We conducted an online interview with Hiroko Yokozawa, a female sake brewer in Shiwa Town, Iwate Prefecture, and would like to introduce her to you.
Speaking of Shiwa Town in Iwate Prefecture, it is also known as the birthplace of Nambu Chief Brewer, and has a reputation for sake brewing.
This time, we interviewed her about local sake brewing in Shiwa-cho, Iwate Prefecture, the hardships unique to female brewers, and the various efforts to make sake culture more accessible.
Also, from 19:00 on Saturday, July 2nd, we will invite the chief brewer Yokozawa and his husband, President Takayuki Yokozawa.Online sake brewery study abroadwill do.
What is online sake brewery study abroad?, is a new service where we invite a hot brewer once a month to learn about sake, makers, and local culture while drinking together at home.
Read this article to make your online sake brewery study abroad experience even more enjoyable.♪
Tsukinowa Sake Brewery Brewery
Hiroko YokozawaMr.
Born in Shiwa Town, Iwate Prefecture.
As the eldest of three daughters of a sake brewery, she inherited a brewery that has continued for generations. Currently, she and her husband, president Takayuki Yokozawa, work together to make sake and promote awareness of sake culture.
Table of contents
- About “Tsuki no Wa Sake Brewery”
- What is our corporate philosophy: “As a family business, not a company”?
- Why use locally produced sticky rice, which is unsuitable for sake brewing?
- Born as the daughter of a sake brewery, the struggle to become the successor
- The gap between what our customers want and the sake we want to make
- As a female brewer, how difficult is it to make sake while raising a child?
- If you listen closely, you can enjoy observing the sake slowly fermenting inside the brewery.
- Why does Tsukinowa Sake Brewery continue to take on challenges?
- A word to everyone who supports sake culture
- Finally
About “Tsuki no Wa Sake Brewery”
Interviewer: Masu
Mr. Yokozawa, thank you very much for your time today.
Right off the bat, could you tell me a little bit about Tsukinowa Shuzoten?
Yokozawa chief brewer
usis a small sake brewery located in Shiwa Town, Iwate Prefecture.
The name ``Tsuki no Wa'' in ``Tsuki no Wa Sake Brewery'' comes from the legend that when Minamoto no Yoriyoshi and his son Yoshiie suppressed the rebellion in Mutsu during the ``Zenunen War'' that occurred in the late Heian period, the reflection of the golden moon in the pond was considered a good omen.
Although the original meaning is different, many designs related to the Asiatic black bear have been incorporated into the logos of alcoholic beverages.
Originally, the Yokozawa family was not a sake brewery, but a koji manufacturer.
The fourth generation of the family was passionate about sake brewing and founded the brewery in 1886, marking the beginning of Tsuki no Wa Sake Brewery.
Therefore, I am the 8th generation of the Yokozawa family, but I am the 5th generation in the sake brewing business.
Even after becoming a corporation in the Heisei era, we have maintained our corporate philosophy of ``not as a company, but as a family business,'' and have continued to brew local sake that is representative of this area.
What is our corporate philosophy: “As a family business, not a company”?
Interviewer: Masu
By the way, what is the true meaning of "not as a company but as a family business"?
Yokozawa chief brewer
Literally, we incorporated this into our corporate philosophy to emphasize that ``we produce sake not as a company, but as a family business that has been continued for generations.''
For a long time, for example, the town's restaurants and tofu shops have been run by parents and children for generations.Its taste has been passed down from generation to generation.
However, for some reason, in sake brewing, instead of ``from parents to children,'' the process often goes from ``parents to a chief brewer, and then from that chief brewer to a different chief brewer.''
When this happens, it often happens that the taste has changed because the toji has changed.
Therefore, when we became a corporation in the Heisei era, we went back to our basics and adopted this corporate philosophy: ``Let's cherish sake brewing as a family business where the taste of the brewery is passed down through generations of owners.''
Why use locally produced sticky rice, which is unsuitable for sake brewing?
Interviewer: Masu
As I read various articles, I felt that they were very particular about local rice and water.
For example, I think Shiwa Town is unique in that it produces sake using sticky rice, which boasts the highest production volume* in Japan.
Why are we so particular about using local rice and water?
*Until the Shiwa Town agricultural cooperative merged.
Yokozawa chief brewer
In fact, glutinous rice is not very suitable for making sake.
The reason why I still use it is because I don't think it can be called ``jisake'' if rice from another prefecture is used even though it is called ``jisakeya.''
This area is known for its thriving production of sticky rice, so I thought it would be a good idea to try making alcohol using that rice.
In fact, it is difficult to make koji from sticky rice.
However, as you gain experience, you will get better at it, and when I first started, some people looked at me with suspicion and said, ``I can't believe you used sticky rice,'' but now many people ask me to teach them how to make it.
Well, even if you say so, I will never tell you (lol)
However, we also use some rice from other prefectures.
After hearing all kinds of stories, I'm starting to want to try using rice from other prefectures, so I'll try using some of that as a learning experience.
Currently, I think 90% of the rice is local and 10% comes from other prefectures.
Born as the daughter of a sake brewery, the struggle to become the successor
Interviewer: Masu
As the daughter of a sake brewery, I imagine that there were many conflicts involved in taking over the brewery.
Yokozawa chief brewer
I have two younger sisters, and both my parents and younger sisters seemed to think that I would take over.
However, I was thinking, ``I'm definitely going to do it.''
I hated the closed-off feeling of the storehouse and the traditional stereotypes of what women should look like, so I decided to leave home and go to Tokyo.I went to a junior college there and majored in fashion.
I chose clothing partly because my aunt was a dressmaker and I was interested in it, but in reality it could have been anything.
