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SHUDO-The Way of Sake

October

Chapter 12

　When cooked, new rice is soft and glistening. Every time rice, suited for brewing, is
steam-cooked, one cannot help but wish that it will turn into tasty sake.

　October is called Kannazuki, or the “month without
Gods”, after the ancient legend that gods and goddesses
from all over Japan gathered to Izumo in western
Japan when the sun goddess Amaterasu retreated
to a cave.
　 At this time of year, wild geese begin to reach Japanese
shores.
　 This is also the time when amaranthus leaves turn
crimson red. This is why August, in Japan’s lunar calendar
(which is present day September), is also called the
“month before the geese arrive”.
　 After enduring the autumnal rain front in September,
the Japanese embrace the blue skies and sunny days.
Temperatures, however, drop significantly during the
course of the month.

　 The Japanese traditionally divided the year into 24
small seasons. October 8th marked the start of Kanro,
the “cold dew”, when temperatures begin to drop. The
morning dew reminds one of how autumn has deepened.
October 23rd is the season of “frosting”, when
frost begins to settle.

　Come October, when freshly harvested rice is delivered
to sake breweries - it’s time to make new sake. The
process usually ends by the end of March. Breweries
that take time off during the summer season, however,
make sake starting September, and complete the
process in May.
　 New sake is made when rice, cultivated with a mold,
is fermented between a period of 20 to 30 days, inside
a tank. The mash is then filtered into white lees and
clear sake.
　 An increasing number of sake drinkers have acquired
a taste for fresh sake in recent years. But most sake is left
to mature in tanks to round out the flavor.
　 There are, however, fears that the quality of the sake
may deteriorate while it ages. To remove unneeded
ingredients, a little activated carbon is mixed before the
liquor is filtered. This purifying process has earned the
nickname, “put on a little make-up”.
　 Next, the liquid is pasteurized. The liquor is heated to
about 65 degrees Celsius for about two or three minutes.
This stabilizes the sake quality as it halts the activities
of microorganisms and enzyme.
　 Sake is then left to mature in a tank between the
seasonal rain-front in June and throughout the summer.
　 Unlike distilled liquor, clear sake matures in about a
short period of six months, due to various substances,
which include amino acid and glucose.
　 When sake matures, the harsh flavor of new sake
becomes mellow, and the typical smell of new sake is
replaced by a rich aroma of clear sake.
　 As the young sake matures in October, the liquor is
finally ready for shipping. Traditionally, however, sake
was brewed in giant cedar tanks and matured also in
large buckets.
　 Also, as it gets cooler at this time of year, the possibility
of sake turning sour due to bacteria contamination
tend to diminish. When outside temperatures dropped
to about the same level of sake kept in the buckets, the
tradition was to ship the “unpasteurized“ and ”cold”
sake that were poured into barrels. Thus emerged the
term, hiyaoroshi, which means to “ship cold”.
　 The famous Nada sake district in western Japan calls
the well-rounded, matured sake Akibare, or autumnal
blue skies, which is a nice way to express the clear
nature of this liquor.
　 The sake cold be enjoyed cold or warm, especially
as days grow shorter and nights longer during the
autumn season..　

Bean Moon Sake
　 According to the traditional lunar calendar, September
13th (present day October 15th ) is the thirteenth
night, otherwise called the Mame Meigetsu, or Bean
Moon.
　 Soybeans, dumplings, chestnuts and silver grass were
offered to the full moon. Because chestnuts, a seasonal
delicacy, were also dedicated, the day is also referred
to as Kuri meigetsu, or Chestnut Full Moon.
　 In summer, it is a good idea to put wine glasses and
glass cups for sake in freezer immediately after washing
them. Make sure you don’t wipe or dry the glasses. Get
them out of the freezer just before serving drinks. A glass
covered with frost makes a perfect vehicle for a cold
drink.

A drinking party may turn ugly if not all diners are wellmannered.
Here are some etiquette tips:
　 Unlike other traditional Japanese cuisine, Kaiseki
cuisine represents a meal where sake is offered while
various dishes are set on the table. Because the Japanese
do not eat rice while drinking, rice is served at the
end to wrap up the meal.
　 It is customary to serve soup and pickles with the
rice. Some restaurants instead offer rice cooked with
broth and vegetables, rice with hot tea, rice porridge
or even noodles.
　 Pickles could be served in single portions, or passed
around in a bowl. In the latter, diners are expected to
place the pickles they have taken on the lid of the rice
bowl, flipped upside down..
　 The rice and soup should be eaten in turns, with one
hand lifting each bowl towards one’s mouth. When
asking for seconds, diners are expected to leave one
mouthful of rice left untouched in their rice bowls. A
second helping is served on top of the rice. This is to
prevent “breakups”, something that the Japanese
have traditionally feared as being a bad omen.
　 As the Japanese expression goes, “End it on a good
note” - it is important that diners do not leave behind
leftovers or leave remnants of food scattered on the
table. Diners should also leave while offering thanks for
the excellent food and liquor prepared by the cooks.

Saury
　 Saury fattens up for the winter during autumn. It’s an
indispensable seasonal delicacy. The fresh ones are
eaten raw, in the form of sashimi or sushi. But one
cannot possibly turn a blind eye to saury grilled with
salt. This is because one cannot savor the bitter taste of
its intestines, which is so typical of saury. If the long fish
does not fit in a grill, it should be halved diagonally,
from the anus up, so the intestines would not be cut up.
　 As the centuries-old expression goes, “In comes
saury, out goes masseurs” - the Japanese have for long
acknowledged the powers of blue fish, which include
rich docosa-hexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic
acid (EPA) contents. These acids are said to
help improve memory and reduce natural fats in the
body.

Hair Crabs
　 Snow crabs boast of die-hard popularity, while red
king crabs, which can recently be purchased in teleshops
and so forth, are enjoying growing attention. But
there are many people that prefer hair crabs, due to
their chewy texture.
　 They can be caught between the coasts of Hokkaido
to Sanriku, and Hokuriku. They become tastier
during late fall and winter. Immerse in boiling water with
a dash of salt and a few drops of vinegar, to drive out
excess moisture.

Cherry shrimp
　 The small cherry shrimp seem commonplace, but are
actually found only in the bays of Suruga and Saga in
central Japan, as well as some parts of Tokyo Bay.
　 The main catching grounds include the mouth of
River Fuji, Yui and Kambara towns in Shizuoka. They are
caught between October and May. The nocturnal
creatures are also called Hikari-ebi, or light-emitting
shrimp, as they emit light as they swim near the sea
surface during nightfall. They turn a beautiful pink color
when they are boiled as soon as they are netted.
When eaten with vinegar, soy sauce, broth and grated
daikon radish, they make a perfect sake accompaniment.

Translated by Fumiko Konoye

The drinking age of sake, under Japanese law, is 20.
Driving under the influence of alcohol is prohibited. Do not drink to excess.
Consumption of alcoholic beverages poses a potential danger to
pregnant women and their future offspring, including birth defects.

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　 Phone Number　(+81-254) 24-5111