Sake is made with a division of labor
In sake brewing, the responsibility division of labor established in the Edo period is still inherited. Because sake can be produced through a variety of manufacturing processes, it cannot be made by yourself.It is a prerequisite for making delicious sake that the specialists of each process make full use of their experience and knowledge to ensure their roles and everyone work together.Such you.
The title of the title and the contents of the work may differ from one sake brewery to another, but in general, such a title is given to each work.
-Kuramoto
Say the owner of the sake brewery. Many people call sake breweries also brewers,Originally Kuramoto means a manager.
-Mr. Tsuji
Sake brewingChief executiveSay that. Some people misunderstand that it is a term that refers to all the people who work in the brewery, but because Mr. Tsuji refers to the general manager,There is only one Mr. Tsuji in one sake breweryis. It is a very important role to lead the team, paying attention to all the processes of complex sake brewing.
There are various theories about the name of Mr. Tsuji,In ancient times, women were responsible for sake brewing, so the theory that it was derived from `` swords '' that means a housewife is dominantIt has been with. In recent years, the number of Mr. Tsuji has decreased and the scale of the sake brewery has become smaller."Mr. Kuramoto"Has also increased.
-Head
The person in charge of managing Moromi and assisting Mr. Tsuji.I actually tell the brewers the order from Mr. Tatsumi and take charge of the work of organizing the brewers..
・ Kojiya
I am responsible for making sushi. Responsibility is crucial because sushi making is a decisive factor in the taste of sake. Depending on the brewery,An assistant called AikoMay be placed.
・ Motoya
He is responsible for making a sake mother. It is also called “Kaiori”.
・ Kamaya
It is a person in charge of the work from washing rice to steaming.
・ Boat
A person in charge of squeezing the finished moromi. Most of the other titles have “ya” at the end, so the name of the boatman is a little unusual. This looks like a boat when squeezing sake"Tank"It was attached because the tool called was used.
・ Sumiya
The person in charge of activated carbon filtration.
There are so many different positions in sake brewing. In a small brewery,One person may serve multiple positionsSo it ’s even harder.
How can I become a niece?
So how do you become Mr. Tsuji, the person in charge of manufacturing? Basically, it seems that I often belong to one of the group of Tsuji who is formed in various places, learn about sake brewing, and study skills. Currently,There are about 20 members belonging to the Japan Sake Brewery Association..
Speaking of Japan's largest group of nieces,Nanbu. In order to give this name Nambu Aoi,Must pass an annual qualification screening exam. The organization is organized by the General Association of Nanbu. Boasting the largest number of members nationwide, as of the end of 2018 in 5,34 members registered from 220 prefectures, 698 sake breweriesIt is done.
In order to qualify for this qualification screening exam, it is necessary to go through various processes. The first step is to join the Nanbu-san Association. And by gaining practical experience at the sake brewing site and taking classes, you finally have the chance to take the exam. The test content isWritten examinations, papers, brewed sake, interviews regarding brewing studies and liquor tax lawetc.
Also, in addition to this test result, career and other factors will be taken into account. The passing rate is never high, and it seems that in 2016 year, out of 19 test takers, 10 pass. In many cases it takes several years to pass. The joy when you pass it alone will be great.
The second largest scale after Mr. Nambu isMr. Echigo.A group of Mr. Tatsumi from Niigata Prefecture, which has the most brewery in Japan. In Niigata Prefecture, there is an educational institution that cultivates mid-level skilled brewing technicians created by the Niigata Sake Brewing Association in 1984 in anticipation of the shortage of successors such as Mr. Tsuji. that name as well"Niigata Sake School". Employed all year in a sake brewery in Niigata Prefecture,A school that can only be entered by people recommended by Kuramoto.
Students will study for about 100 hours a year under the supervision of professors such as Niigata Brewing Experiment Station, managers, brewers, and technicians who are at the forefront of the prefecture, and graduate over 3 years.The number of graduates is more than 2018 by 400. Among them, there are many people who have already worked for Mr. Tsuji. It is only in Niigata Prefecture all over the world that this kind of school continues. As expected, it is one of the best sake in Japan.
Also, at the Niigata Brewery Association and Niigata Brewery Technology Study Group, compete for the skills of Mr. Tatsumi from Niigata Prefecture."Echigo Style Brewery Technical Championship"The convention is held every year. For the purpose of improving the technology of high-quality sake brewing, each brewery will bring their own brewed sake and compete for the quality of the sake. Somehow, the judges are a little jealous.
Even if you don't belong to the group, you can give him a title in the brewery you belong to. Mr. Tsuji is the post of the person in charge of sake brewing at the brewery. There are various standards for becoming a niece. It seems that at least about 10 years, it is not good if you do not have practical experience in sake brewing, and if you have graduated from a brewing school such as Tokyo University of Agriculture, it is sufficient to have practical experience.
