , which is made of dashi , soy sauce ( shōyu ), and mirin . It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions. Other common toppings include tempura , often prawn or kakiage (a type of mixed tempura fritter ), or aburaage ,

7372-733: The major teams competing in Shikoku's major cities include: Two time darts Women's World Champion Mikuru Suzuki is a native of Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture on Shikoku. Shikoku is connected to Honshu by three expressways , which together form the Honshū–Shikoku Bridge Project . The eastern gateway to Shikoku, Naruto in Tokushima Prefecture has been linked to the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway since 1998. This line connects Shikoku to

7469-559: The mid-1970s. The number of sake breweries is also declining. While there were 3,229 breweries nationwide in fiscal 1975, the number had fallen to 1,845 in 2007. In recent years, exports have rapidly increased due to the growing popularity of sake worldwide. The value of sake exports in 2022 was more than six times that of 2009. As of 2022, the value of Japan's alcoholic beverage exports was approximately 139.2 billion yen, with Japanese whisky in first place at 56.1 billion yen and sake in second place at 47.5 billion yen. Today, sake has become

7566-518: The miscellaneous taste derived from the surface part of the rice grain to make sake with a more aromatic and refreshing taste than before. In 1936, Yamada Nishiki , the most suitable sake rice for brewing ginjō-shu , became the recommended variety of Hyogo Prefecture . Around 1953, the "Kyokai yeast No. 9" ( kyokai kyu-gō kōbo , 協会9号酵母 ) was invented, which produced fruit-like aromas like apples and bananas but also excelled in fermentation. From around 1965, more and more manufacturers began to work on

7663-547: The national government. In 1878, the liquor tax accounted for 12.3% of the national tax revenue, excluding local taxes, and in 1888 it was 26.4%, and in 1899 it was 38.8%, finally surpassing the land tax of 35.6%. In 1899, the government banned home brewing in anticipation of financial pressure from the First Sino-Japanese War and in preparation for the Russo-Japanese War . Since home-brewed sake

7760-479: The oldest known sake brewery is from the 15th century near an area that was owned by Tenryū-ji , in Ukyō-ku, Kyoto . Unrefined sake was squeezed out at the brewery, and there are about 180 holes (60 cm wide, 20 cm deep) for holding storage jars. A hollow (1.8 meter wide, 1 meter deep) for a pot to collect drops of pressed sake and 14th-century Bizen ware jars were also found. It is estimated to be utilized until

7857-628: The origin of the basic production methods for sake brewing today, Shoryakuji is often said to be the birthplace of seishu ( 清酒 ). Until then, most sake had been nigorizake with a different process from today's, but after that, clear seishu was established. The main production methods established by Shōryaku-ji are the use of all polished rice ( morohaku zukuri , 諸白造り), three-stage fermentation ( sandan zikomi , 三段仕込み), brewing of starter mash using acidic water produced by lactic acid fermentation ( bodaimoto zukuri , 菩提酛づくり), and pasteurization ( hiire , 火入れ). This method of producing starter mash

7954-418: The original characteristics of Japan for a longer period, especially in regards to vegetation and some architectural techniques. There are many Buddhist temples. The "lost" Shikoku has been described by an American writer, Alex Kerr , who lived in a remote mountain village near Oboke (大歩危) for many years from 1970 onwards. Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park is located in the south-west part of Shikoku. Shikoku

8051-437: The potential bacteria living in the wood.) Although these things are true, the government also wanted more tax money from breweries, as using wooden tubs means a significant amount of sake is lost to evaporation (approximately 3%), which could have otherwise been taxed. This was the temporary end of the wooden-tubs age of sake, and the use of wooden tubs in brewing was temporarily eliminated. In Japan, sake has long been taxed by

8148-433: The regions they are grown in. Pioneering natural farmer Masanobu Fukuoka , author of The One-Straw Revolution , developed his methods here on his family's farm. Historically no Shikoku-based sports team has competed in the top Japanese division of baseball , football (soccer) or even rugby union . However, Tokushima Vortis have had two spells in the top flight of Japanese soccer ( J1 ) in 2014 and 2021. Currently

8245-507: The research and development of ginjō-shu , and by about 1968, the Kyokai yeast No. 9 began to be used throughout Japan. In the 1970s, temperature control technology in the mash production process improved dramatically. And by slowly fermenting rice at low temperatures using high-milled rice and a newly developed yeast, ginjō-shu with a fruity flavor was created. At that time, ginjō-shu was a special sake exhibited at competitive exhibitions and

8342-401: The sake produced in a given year had to be paid to the government during that fiscal year, so the breweries tried to make money by selling the sake as soon as possible. This destroyed the market for aged koshu , which had been popular until then, and it was only in 1955 that sake breweries began to make koshu again. When World War II brought rice shortages, the sake-brewing industry

