Kochi Life Q&A : Tosa Hashiken

Tosa Hashiken National Contest

 

   The Kochi City CIRs and KIA staff participated in the “Tosa Hashiken National Contest” which is held every year on October 1, by the Kochi Sake Brewing Association. As the opening declaration stated, we were able to experience many of Kochi’s good points including “good sake and food” “friendly Kochi people” and “a fun party”. Why don’t you try going next year?

Hamakawa Shoten “Sake that the locals will drink”

The new Bijofu labels, released in October,
use photographs taken locally.

Bijofu: Out of the Depths
   “Bijofu,” which has won Gold Prize for each of the last 5 years at the Annual Japan Sake Awards, is the most popular brand of sake produced by Hamakawa Shoten, located in Shikoku’s smallest town, Tano, in eastern Kochi. “Bijofu” was first developed by Naoaki Hamakawa, the fifth-generation CEO of the company.

   Hamakawa became CEO at a time when the future of Hamakawa Shoten was in doubt. The company had to sell 70% of its product to larger sake companies in order to make ends meet, but it finally pulled through the rough patch. Around that time, Hamakawa first encountered ginjo (special brew) sake in Tokyo. At the time, ginjo sake was only being made for contests, but more and more voices were calling for this delicious variety of sake to be released for regular sale. Enchanted by ginjo, Hamakawa thought, “I want to make this sake with my own hands!” Following this powerful urge, with no tanks, no technology, and no rice appropriate for ginjo sake production, he began to fumble his way through a field of “no” toward an entirely different kind of sake that his company had ever made before.

 

Tsukasabotan Brewery “A True Classic”

The 90m long sake storehouse built around 1850.

A Time-Warp Back to the Edo Period
   Walking just a few minutes from the JR Sakawa Station, we noticed a large building with white plaster walls. The sweet, faint aroma of sake drifted over from the open brewery, and it was like we were immersed in the nostalgia of an old film. We were at the Tsukasabotan Brewery, a veteran business founded in 1603. This particular white-walled building is a sake storehouse called “Warehouse No. 1”, and it has around 160 years of history. Chief Brewer Asano said, “Ryoma Sakamoto likely visited this brewery when he left Tosa. Ryoma liked to drink sake.”

 

Mutemuka “Local Sake with a Twist”

Entrance to the brewery.
They steam chestnuts in the large stoves inside.

Chestnut Shochu for Rural Revitalization

   In the mountainous region of Western Kochi lies the town of Taisho, Shimanto-cho. There can be found a brewery dedicated to local sake since its inception: Mutemuka.

   Mutemuka, which began as a simple sake brewery, started making their signature chestnut shochu “Dabada Hiburi” roughly 30 years ago. They got their start when the mayor of Taisho at the time asked them if they could help revitalize the town by using locally-grown chestnuts. They heeded the call, got a shochu brewing license, and got to work making chestnut shochu. At first they were committed to only using local chestnuts, but their rising sales outpaced local chestnut production, so they currently do not follow that requirement. However, Dabada Hiburi, which is made from over 50% chestnuts, still uses only domestic chestnuts.

 

Foreigners Working in Kochi ①

Dana Berte
(Aki City, from America)

 

   The first person we will introduce, Dana Berte, was a Coordinator for International Relations with the JET Program in Aomori Prefecture for 3 years, and now works in product development at Kikusui Sake Company.

 

Kochi Life Q&A : Japanese Sake

   Starting this issue, we will be including a section in Tosa Wave called “Kochi Life Q&A”, where we answer various questions from foreigners living in Kochi about everyday life here. We’re not sure how long this section will last, but we are celebrating our first installment by writing about one of Kochi’s famous products—Japanese sake (pronounced saké).

 

Q:When I try to order sake at an izakaya, I see the sizes “1合 (1 gō)” and “2合 (2 gō).” But how much sake is in each of these? Also, at what temperature should I drink sake, and what do the temperature words “atsukan” and “nurukan” mean?

Intercultural Communication Bus Tour in Yasuda Town & Aki City - Explore the Treasure of Kochi -

 

Date: 11/3 Mon 2014

Meeting Time: 8:30

Meeting Place: Kochi Station North Entrance

Fee: 1,500 yen (Student Fee: 500 yen)

25 people. First-come-first-served

Please bring your own lunch.

Inquiries

   Please apply by e-mail with your name, nationality, address and phone number, and please put "Bus Tour 2014" in the subject line.

