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Japanese Sake Brewing to Make Intangible Cultural Heritage List

Courtesy of the Agency for Cultural Affairs
The koji-making process of traditional sake brewing

Jiji Press

11:15 JST, November 5, 2024

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—An advisory panel to UNESCO has sought to register traditional Japanese sake brewing techniques using koji mold as intangible cultural heritage, Japan’s Cultural Affairs Agency said Tuesday.

The registration is expected to be formalized at a meeting of a UNESCO intergovernmental committee, scheduled for Dec. 2-7 in Paraguay.

The traditional techniques to make sake as well as “shochu” and “awamori” distilled spirits will be the 23rd intangible cultural heritage for Japan.

The prototype of traditional sake brewing was established more than 500 years ago, and the techniques were developed in accordance with the climate and culture in various parts of Japan, according to the Japanese agency.

Sake produced by “toji” master brewers plays essential roles in Japanese culture such as ceremonies and festivals, the agency said.

As Japan has a large number of registered heritage assets, screening for the country is practically conducted once every two years. The traditional sake brewing techniques were initially proposed in 2022. But the review was postponed, and they were proposed again in 2023.