8439-450: The sake, the outer layers of the sake rice grain is milled away in a polishing process, leaving only the starchy part of the grain (some sake brewers remove over 60% of the rice grain in the polishing process). That desirable pocket of starch in the center of the grain is called the shinpaku ( 心白 , しんぱく ). It usually takes two to three days to polish rice down to less than half its original size. The rice powder by-product of polishing

8536-420: The same preventing deterioration in quality. This originates from the distilled alcohol addition used in modern sake brewing. The Nada-Gogō area in Hyōgo Prefecture , the largest producer of modern sake, was formed during this period. When the population of Edo , modern-day Tokyo , began to grow rapidly in the early 1600s, brewers who made sake in inland areas such as Fushimi , Itami , and Ikeda moved to

8633-531: The southern area. The pulp and paper industry took advantage of the abundant forests and hydroelectric power. The major river in Shikoku is the Yoshino River . It runs 196 km (121.8 mi) from its source close to Mount Ishizuchi , flowing basically west to east across the northern boundaries of Kōchi and Tokushima Prefectures, reaching the sea at the city of Tokushima. The Yoshino is famous for Japan's best white-water rafting, with trips going along

8730-675: The use of alcohol in Japan is recorded in the Book of Wei in the Records of the Three Kingdoms . This 3rd-century Chinese text speaks of Japanese drinking and dancing. Alcoholic beverages ( 酒 , sake ) are mentioned several times in the Kojiki , Japan's first written history, which was compiled in 712. Bamforth (2005) places the probable origin of true sake (which is made from rice, water, and Koji ( 麹 , Aspergillus oryzae )) in

8827-546: The west and Shikokuchūō to the east. The border with Kōchi Prefecture lies in the mountains far south of the center of town. The island of Ōshima , northeast of the main part of the city, also is part of Niihama. The largely mountainous village of Besshi joined the city of Niihama in 2003 greatly increasing the size of the city. Ehime Prefecture Kōchi Prefecture Niihama has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa ) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Niihama

8924-522: The world) jump-started the Sumitomo zaibatsu . Even though the mine has since closed (its legacy is now preserved in a small museum and onsen attraction, Minetopia Besshi), Sumitomo remains a large presence in town. The economy of Niihama is supported largely by factories as well as activities at its ports. Niihama has 17 public elementary schools and 12 public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has five public high schools operated by

9021-589: Was hampered as the government discouraged the use of rice for brewing. As early as the late 17th century, it had been discovered that small amounts of distilled alcohol could be added to sake before pressing to extract aromas and flavors from the rice solids. During the war, large amounts of distilled alcohol and glucose were added to small quantities of rice mash, increasing the yield by as much as four times. A few breweries were producing "sake" that contained no rice. The quality of sake during this time varied considerably. Incidentally, as of 2022, so much distilled alcohol

9118-621: Was historically passed from father to son. Today new tōji are either veteran brewery workers or are trained at universities. While modern breweries with cooling tanks operate year-round, most old-fashioned sake breweries are seasonal, operating only in the cool winter months. During the summer and fall, most tōji work elsewhere, commonly on farms, only periodically returning to the brewery to supervise storage conditions or bottling operations. There are two basic types of sake: Futsū-shu ( 普通酒 , ordinary sake) and Tokutei meishō-shu ( 特定名称酒 , special-designation sake) . Futsū-shu

9215-577: Was introduced into the Kyushu district from Ryukyu. The brewing of shōchū , called "Imo–sake" started and was sold at the central market in Kyoto . By the Genroku era (1688–1704) of the Edo period (1603–1867), a brewing method called hashira jōchū ( 柱焼酎 ) was developed in which a small amount of distilled alcohol ( shōchū ) was added to the mash to make it more aromatic and lighter in taste, while at

9312-403: Was not on the market. From around 1975, ginjō-shu began to be marketed and was widely distributed in the 1980s, and in 1990, with the definition of what can be labeled as ginjō-shu , more and more brewers began to sell ginjō-shu . The growing popularity of ginjō-shu has prompted research into yeast, and many yeasts with various aromas optimized for ginjō-shu have been developed. In 1973,

9409-559: Was the first to try to explain and describe the process of sake brewing. The work of both writers was widely disseminated throughout Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. Starting around the beginning of the Meiji era (1868－1912), the technique for making sake began to develop rapidly. Breeding was actively carried out in various parts of Japan to produce sake rice optimized for sake brewing. Ise Nishiki developed in 1860, Omachi developed in 1866 and Shinriki developed in 1877 are

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