Chiyonosono Akazake
GET IN TOUCH
We would like to propose the best plan for you. Please message us your preferences - item, quantity, area, budget, and purpose if possible. We will introduce the details on wholesales prices and related products.
About this item
Akazake is a reddish-brown alcoholic beverage that retains the characteristics of the oldest type of sake handed down in Kumamoto. It is similar to mirin, but unlike mirin, it has slightly alkaline properties. It is an essential part of the New Year's toso (sake) in Kumamoto. It is also used as everyday cooking sake.
During the Edo period, the Higo Hosokawa Domain (present-day Kumamoto Prefecture) protected akazake as the "national sake," prohibiting the production of any alcohol other than akazake and the import of alcohol from other domains.
In the Meiji period, as modern-day sake began to be imported from other prefectures, demand for alcohol shifted to sake and demand for akazake significantly decreased. Then, around 1945, the production of akazake was banned, and akazake disappeared completely for a time.
After the war, demand for akazake as a Kumamoto alcoholic beverage led to a revival, and today only two companies produce akazake in Kumamoto.
While regular sake is kept longer by heating it, akazake is kept longer by adding wood ash before pressing the mash to neutralize the acid. For this reason, regular sake is also called himochizake (fire-held sake) and akazake is also called akumochizake (ash-held sake).