The junior college in Tokyo had been recommended to me by my high school, so I chose it because it was a surefire way to get into Tokyo (lol)
However, once I actually left Iwate, I started to feel more attracted to Iwate's things and traditional industries such as kimonos.
After graduating from junior college and living as a part-time worker, I went to a brewing research institute in Hiroshima to train for three months, and then returned to the brewery in Iwate.
The gap between what our customers want and the sake we want to make
Interviewer: Masu
What do you find difficult about actually being in the position of brewing sake and managing a sake brewery?
Yokozawa chief brewer
It's difficult to strike a balance between the sake you want to make and the sake your customers want.
Our alcoholic beverages do not have a strong aroma, but are generally soft and have a subtle aroma that evaporates from the mouth to the nose, making them suitable for drinking with meals.
However, when I look at the meals of young people these days, I get the impression that many of them order yakitori and sweet plum wine from the start.
Perhaps one of the reasons behind the eating and drinking styles of young people today is that they were brought up in an era of solitary eating, where their parents were not at home and they often ate meals with juice by their side.
Therefore, when it comes to designing alcohol quality, it is difficult to decide whether we should create the kind of alcohol that today's young people want, or whether we should create the alcohol that we ourselves think.
As a female brewer, how difficult is it to make sake while raising a child?
Interviewer: Masu
I see. I feel like I was able to get a glimpse of the hardships that today's chief brewers must endure.
By the way, you also have a daughter, right?
What are some of the challenges that come with being a female brewer, such as having to make sake while raising a child?
Yokozawa chief brewer
My daughter is eight years old now, and it's actually quite difficult.
However, there is currently a brewery women's summit, which provides an opportunity for female brewers and brewers to exchange opinions.
Originally, women had a low position in breweries, and it was common for girls of sake breweries and even women who came to work at breweries to quit immediately, so this group was started to stop this and to support women working in breweries.
During this time, we exchange various opinions, and since all female brewers and sake brewers are raising children while making sake, I think the challenges are the same.
The most difficult thing for me is not just because I'm a sake brewer, but because I work from home.
For me, this sake brewery is both my home and my workplace, so from my daughter's perspective,
"I wonder why they can't play with me even though I'm nearby."
Or something
"I want to play with you, but I can't."
I feel like I'm making them feel lonely.
If you listen closely, you can enjoy observing the sake slowly fermenting inside the brewery.
Interviewer: Masu
It's so frustrating to be so close to someone but not be able to talk to them.
On the other hand, what do you enjoy about brewing sake?
Yokozawa chief brewer
I think it's interesting to see how rice turns into liquid through the action of microorganisms, and to see that process.
When I go to the brewery at night, there's no one around and it's quiet, but if I put my ear to the tank and listen, I can hear the sound of fermenting mash, which is really fun.
Why does Tsukinowa Sake Brewery continue to take on challenges?
Interviewer: Masu
Your company is involved in a variety of initiatives, such as making sake with sticky rice and pesticide-free rice, selling gelato using koji, and collaborating with V Tubers and university students in Iwate Prefecture.Why are you taking on such a challenge?
Yokozawa chief brewer
After all, we want to get people more interested in sake culture and make it something familiar to them.
For example, when we sell products in collaboration with V Tubers, we get a lot of young customers, and the response is different than before.
Gelato using koji was originally developed to be eaten by sick people as a health food.
Amazake has long been called a drinkable intravenous drip, but you can't actually put it into a bedridden person's intravenous drip (lol).
However, if it is ice cream, even bedridden people can consume it.
So, we started developing it, and as a result, it wasn't adopted at hospitals, but we started selling it at our own retail stores, and now we have a lot of customers who come just for the gelato.
Then, people start talking about why there is alcohol in a gelato shop, and more and more people are buying alcohol after hearing that we actually have a sake brewery.
In this way, we are collaborating with various people to make sake more familiar, to get people to know more about our company, and to take on new challenges that go beyond just making sake.
We are also working on other interesting SDG-like initiatives to utilize sake lees, but I would like to talk about them on the day of the event.
A word to everyone who supports sake culture
Interviewer: Masu
It's a very interesting story.
Lastly, could I say a few words to everyone who supports Japanese sake culture?
Yokozawa chief brewer
I don't think it's necessary to drink a lot, so I'd like people to drink a little bit of good alcohol.
In my day, there were times when I was forced to drink all-you-can-drink sake at an izakaya and I ended up hating it, but now Izakaya's all-you-can-drink menu often doesn't have sake in the first place.
I think this means that there are no more opportunities to experience sake.
Therefore, I would like you to actively create opportunities and try drinking alcohol, even if it's just a little.
And since one brewery produces a variety of alcoholic beverages, you may wonder which one is right for you? I hope you will have an inquisitive mind and try comparing them little by little.
Finally
Thank you, Mr. Yokozawa.
From 19:00 on Saturday, July 2, 2022, we will be holding an online sake brewery study abroad program with the brewer Yokozawa introduced this time and his husband, President Yokozawa.
This time, as it is our first hands-on appearance as a married couple and because we are drinking alcohol from Iwate, we will hold it under the title ``Couple Enjoying Iwate Alcohol.''
We look forward to your participation.♪
■Click here for details & application
https://hands-on-local.com/products/sakaguraryugaku_sabusuku
1 comment
美味しいお酒を少し呑む🤏❣️😆
まさに、私が追い求めているものです。呑みすぎるけど😅
いつも、送られてくるお酒は皆んな美味しいけど、あのサイズが一番気に入ってるのもある。
今回は参加できないのが残念です。女性の作り手さんとリアルでお話ししてみたかったー❣️😆