   Email: sggevent@gmail.com

 

 

 

Three things for which I’m proud of Kochi

Kochi is a paradise for sake drinkers

 

   It is often said that Kochi is well known for its sake (Japanese rice wine) production and consumption, and people outside think Kochi people are heavy drinkers.When I lived in Tokyo, people often teased me by saying “you must drink a lot because you are from Kochi”! I tried to keep up with the reputation and at first tried to drink a lot. After a while people recognized that I was not a big drinker and that such a stereotyped perception didn’t apply to me. But indeed it seems to me that many Kochi’s citizens drink a lot.

 

Make Japanese Sake in Kochi

   For those who are tired of just drinking Japanese Sake, why not try making your own?

 

   Let me introduce you to a sake brewery which offers sake-making lessons, starting from the production of the raw-material - rice. Mutemuka in Taisho, Shimanto Town offers this course, beginning with rice-planting in May all the way through to bottling in December. The participation fee is ¥20,000. For more information, please call 0880-27-0316.

Website: http://www.mutemuka.com/ (Japanese)

 

   The Kochi Youth Hostel reportedly offers an opportunity to experience sake-making. Please contact the hostel at 088-823-0858

Website: http://www.kyh-sakenokuni.com/english.html (English)

Taken from vol.28 PDF

How to find good local Japanese sake

   Kochi earns a good reputation for its sake nationwide while many other alcoholic beverages such as shochu (distilled spirit) and fruit wines are produced and sold in the market here. It is said that even the Japanese have difficulty picking out their favorite one out of a great variety of locally-brewed sake in Kochi.

Kochi, the Sake Country

   Why is Kochi called “the Sake Country”? There is no specific reason, but, during Edo era, people considered that lords and samurai warriors in Kochi were savage characters and hard drinkers. For instance, lord Motochika Chosokabe imposed controls on alcohol comsumption after he conquered Tosa (the old name of Kochi).

Tosa Space Sake & Deep Sea Water Sake

  

   You may have heard of Space Barley recently, or you may even have heard of Space Yoghurt. But, before all of that, Kochi was the first to create our very own Tosa Space Sake.

Doburoku in Mihara Village

   Doburoku, or cloudy sake, is a kind of rice wine and is produced with malted rice, yeast and others added to cooked rice. It is the simplest form among alcoholic beverages made from rice and can be produced easily at home. But it is illegal to brew it at home without license. Therefore the word “doburoku” is sometimes used as another name for bootleg liquor.

Yuzu & Gokkun Umaji-Mura

  

   Yuzu is a kind of citrus fruit, which began to be grown by a part of the once flourishing lumber industry in Kochi. After the industry collapsed due to low lumber prices, many sought new income sources.

Goishi-cha (Fermented Tea)

   The only fermented tea in Japan is produced in Ōtoyo Town, located in the mountainous area of central Kochi. It is called Goishicha and its name comes from its similarity to the shape of go (Japanese checkers) stones.

Shall we go to a sakagura?

Sakagurabiraki

   Breweries where they make Japanese sake are called 'Sakagura'. Kochi has 18 sakagura in total. For this edition I interviewed Mr.Ogi, who is the 'Toji', or chief sake brewer, at the Arimitsu Shuzo sakagura in Aki City and talked about some of the traditions in the sake industry.

Kochi’s Drinking Games

Okame-shaped bekuhai

   Kochi is famous not only for its refined sake and alcohol-loving citizens, but also for its merry drinking games! There are various so-called ozashiki asobi, but the most well-known are “Bekuhai”, “Kikunohana”, and “Hashiken”.

Sake Culture of Kochi

   One of the stereotypes that other people have of Kochi locals is that they drink a lot of alcohol. Actually, national statistics show that Kochi is second per capita in the consumption of beer, and takes 3rd place for the number of liquor stores per 100 thousand population. A unique culture of alcohol has developed in Kochi, most uniquely manifested by the custom of “Henpai”.

Visiting Sake Warehouse

   The season for sake (rice wine) brewing has come! I instinctively bought one bottle of local sake the other day when I visited a souvenir shop of a roadside station in Kubokawa Town. Generally the brewing of sake starts in November and continues until next March, and you can have a chance to visit local sake warehouses to watch how to make Japanese rice wine and even drink a little.

 

Tosa Tea ④

How to drink Tosa-cha

   It takes more than simply pouring hot water on tea leaves to make delicious tea. Tea Advisors at Tosa-Cha Café teach customers how to brew Tosa tea for optimum scent and flavour. It is required to pass a certification course with the Nihoncha (Japanese tea) Instructor Association to gain the title of Tea Advisor. The Association also offers certification courses to become a tea instructor, a step above an advisor and something like the sommelier of tea. Unlike wine, however, Tosa-cha is not served with your meal. You will get simpler teas with your meal as the more sophisticated ones are to be savoured on its own or with dessert.