Sake

Sujata Massey's series about Japan keeps tempting me to read one more. The latest is The Samurai's Daughter.  Like her other novels, this one has held my attention with its amazing variety of Japanese history and culture, as well as several suspenseful plot elements. Food in all of these novels is described in mouth-watering detail, but right now, I want to concentrate on sake, the Japanese fermented rice wine. Sake has quite a history: its roots link to the Shinto celebrations of old times, and it has continuing significance in modern holidays like New Year's, cherry blossom festivals, autumn "moon viewing," and wedding celebrations.

Rei Shimura, the accidental detective at the center of these novels, is highly aware of the significance of Japanese food and sake. When she visits her family in the suburbs of Tokyo for New Year’s, her aunt Norie, a remarkable Japanese cook, serves a traditional dinner to the family, including Norie's daughter Chika, who had had a rather wild time on New Years Eve:

"Norie wanted to immediately open the fine bottle of Fukushima sake that I’d brought to toast the holiday. As my aunt offered the carefully warmed spirits in tiny, dark blue lacquered glasses, everyone said Kampai except for Chika, who had a big glass of water next to her untouched cup of green tea...." (p. 130)

Sake was also used in cooking some of the traditional foods for the dinner, which Rei introduces to her Scottish boyfriend Hugh, also a guest at the party:

"Below the din of voices, I encouraged him to try the safe bets: sweet, sake-simmered root vegetables, the fancy hard boiled eggs, the grilled salmon, and the daikon root and carrot that had been knotted together to look like a New Year’s rope. Everything Norie had prepared was symbolic of different elements of nature, which in turn were symbolic of the New Year and good wishes for the future. This was the kind of Japanese cooking that I admired most and had already spent many pages chronicling for my family history." (p. 130). 

The many types and qualities of sake lend themselves to luxury consumption as well as ritual significance. Rei goes to a high-end very trendy Tokyo restaurant:

"Sake was the specialty beverage of the restaurant, with over a hundred varieties available from different regions in Japan. After some deliberation, I ordered a crisp sake from my favorite province, Fukushima, which came to me in a small glass filled with ice. It was the perfect partner to the otoshi, the small, predinner nibble they served alongside it—a spicy, tangy mix of mackerel and trout chunks. I couldn’t have eaten fish this strong-tasting when I was in high school, but the longer I’d lived in Japan, the more I had become able to appreciate savory and strong flavors, especially if they were spiked with things like chilies and horseradish." (p. 176). 

There's also a Buddhist view of sake and its role in Japanese tradition, expressed by Rei's father: “Well, a person may take sake, but not in an amount to cause intoxication. My grandfather drank sake at supper, but only a single glass.”(p. 2).

Both sake and food, along with many other details, create the atmosphere in which Rei is faced with her own family background and the weight of Japanese history left over from World War II. It's well-written and enjoyable to read, with a few plot twists that kept me interested to the end. I'm really intrigued by the food descriptions and the many varieties of sake. I'd love to know the quality of the sake that's in my refrigerator, for example. I'm sure it's pathetic -- I bought it to make yakitori sauce. 

As I was reading, I looked up a few facts about sake. A very interesting summary is found at the website Eat-Japan.

"When first produced over two thousand years ago, sake was revered and cherished and made as an offering to the various gods and deities of Japan’s indigenous Shinto religion. Indeed, for many years sake production in Japan was carried out for the most part within the Imperial Court, and the drink itself was only enjoyed on celebratory or festival days."  (link)

The multi step process of making rice into sake is very exacting, employing two types of microorganisms, one to convert the starch in polished rice to sugar, and another to ferment the sugar into alcohol. The production process is just as complex as the process of making fine wine from grapes. In fact, maybe even moreso. 

My sake set has 5 cups: odd numbers are lucky in Japanese culture. The number 4 is especially unlucky.

Serving sake in a traditional way involves special serving vessels and special cups. Sometimes it's served warm, sometimes not. I have no idea of all of the possibilities, but I've seen the many styles and designs of these beautiful serving sets. I’ve never used my sake set (shown above), but I think it’s very attractive.

Blog post and photos © 2022 mae sander.