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dolls
outfit-
ted in ancient
armor,
soaking in bathwater with iris stalks
(shobuyu), and drinking sake contain-
ing iris petals (shobuzake).
Summer
Natsugoshi-no-sake (June 30th)
This sake is drunk on the last day of
June to wash away the impurities that
have accumulated during the first half
of the year. Having finished plant-
ing their rice fields, farmers in Japan
traditionally take a break at this time
of the year. They drink sake wishing
for a gentle summer and bountiful fall
harvest.
Choyo-no-sekku, “Chrysanthemum
Festival ” (September 9th)
In China, where this festival origi-
nated, it was believed that climbing
to high ground and drinking chry-
santhemum wine on
this day would keep one free
from calamity. Although in
Japan this tradition is no
longer observed, the
custom of drinking
sake garnished with
a chrysanthemum
blossom still lives
on.
Autumn
National Sake Day (Oc-
tober 1st)
The twelve signs of the
Chinese zodiac, each repre-
senting an animal, were tradition-
ally used in Japan to signify the
twelve months of the year. The
tenth symbol, the tori, or chicken,
stood for the month of October. The
written character assigned to this an-
imal was originally made to resemble
a jar and was also used to indicate the
word “sake.” October is also the month
when rice is harvested and when sake
brewing begins, hence the first of the
month was designated National Sake
Day in 1978.
Winter
Toso (January 1st)
Members of the family customarily
gather together, wish one another a
happy New Year, and then drink a
special sake called toso.
Coming of age day (Second Mon-
day in January)
The legal drinking age in Japan is
twenty. Once a person turns twenty, he
or she is considered an adult and can
drink sake. Coming of Age Day traces
its roots back to the ancient ceremony
known as genpuku. On this occa-
sion the sons of nobles or samurais
between the ages of 11 and 17 were
given
their first adult clothing, hairstyle, and
name to mark their passage into adult-
hood. Today people celebrate this day
with Japanese sake.
Yukimizake
Drinking sake while gazing upon an in-
spiring snowy landscape is an elegant
custom believed to date back to the
tenth century.
Drinking sake on New Year’s was
believed to drive away impurities and
keep one out of harm’s way. Peaches,
irises and chrysanthemums were
also thought to possess the power to
drive away misfortune. Drinking sake
infused with their ethereal powers was
believed to boost one’s physical well-
being and vitality. The different kinds
of sake consumed on these occasions
were and still are Japan’s taste of the
seasons.