However, it is difficult to serve as Mr. Tsuji without trust from the brewer.High skill and abundant knowledge of sake brewing, as well as leadership to tie brewers are requiredTherefore, Mr. Tsuji is a tough job to make.
By the way, there are actually some breweries that don't have Mr. Tsuji. The representative isAsahi Sake Brewery (Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture). Sake is made using an IT-based brewing method, in which detailed data is collected in every process of sake brewing, stored on a laboratory computer, and analyzed. The reason for this shift to IT is that Mr. Tsuji left when a new business failed in 1999.
Like many sake breweries, Asahi Shuzo had all the sake brewing know-how concentrated in Mr. Tsuji's head. The president who had had more doubts about this black box has taken this opportunity to make bold reforms. In sake brewing that relies on Mr. Tsuji's intuition, the quality may vary slightly, but the “Sakai Matsuri”, which is thoroughly managed with data, does not varyIt is known that.
Increasing number of women
Once a sake brewery"Forbidden woman"Do you know that was? There may be many people called “sumo sumo” who remember the word “forbidden women” first.
In 2018 month of 4, a nurse woman who went to the earth for lifesaving of Mayor Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, who fell during the greeting of the Grand Sumo Spring Tour, from the Japanese Sumo Association officials because of women's ban There was an event that you were urged to get off and got a lot of criticism.
In the old days, many mountains in Japan were prohibited from women. It is also said that because the mountain god is a goddess, when a woman enters the mountain hesitates and the mountain gets rough as a result. However, in response to the trend of the times,Since the Meiji era, many mountains, including Mt. Koya, have gradually abolished women's ban..
Now, let's go back to the ban on women making sake. As I mentioned earlier in the explanation of Mr. Tsuji, in ancient times, sake brewing was mainly a woman's job. Long ago, sake was made by chewing raw rice."Mouth bite"It was charged by the method. On this occasionThe role of chewing rice is a woman such as a shrine maidenIt is said that was mainly responsible.
So why was the woman who was the center of sake brewing removed from the scene? There are various reasons.
one is,Women's physiology. Menstrual bleeding was hated as drowning. Also, in the past, men who came out of the country alone were making sake while living in groups,In order to prevent it from happening because women can be disturbed by the presence of women in places where many men sleep.I have heard that. Besides, because the god of sake brewing is a womanWhen a woman enters a brewery, the mood of God gets worseAnd women do makeup and perfume so thatBecause the smell shifts to alcoholIt ’s really different.
Then, as for the situation of the modern sake brewery, in fact, women are making more and more efforts to make sake. In addition to the brewer, an increasing number of women are working for Mr. Tsuji, the general manager of sake brewing.There are now more than 30 women.
One of the pioneers of womenSatoshi Hasegawa, the second daughter of the brewery of Tanzan Sake Brewery (Kameoka City, Kyoto). He was one of the pioneers who stepped into the world of Mr. Tsuji, where most men were born as a brewery girl. Satoshi Hasegawa studied under Fermentology with Prof. Takeo Koizumi at the Japan Fermentation Institute Yogo Research Institute, and served as Mr. Tsumugi for 10 after an apprenticeship for Mr. Tsuji in 5.
As an aside, Speaking of Prof. Takeo Koizumi is an authority among fermenters. He is currently an emeritus professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and has many books on fermentation and food. Especially, “Easy if you eat” is recommended because it is a horrible and fun collection of essays that you will always get hungry when reading.
In addition, a woman who has become a hot topic recently,Mr. Nanami Watanabe of Niizawa Brewery (Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture). He joined 2015 after graduating from junior college brewing, and in less than 3 years, he was appointed by the president in 2018 in 1. HowIt is said that he is the youngest Mr. Tatsumi who is still surprisingly young at 22.. An exceptional material that is said to be the president, saying that it is “extraordinary and different in dimension”, and that it is expected to have a talent as a leader such as not only the ability of dominant sake but also calm judgment and crisis response ability. It is a selection.
And there was no madness in the eyes of the president. The sake brewed by Nanami Watanabe suddenly achieved a great success. The international wine contest “Brussels International Contest (CMB)” was newly established in 2018 in the sake section “SAKE selection”.Won the highest award in the “Brew sake category”It was. The award-winning sake is"Atago's pine dry". If you find this gem of the Niizawa Brewery, which has the concept of “Ultimate Meal Sake”, please try it!
Female niece tends to have a high ability to manage moromi and feel the fine changes in cocoonIt is also said. In the future, I would like more and more excellent women to be born, and I hope that more and more beautiful sake will be born with the unique sensibility of women.
Sake Brewery 1 Day Schedule
What kind of schedule do you use in your brewery? Here, we will introduce 1 days of general sake breweries during the sake brewing season.
