Wednesday, Dec 25, 2024
English News
  • Hyderabad
  • Telangana
  • AP News
  • India
  • World
  • Entertainment
  • Sport
  • Science and Tech
  • Business
  • Rewind
  • ...
    • NRI
    • View Point
    • cartoon
    • Columns
    • Olympics
    • Education Today
    • Reviews
    • Property
    • Lifestyle
E-Paper
  • NRI
  • View Point
  • cartoon
  • Columns
  • Reviews
  • Education Today
  • Property
  • Lifestyle
Home | Food | Sake Japans Traditional Alcoholic Brew Finds Spot On Unescos Cultural Heritage List

Sake, Japan’s traditional alcoholic brew, finds spot on UNESCO’s cultural heritage list

Brazilian white cheese, Caribbean cassava bread and Palestinian olive oil soap also make the cut

By AP
Published Date - 5 December 2024, 10:23 AM
Sake, Japan’s traditional alcoholic brew, finds spot on UNESCO’s cultural heritage list
A person pours Japanese sake into a wooden cup traditionally used to drink the beverage, in Tokyo on Thursday. Photo: AP
whatsapp facebook twitter telegram

Luque: Sake, a smooth rice wine, is perhaps more Japanese than the world-famous sushi. It is brewed in centuries-old mountaintop warehouses, savoured in the country’s pub-like izakayas, poured during weddings and served slightly chilled for special toasts.

The traditional alcoholic brew that plays a crucial role in Japan‘s culinary traditions was enshrined on Wednesday by UNESCO on its list of the “intangible cultural heritage of humanity”.

Also Read

  • Gaza monastery added to UNESCO list of World Heritage in Danger

At a meeting in Luque, Paraguay, members of UNESCO’s committee for safeguarding humanity’s cultural heritage voted to recognise 45 cultural practices and products around the world, including Brazilian white cheese, Caribbean cassava bread and Palestinian olive oil soap.

Unlike UNESCO’s World Heritage List, which includes sites considered important to humanity such as the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Intangible Cultural Heritage designation names products and practices of different cultures that are deserving of recognition.

A Japanese delegation welcomed the announcement in Luque. “Sake is considered a divine gift and is essential for social and cultural events in Japan,” Takehiro Kano, the Japanese ambassador to UNESCO, said.

The basic ingredients of sake are few: rice, water, yeast and koji, a rice mold, which breaks down the starches into fermentable sugars like malting does in beer production. The whole two-monthlong process of steaming, stirring, fermenting and pressing can be gruelling.

The rice — which wields tremendous marketing power as part of Japan’s broader cultural identity — is key to the alcoholic brew. For a product to be categorised Japanese sake, the rice must be Japanese.

The UNESCO recognition, the delegation said, captured more than the craft knowledge of making high-quality sake.

It also honoured a tradition dating back some 1,000 years — sake makes a cameo in Japan’s famous 11th century novel, The Tale of Genji, as the drink of choice in the refined Heian court.

Now, officials hope to restore sake’s image as Japan’s premier alcoholic drink even as the younger drinkers in the country switch to imported wine or domestic beer and whiskey.

“It means a lot to Japan and to the Japanese,” Kano said of the UNESCO designation. “This will help to renew interest in traditional sake elaboration.”

In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he was “delighted” by the inscription of traditional sake-making, the traditional technic that Japan is proud of. Ishiba congratulated those who dedicated to preserving and promoting the tradition.

Also, Japanese breweries have expressed hope that the listing could give a little lift to the country’s export economy as the popularity of sake booms around the world and in the United States amid heightened interest in Japanese cuisine.

Sake exports, mostly to the US and China, now rake in over $265 million a year, according to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, a trade group.

Japan’s delegation appeared ready to celebrate on Wednesday — in classic Japanese style.

After the announcement, Kano raised a cypress box full of sake to toast the alcoholic brew and cultural rite.

  • Follow Us :
  • Tags
  • Japanese alcoholic brew
  • Sake
  • Shigeru Ishiba
  • UNESCO cultural heritage list

Related News

  • Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida resigns along with his Cabinet

    Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida resigns along with his Cabinet

Latest News

  • Cartoon Today on December 25, 2024

    6 hours ago
  • Sandhya Theatre stampede case: Allu Arjun questioned for 3 hours by Chikkadpallly police

    6 hours ago
  • Telangana: TRSMA pitches for 15% school fee hike and Right to Fee Collection Act

    7 hours ago
  • Former Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla appointed Manipur Governor, Kerala Governor shifted to Bihar

    7 hours ago
  • Hyderabad: Organs of 74-year-old man donated as part of Jeevandan

    7 hours ago
  • Opinion: The China factor in India-Nepal relations

    7 hours ago
  • Editorial: Modi’s Kuwait outreach

    7 hours ago
  • Telangana HC suspends orders against KCR and Harish Rao

    8 hours ago

company

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Contact Us

business

  • Subscribe

telangana today

  • Telangana
  • Hyderabad
  • Latest News
  • Entertainment
  • World
  • Andhra Pradesh
  • Science & Tech
  • Sport

follow us

© Copyrights 2024 TELANGANA PUBLICATIONS PVT. LTD. All rights reserved. Powered by Veegam