Celebrating New Year for the Emperor at the Imperial Palace

On January 2 of this year, I paid a visit to the Imperial Palace to celebrate New Year for the Emperor and other imperial families.

This was my first experience to enter the premises of the Imperial Palace, and I was impressed to see so many people with the same intention as mine gathering in the square in front of the palace (a total of over 80 thousand people paid a visit the Imperial Palace on this day).

Being one among those tens of thousands of visitors, I was waiting for the appearance of His Imperial Majesty and other imperial families. At around 11 o'clock, as soon as they appeared on the deck, the visitors started waving Japanese national flags and praising aloud His Imperial Majesty, wishing him health and longevity. Then, His Majesty and families responded by waving us.

At this time, I felt that all the visitors in that place were spiritually bound with each other as subjects of His Majesty, and realized that the Emperor makes our nation what it is now. Maybe, Japanese are unaware why Japan is what it is now, that Japan is what it is now because of His Majesty. Then, a thought came to me that whenever facing hardship, we can work as one to overcome it because of the fact that we have His Majesty.

Finally, let me add this: one of the greatest things about our Emperor is that the Emperor of Japan boasts the world's longest history of bloodline. Our Emperor is the 125'th generation of the bloodline that started from the first Emperor Jinmu.

Warmed sake -- finding another charm of sake

I sometimes read articles about sake seminars or events held outside Japan, and it seems that they drink sake chilled or at a room temperature in most cases and drinking sake warm is not very popular overseas.

The Japanese have been enjoying warmed sake for a long time, or they even thought that sake was a beverage to be drunk warmed. In recent years, premium sake such as ginjo, junmai ginjo, or daiginjo sake became widely sold in the general market in Japan, and people began to enjoy these high-end sake products. In most cases, they loved to drink these sakes chilled, while many people continued to drink low-priced regular sake warmed.

So, which is the better way to drink sake, warmed or chilled?

Well, let's think of what happens to sake when it is warmed.

When sake is warmed, it sometimes increases in its foreign, objectionable taste, sometimes increases in its sweetness, sometimes increases in its acidity, and sometimes increases in its good flavors. So, if you warm sake successfully, you may be able to enjoy it better.

Premium sake, especially ginjo sake, is delicately made and such sake is difficult to warm properly, because warming sake tends to detract from its good flavor balance. In addition, ginjo sake, generally, is sufficiently enjoyable without being warmed because it has a clear flavor and a less foreign, objectionable taste. So, people tend not to venture to warm up such sake.

Thus, izakayas or restaurants do not serve warmed premium sake in most cases, and they serve their sake chilled or at a room temperature, instead. In this way, people began to think that only cheap sake is suitable for being warmed and premium sake should not be warmed.

Of course, there is no rule that ginjo sake should not be warmed. There must be beautiful ginjo sake that can be good warmed sake if warmed carefully. Warming up sake may bring about an unexpectedly fascinating flavor (or may ruin delicate balance of flavor).

Actually, I have some successful experiences about warming up sake. For example, I warmed clean and elegant-taste ginjo sake to make it nurukan (lukewarm sake at a temperature of around 40 degrees C or 104 degrees F), getting a result of enhanced acidity, which made better pairing with food. This is a kind of "discovery," and I am often excited at such "discovery," realizing the profundity and charm of the sake world.

By the way, the following expressions are sometimes used regarding warmed sake:

• kan-agari (燗上がり): The state in which the sake taste has been enhanced by warming it
• aji ga hiraku (味が開く): The taste of sake that is not recognized very much when it is cold becomes discernible by warming it.
• kaori ga hiraku (香りが開く): The bouquet of sake that is not recognized very much when it is cold becomes discernible by warming it.

As a flower bud which is very firm in the coldness of winter loosens slowly to open in the spring sun to finally enchant us with its fragrant bloom, when some sake that has been stored at a low temperature is warmed, its virtues including its bouquet and flavor that have been confined in itself become more discernible and enhanced.

Since I have experienced fascinating phenomena such as kan-agari, aji ga hiraku, kaori ga hiraku, I have arrived at the conviction that drinking warmed sake occupies a major part of sake drinking pleasure. I even feel that if you miss chances to experience the virtue of warmed sake, you cannot experience half of the virtue of sake.

Antique sake warmer "kandouko"

I never intend to give you assertive instructions regarding how you drink sake. However, I would like you not to declare that ginjo sake should not be warmed, and if you are interested in warmed sake, I want you to try warm up various sake and drink it by yourself. I believe you can find nice ginjo sake that increases in its beauty when warmed. I really want you to have exciting fascinating experiences with warmed sake.

