In last week’s entry, we implied, and if you were paying attention, you inferred, that UNESCO would designate the “Traditional Knowledge and Skills of Sake-Making with Koji Mold in Japan” to be Intangible Cultural Heritage. Well, they have, at their recently held meeting in Asunción, Paraguay. Prior to the announcement, a number of people intimately involved with sake- and koji-mold production had gathered at the offices of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association in Tokyo in anticipation of the momentous announcement. As might be expected, the reaction was jubilant.
We will have more to say about all of this in the coming year. For now, we would like to leave our readers with what Mr. Tatsuya Ishikawa, of the Japan Toji Guild Association, said on the occasion: “It is awe-inspiring and humbling to realize that, in an era when the existence of microorganisms were unknown, our predecessors developed techniques that are flawless even by today’s standards.” We cannot add to that.
*Photographs courtesy of Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association
Drinking Japan 