History

Question 1

How long as sake been produced in Japan?

Answer 1

Over 2000 years

Question 2

How many producers were there during the Meiji era?

Answer 2

Over 30,000

Question 3

After WWII how many producers remained?

Answer 3

Over 4000

Question 4

Rice farming is older in China or Japan?

Answer 4

China, it goes back approx. 10,000 years

Question 5

Sake has been uniquely Japanese how long?

Answer 5

2000 years or so

Question 6

When was a process much like pasteurization developed in Japan?

Answer 6

16th Century

Question 7

When did Sake become commonplace in Japan?

Answer 7

14th Century

Question 8

What happened in September, 1945?

Answer 8

The Makurazake Typhoon hit near the atomic bomb site, taking much of the contaminated soil and bringing radiation-free topsoil.

Question 9

The Sake class grading system was introduced when?

Answer 9

1943

Question 10

Why was the Sake class grading system introduced?

Answer 10

To define grades of sake as brewers began stretching batches out by dilution with water and the addition of brewer’s spirit.

Question 11

Who produced the first pure junmai-shu and when?

Answer 11

Chiyonosono from the Kumamoto Prefecture in 1968

Question 12

The sake class grading system was converted into what and when?

Answer 12

The Junmai System in 1991

Question 13

What was brewers spirit previously used for?

Answer 13

Dilute sake while fortifying it and masking impurities.

Question 14

Knowing Nihon (日本) means ‘sun’ or ‘origin,’ why is Japan called Nihon?

Answer 14

The sun rises in the east, and for the Chinese, it appeared that the country to their east was where the sun originated. Nihon means ‘the land of the rising sun’ or, in other words, Japan.

Question 15

The oldest written records about Japanese sake are found in what?

Answer 15

Third-century Chinese history books.

Question 16

The oldest written records of Japanese sake mentioned what habit?

Answer 16

The habit of gathering to drink sake when mourning the dead.

Question 17

Written references to sake made using mold dates to when?

Answer 17

The 8th Century.

Question 18

By the 10th Century, sake was produced where and for what and whom?

Answer 18

It was produced at the Imperial Court to be consumed by the emperor or for ceremonial use.

Question 19

When did sake come to be brewed at Shinto shrines and Buddhits temples?

Answer 19

12th to 15th centuries.

Question 20

When were detailes of sake-making first detailed?

Answer 20

10th Century

Question 21

When did brewers begin using lactic acid fermentation?

Answer 21

12th to 15th centuries

Question 22

Before the 12th to 15th centuries, polished rice was used for what?

Answer 22

Koji only, unpolished rice was used for the sake.

Question 23

When do the diaries of Buddhist priests record the use of hi-ire with morohaku sake?

Answer 23

15th and 16th centuries.

Question 24

What other advances facilitated the mass production of sake by the 16th century?

Answer 24

innovations in woodworking that allowed for the construction of 1500L vats.

Question 25

The city of Edo is now called what?

Answer 25

Tokoyo

Question 26

In the 18th century, what was the average annual production of kudarizake and what was it equivalent to?

Answer 26

38,000 kL, equivalent to 54 L per person annually in Edo.

Question 27

What is the primary difference between sake produced in the 18th century and sake produced today?

Answer 27

The amount of water used. The ratio of water to polished rice was about half then, indicating people preferred a sweeter, more vsicous style.

Question 28

What was wood ash used for in historical production methods?

Answer 28

Wood ash was added to the moromi to reduce the acidity before filtering.

Question 29

In the Edo era, distilled alcohol added to sake was made from what?

Answer 29

sakekasu

Question 30

Tanba is a Toji guild in which prefecture?

Answer 30

Hyogo

Question 31

Echigo is a Toji guild in what prefecture?

Answer 31

Niigata

Question 32

Tango is a Toji guild in what prefecture?

Answer 32

Kyoto

Question 33

Tanba, Tajima, Kinosaki, Nantan

Answer 33

Four Toji in Hyogo

Question 34

What is NRIB?

Answer 34

The National Research Institute of Brewing

Question 35

The history and produce record of provinces ca. 8th century.

Answer 35

Fudoki

Question 36

The 12th century legal book that records details of ancient sake-making methods.

Answer 36

Engishiki

Question 37

The period during which full-fledged production of sake by specialists not affiliated with temples or shrines began.

Answer 37

Muromachi