Rice cultivation was introduced in Japan from China during Nara period in during third century BC. Sake was first produced at the imperial court and in Shinto shrines, where it was used in religious ceremonies.
The first sake was called kuchokami no sake, or ‘chewing in the mouth cake’ and was made by people chewing rice, chestnut, millet, acorn and spitting the mixture into a tub.
The name was derived from primitive religious ritual partially chewing the rice.
By the 8th century, Buddhist and Shinto priests gradually began sake brewing and at the end of the 12th century, they granted authorization for sake brewing to several specialists who were required either to offer sake or to pay tax in return for it.
During the Ashikaga Shogun era (15 the century), syudo, a ceremony for sake drinking began. The purpose was to enjoy the sake and the company based on spirit of ‘savoring a precious time in one’s life.
The fining process was discovered in the 1600s when a saboteur attempted to ruin a batch of sake by adding ashes to it, which rendered the sake crystal clear instead.
Jesuit Francis Xavier in 1552, records alcoholic beverage made from rice. And the third edition of Encyclopedia Britannica in 1797 says that Sakki, rice beer is as clear as wine and of an agreeable state.’
Today, the quality of sake is at the highest it has ever been and sake has become a world beverage with a few breweries springing up in China, Southeast Asia, South America, North America and Australia.
History of Sake
