Oct 1- The first day of a Brewery Year

Most sake lovers would know that 1-Oct is THE National Sake day- or the Nihonshu No Hi (日本酒の日), but do you know of all days in a year, why is 1-Oct picked as THE day for sake?

The answer is two fold:

1) The most important reason is related to the written character (Kanji) of Sake (酒). Before it has taken its current form, it has long be written as 酉, which in ideograms terms, can mean the jar which was used for fermentation. Even today, one can find a lot of Kanji characters that are related to alcohol, consist of the script 酉. Coincidentally, in the world of Chinese zodiac, 酉 bears the meaning of "the tenth". And this is part of the reason why October, the tenth month of a year, was picked as the month of Sake.

2) At the same time, October is also the month of harvest for the rice farmers in Japan. It is the perfect time for the breweries to start sake brewing with the newly harvested rice.

For these reasons, 1st October has been designated “Nihonshu no hi” (日本酒の日) or “Sake Day” by the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (technically, they were the Japan Sake Brewers Association back then!) since 1978.

For us- consumers outside of Japan, there is one more reason to celebrate ‘Sake Day’. Beginning from 1 October 2017, non-Japanese customers purchasing alcohol for consumption in their home countries will be exempt from both consumption tax and alcohol tax. Isn't that a strong reason for an extra-special kanpai?!