~ AM ~
The morning of the brewery is very early. Sake brewing work never ends at nightEarly morning 5: Start from around 30To do. For this reason, Mr. Tsuji and the brewers have gathered in the brewery by this time while rubbing their sleepy eyes.
Currently, the number of sake breweries that brew four seasons is increasing,The basics of sake are cold winter making. Therefore, some sake breweriesThere is no heating equipment to warm people. Therefore, the brewery is cold enough to freeze, but all of you are lightly dressed. But why,Because sake brewing is centered on hard work. It's hard to just bring rice to a bowl.
First of all,Preparation of steamed rice between 5: 30 and 7: 00I will do it. You can't rest slowly while steaming rice. There are many things you have to do, such as putting the candy on the lid, preparing for the preparation, putting the mash in a special container for the sake quality test in the afternoon.Breakfast time between 7: 00 and 8: 00. Sake brewing with a lot of hard work is a physical strength game, so energy intake is one of the important tasks.
And when rice is steamed around 8: 00,10: Work to prepare steamed rice before 00I will do it. After a break of about 30 minutes,From 10: 30 to 12: 00I will start.
~ Afternoon ~
After taking a break with lunch, I will return to work from around 14: 00. First,Washing rice in preparation for the next day steamed rice. Washed rice in sake brewing uses much more nerve than we usually do. Only fragile, brittle rice grains must be washed very delicately.
Washing and subsequent soaking time is determined in seconds.The washing time varies depending on the variety of rice. Also, even for the same variety, the water absorption rate of rice changes depending on the percentage of polished rice.If the water absorption rate goes wrong, it will have a great effect on the subsequent process, so washing and soaking work must be done with great care.
During the washing and dipping operation, Mr. Tsuji will start another important task. that is,Liquor inspection in the laboratoryis. This test measures the amino acid content and sake content of moromi filtered over several hours.By accurately grasping the current state of moromi, we can determine when to squeeze moromi. The timing of the upper tank is decided by Mr. Tsuji. To that end, Mr. Tsuji needs to conduct a quality inspection every day.
Take a rest from 15: 00 to 30 minutes, from 15: 30 to 17: 00,Throw away hot water from the kettle, fill it with fresh water, and set a bowlTo do. In addition, we will make sake bottles and sake. Mixing so that the liquor and moromi are even, it seems easy to see slowly when you look at the slow movement, but in fact it is very hard work. Especially, it seems to be quite hard to stir the moromi in the initial stage.
Dinner between 17: 00 and 18: 00Eat. But that does n’t end the day ’s work,18: Kura people continue to work after 00. There are still many things to do, such as turning back the cocoons on the lids in the morning, and working together to spread the cocoons to lower the temperature of the cocoons raised by the fever. The jar lid must be transshipped several times, and depending on the brewery, the moromi fermentation may be observed.During the season when sake brewing takes place, the sake brewery moves without rest for 24 hours..
1 Year of Sake Brewery
So what kind of 1 year is spent in the brewery, including the sake brewing period?
The start of sake brewingLate autumn. The brewer and Mr. Tsuji gather in the brewery. this"Kura entering"Is called. Many breweries invite priests to make brewing safety prayers when entering the brewery.
And it ’s the very first process of brewing"First wash"Embark onIt is the work of washing rice, but the water absorption rate at the time of washing the rice is a very important point in sake brewing.So, I use a lot of nerves to determine the water absorption of sake rice that year.
While sake brewing is in full swing,May-OctoberIs particularly energetic. But why,This is the period when the cold reaches its peak.is. Sake rice polished over 50% is very delicate. It costs a lot. As a result, there is a growing sense of tension in the brewery that failure is not allowed.
And in the early spring after several months, Mr. Tsuji and the brewer were waiting"Abusive"Greet the day. Defeating rice cake, a tool for steaming rice,No need to make steamed rice anymoreThat means. This is the final corner of sake brewing.
Of course this banquet is a banquet. All of the brewers exchanged sake, celebrated the preparations successfully, and sought hardships. It may be the day when alcohol is the most delicious in 1.About 1 months after the overthrow, all of Moromi's upper tank was completed and sake brewing for that season was completely overTo do. this"Creating" (Kaizo)Is called. Of course, it is a banquet on the day of making a house. The feast where people who work in the office work together and share joy will be exciting.
Even when sake brewing is over, Mr. Kuramoto has a lot to do.You don't have time to rest all year round because you may participate in sake events held in various parts of Japan, or you may visit top sales and inspections overseas.. It's really hard work to be the general manager and manager of sake brewing. If you have a chance to meet Mr. Satoshi Kuramoto at a sake event, please feel free to give it a try. Maybe it will pour a lot of sake for tasting.