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Japanese history of Japanese saké

The Yayoi Era (B.C.300~ A.D.300)
[Saké is offered to the Gods as a gift]
The keywords associated with Japanese saké are 'Rice' and 'Farming'. It is well known that the first Japanese saké was created in the Western part of Japan in the Yayoi Era when the hunting society changed to an agrarian society.

At the time, people had not mastered the technique of fermenting rice, so they had to chew the rice well, using their saliva in lieu of the modern fermentation process. Don't worry, though; this saliva-made saké was used solely for religious rituals, not as a beverage.
Not everyone could make the chewed saké Women known as Miko who serve god were the only ones qualified to make the saké intended for honoring the gods.
Currently tojis are nearly all men, but originally saké was made by women.

The Nara Era (A.D.710~ A.D.794)
[Saké is a valuable article in supplying nutrients]
The technique for saké making was developed by the Imperial Court (Government) in the Nara Era. Around this time, instead of chewing the rice, people started to use Koji that was brought from China for the brewing of saké.

In those times foods with high caloric content were a rarity and were reserved only for the nobility.

The Heian to Kamakura Era (A.D.794~ A.D.1192)
[Saké is used for festivals]
In the Heian Era, saké making was done not only by the government, but also by the temples. The production of saké had been increased, but saké was used mostly for festivals. However, participants did not guzzle saké but drank it sparingly, in true formal style

In the Kamakura Era, the saké began to be distributed in small but ever increasing amounts. Eventually the amount available increased, and small numbers of common people were finally able to taste saké.

The Muromachi to Azuchi-Momoyama Era (A.D.1573~A.D.1600)
[Saké is established as a regional product]
Saké's now began to be made region-specific at about the same time that regional foods began to emerge. At this time, the main ingredient had been changed from using unmilled rice (brown rice) to white rice (polished rice.) The center of saké production was still in temples, but production was also expanded and civilians began to make saké as a local item.

The Edo Era (A.D.1603~ A.D.1867)
[Saké is enjoyed by the common people]
In the Edo era, saké production had been widely expandedand the beverage was now available to ordinary people. There were more than 27,000 Sakagura (Breweries) during the Edo Era (currently there are fewer than 1,500 breweries). At the time, the most popular saké was produced in Nada (Hyogo prefecture) because that region had the best water for saké. It was considered ideal water because the iron content was much lower than that found in most other areas. Around this time, a variety of saké's had been developed by commoners. They enjoyed the saké with ordinary foods such as tempura or soba.

The Meiji Era to the beginning of the Showa Era (A.D.1869~A.D.1950)
[Saké suffers with the passing of time]
From the Meiji Era, Japanese liquor taxes were assessed or imposed on saké During this same time the very famous brewery competitions involving saké making techniques had begun. These competitions helped to further improve the saké making techniques. Unfortunately, the constant wars throughout all the regions made the supplies necessary for saké making nearly impossible to find. This time was a black period in the evolution of saké making.

The Present (A.D.1950~)
[Unique saké's are produced to be enjoyed with food]
The system of Japanese saké development was reformed in 1989 (See saké categories.) These new changes in regulations led to the creation of many great and unique saké's. The new saké's created a boom in the industry.

Japanese saké has a 2000-year history. Recently, new developments in polishing and fermentation techniques are resulting in great new saké's.

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