Famous Japanese sake joins UNESCO cultural heritage list, a boost for brewers and enthusiasts
LUQUE, Paraguay — Sake may be more Japanese than world-famous sushi. It is brewed in century-old warehouses on mountain tops, savored in izakayas across the country, served at weddings, and served slightly chilled for special toasts.
THE smooth rice wine which plays a crucial role in Japan’s culinary traditions was dedicated Wednesday by UNESCO on its list of “intangible cultural heritage of humanity”.
At a meeting in Luque, Paraguay, members of the UNESCO Committee for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity voted to recognize 45 cultural practices and products around the world, including cheese Brazilian white, Caribbean cassava bread and Palestinian olive oil soap.
Unlike UNESCO’s World Heritage List, which includes sites considered important to humanity like the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Intangible Cultural Heritage designation names products and practices from different cultures that merit recognition. be recognized.
A Japanese delegation welcomed the announcement made in Luque.
“Sake is considered a divine gift and is essential for social and cultural events in Japan,” Takehiro Kano, Japan’s ambassador to UNESCO, told the Associated Press.
The basic ingredients of sake are few: rice, water, yeast and koji, a rice mold, which breaks down starches into fermentable sugars like malting does in beer production. The entire two-month process of steaming, brewing, fermenting and pressing can be exhausting.
Rice – which wields enormous marketing power as part of Japan’s broader cultural identity – is key to the alcoholic beverage.
For a product to be classified as Japanese sake, the rice must be Japanese.
According to the delegation, UNESCO recognition is not limited to the artisanal know-how necessary to make high-quality sake. It also honors a tradition dating back about 1,000 years: sake appears in the famous 11th-century Japanese novel “The Tale of Genji” as the drink of choice in the refined Heian court.
Today, authorities hope to restore sake’s image as Japan’s premier alcoholic beverage, even as the country’s younger drinkers turn to imported wine or domestic beer and whiskey.
“It means a lot to Japan and to the Japanese people,” Kano said of the UNESCO designation. “This will help renew interest in traditional sake making.”
In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he was “delighted” by the inscription of traditional sake making, the traditional technique of which Japan is proud. Ishiba praised those who dedicated themselves to preserving and promoting the tradition.
Also, Japanese breweries expressed their hope that the listing could provide a small boost to the country’s export economy as sake’s popularity booms around the world and in the United States, amid increased interest in Japanese cuisine .
Sake exports, mainly to the United States and China, now bring in more than $265 million a year, according to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, a trade group.
The Japanese delegation looked ready to celebrate on Wednesday – in classic Japanese style.
After the announcement, Kano raised a cypress box full of sake to toast the alcoholic beverage and cultural rite.
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This story corrects the Japanese official’s last name to Kano from Takehiro.
