Artigenda
World Sake Day
When: Annually, October 1.
A warning about World Sake Day may be in order. If you plan to participate in this day on October 1, take it easy. After all, it is World Sake Day for 24 hours…
Not wine
World Sake Day (Japanese: 世界酒の日, English: World Sake Day) is a day that pays tribute to sake (酒). This is a drink also known as rice wine. It should not be, as it is not about wine at all.
Sake is made from rice in Seishun. That is “ready-made alcohol. The tradition of this drink goes way back in history. The way sake was made and the recipe changed over time. For instance, nuts and soybeans were once used. Rules (laws) were also drawn up so that there would be no proliferation when it came to breweries. This did not quite work out, as during the Meiji Restoration of 1867 (a political upheaval in Japan), there were as many as 8,000 breweries in the country. A tax increase eventually drastically reduced the number. Then, quality control ensured that it would all improve.
The conditions under which sake was brewed improved significantly when a large proportion of breweries switched from wooden to steel tanks.
After World War II
After World War II, sake also reached the West. In the country itself, breweries had to compete with western alcoholic beverages. After 1973, the sake industry in the country was over. Currently, around 1,000 breweries are still operating in the country.
Sake could always use more attention, was the idea, and so Japan introduced a day dedicated to alcoholic drinks. Remarkably, they only did so after 1973. So after the sake industry took a hit. The first national sake day took place in 1978 and was an idea of The Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS).
1 October
The date of October 1 is logically explicable. This was the date that breweries considered the start of the new year until 1965. Later, this date would change to July.