Soul sake

For the Japanese, sake is not a mere alcoholic beverage but it is very special. Since early times, sake was given important roles and appeared in various scenes such as in ceremonial occasions for the coming of age, marriage, funeral and ancestral worship, religious rituals, prayer for victory by samurais. 

In these days, people have a wide range of choice of alcoholic drinks and beer and other beverages have gained in popularity. However, when it counts, sake is a must. I have never heard that they exchange cups of wine in Shinto wedding ceremony

Low priced sake is enough for evening drink. Sake drunk feelingly in the evening gently praises the effort and industry of the drinkers on the day, give their mind and body energy, and restores the drinkers' will to work hard again tomorrow. Such sake is nice sake.

The video I present below was a commercial message of sake that was once being produced in Iwate Prefecture, and I think this short movie is well depicting how people enjoy and love sake.

The following is the lyrics of the song, with their reading and my translation:

岩手故郷よ  (Iwate furusato yo:  Iwate my homeland)

やさしい郷だよ  (Yasashii kuni dayo:  is a gentle land.)

雨も風もな  (Ame mo kaze mo na:  Rain and wind,)

人情もまろいよ  (Ninjo mo maroi yo:  and also peoples heart are mellow and round.)

遠く離れてもよ  (Toku hanaretemo yo:  Even apart far away,)

心は帰るよ  (Kokoro wa kaeruyo:  my heart returns home)

牛追い唄がな聞こえる道をよ  (Ushioiuta ga na kikoeru michi wo yo:  along the way hearing someone's song driving cows.)

心の酒です岩手川  (Kokoro no sake desu Iwategawa  The soul sake Iwategawa)

Unfortunately, the brewery was closed down in 2006, and we can't drink this sake any longer. 

After having a look at the Saru-hashi Bridge, I want to drink Gokyo.

September 9, 2011. Heavy rainfall that was brought by Typhoon 12 to various areas in Japan had changed the water of the Katsura River, which I suppose usually is a clear stream, in to a murky torrent. The flow was crushing with roaring sounds into rocks and cliffs of the gorge. Above the torrent, against a background of a clear blue sky, is some elaborate structure connecting the cliffs on both sides. This is a bridge called Saru-hashi, one of the Japan's three unusual bridges.



The Saru-hashi Bridge is a wooden bridge spanning the Katsura River running through the Ohtsuki City, Yamanashi Prefecture. This bridge has uncommon structure. The following explains how this bridge was constructed:
1. Holes were bored on the cliffs on both sides of the river.
2. Square timbers were inserted in the holes so that the timbers jutted out from the cliffs slightly upward.
3. The second timbers were laid on the first timbers jutting to the air. At this time, the second timbers jutted farther into the air than the first timbers.
4. Then, the third timbers were laid on the second so that the third timbers jutted farther than the second.
5. Thus, timbers were laid on timbers, and the jutting structures on the both cliffs grew close to each other.
6. When the jutting structures become close enough to each other, the upper part of the bridge was placed on them.
7. In this way, this bridge was constructed.

This beautiful wooden bridge has tiny roofs on each of its beams and timbers to protect them from rain, boasting elaborate and splendid architecture.

By the way, when watching this bridge, I naturally came across the question that what are the rest two of the Japan's three unusual bridges. So, I conducted investigation and learned that one is the Kintaikyo Bridge in Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. As to the other, there seem to be several assertions. Some say it is the Shinkyo Bridge in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, others say it is the Kazura Bridge in Tokushima Prefecture.

Anyway, it seems that at least the Kintaikyo Bridge is counted as one of them. This bridge has four bridge piers, and three small wooden arches connect these four piers. Another two wooden bridges connect the outer-most two piers with the banks on both sides of the river. Thus, a total of small five bridges are connected, forming one long bridge. I have ever seen this bridge on TV, but I have never visited there to see it. Some day, I want to see it.

By the way, did you know that the Kintaikyo Bridge is also called Kintai Gokyo (Kintai Five Bridges)? Did you know sake named Gokyo produced in Iwakuni City was named after this bridge?

So, my thought started at the Saru-hashi Bridge and finally came to sake! Suddenly, I wanted to drink Gokyo. Yes, yes! I really wanted to drink it while thinking of that beautiful Kintaikyo Bridge.

I went out to the liquor shop nearby and got this sake.