The Japanese Sake Culture

To the Japanese, sake is more than just an alcoholic beverage. Culturally, sake is an essential bond between the deities and mortal beings. Sake was a method of communication to appease their anger in times of natural catastrophes, pray for their blessings and protection, and thank them for a plentiful harvest. By drinking the sake offered to the gods, the Japanese believed they could become closer to them.

Even though sake is widely available and inexpensive today, its legacy remains deeply rooted in Japanese culture. It is present at ceremonies, personal milestones, and rites commemorating birth to death. Historically, the Japanese linked it to the seasons, as they would sip sake and observe nature transform. Thus, sake was the mode of connection to the gods, the living world, and the people.

The Chinese character for sake 酒 is a combination of a sake cask pictogram (right) and running water (left). If you’re familiar with Chinese characters, you may notice that this sake cask character is used for other alcohol and fermentation-related terms. This includes shochu 焼酎 (Japanese distilled alcohol), moromi 醪 (the fermentation mash when making sake), moto 酛 (sake yeast starter), su 酢 (vinegar), and shoyu 醤油 (soy sauce).

In the Shinto religion, the sake offered to the gods is called “Miki” or “Shinshu” (神酒 “sake for the gods”). In the 8th-century Japanese mythological text Kojiki (古事記, Records of Ancient Matters), it calls sake “kushi” (same Chinese character as sake). This supposedly derives from the word kushiki (奇しき “strange”), as the ancient people did not know what caused the feeling of drunkenness.

Gods and the Japanese Sake Culture

Over 40 shrines and more than 55 gods related to sake are scattered across the country. Some shrines specialize in worshipping the ingredients, such as koji and brewing water. Thus, no singular god is identified as the god of sake, like Dionysus in Greek mythology.

The three prominent shrines related to sake are Oomiwa Shrine (大神神社) in Nara, Umemiya Shrine (梅宮神社) and Matsuo Shrine (松尾神社) in Kyoto. Oomiwa Shrine, also known as Miwa Shrine, is in the sacred Mount Miwa. The entire mountain is revered as the god of sake. As one of the oldest Shinto shrines in the country, it was the main shrine for the Yamato Court (250–710 AD) and where sake brewing took place.

Mount Miwa is significant for breweries to this today as Sugidama (杉玉), Sakabayashi (酒林), or Sakabouki (酒箒) are made by the trees there. It’s made of bundled cedar leaves trimmed to form a ball, then hung outside the entrance of breweries. Therefore, by hanging Sugidama made from the trees from Mount Miwa, you would be bringing a part of the god to your brewery.

Sugidama is a seasonal sign announcing the start of new sake pressing. Once hung, the leaves are a fresh green, but the leaves turn brown with time, an indicator of sake maturing. Sugidama also signifies thanks to the sake gods. There’s another theory that cedar leaves prevent the sake from spoiling, thus serving as a protective charm against unwanted bacteria.