Welcome to the world of Doburoku! The oldest story of sake, beginning with kuchikamizake

How many young people today, when they hear the word "doburoku," immediately picture its cloudy white appearance?

This sake is rarely found in convenience stores or supermarkets, and it seems many people have never even heard its name.

In an age overflowing with choices like craft beer, highballs, natural wine, and lemon sours, doburoku might feel like something distant, tucked away in an old grandfather's cellar.

However, doburoku is the most rustic and oldest form of Japanese sake.

Long before clear refined sake, it was the "original alcohol" that the people of this country gathered around during festival nights, in prayers to the gods, and at family milestones.

This time, we'll delve into the profound world of doburoku, a world young people should know, covering everything from its origins in "kuchikami-zake" (mouth-chewed sake) to its ties with Shinto rituals and its connection to popular anime.

What exactly is Doburoku?

Doburoku is a sake made by fermenting rice, rice koji, and water, without the process of "straining." Written with the kanji "濁酒" or "濁醪," it has a thick, cloudy white appearance with rice grains and koji solids remaining.

What we commonly know as "seishu" (Japanese sake) is strained to be clear, while "doburoku" is enjoyed unstrained.

This single difference in process creates entirely different beverages.

Incidentally, commercially available "nigori-zake" (cloudy sake) and doburoku look very similar, but nigori-zake undergoes a straining process through a coarse sake bag, classifying it as "seishu" under the Liquor Tax Act.

On the other hand, unstrained doburoku is categorized as "other brewed alcoholic beverages."

Even though both are cloudy, they are legally distinct.

Its flavor is rustic and robust, a blend of the inherent sweetness of rice, a subtle sourness from the koji, and the fresh effervescence of fermentation.

It is often described as "like yogurt" or "similar to amazake," and many are surprised by how surprisingly easy it is to drink when tasted with a modern palate.

It all began with "Kuchikami-zake"

Tracing the roots of doburoku literally takes us back into the "mouth."

That is kuchikami-zake (mouth-chewed sake).

It is sake made by chewing grains like rice in the mouth, spitting it into a vessel, and allowing it to naturally ferment.

Why can this make sake? The key is an enzyme called amylase, found in saliva.

Rice starch cannot be broken down by yeast as it is.

However, if chewed in the mouth and mixed with saliva, amylase converts the starch into sugar.

Once sugar is produced, wild yeasts in the air consume the sugar and convert it into alcohol.

In other words, "human saliva" acted as the enzyme source instead of koji mold.

To make it easier to understand, one could imagine saliva playing the role of malt in modern brewing.

Surprisingly, the modern Japanese verb for "to brew sake," "kamosu," is said to originate from "kamu" (to chew).

The memory of sake brewing literally beginning with chewing still quietly lives on in the Japanese language.

The history of kuchikami-zake in the Japanese archipelago is ancient, believed to have been made as early as the late Jomon and Yayoi periods.

In an era when rice cultivation was introduced and rice was revered as an "offering to the gods," people brewed the most precious drink using the most meticulous methods.

A Sacred Cup Brewed by Shrine Maidens

And here is the most romantic part of doburoku and kuchikami-zake.

In ancient times, not just anyone could make kuchikami-zake.

Tradition has it that only miko (shrine maidens) serving at shrines were allowed to make it, preferably young, healthy, unmarried women who had never suffered from a serious illness.

There are said to be two reasons for this.

One was the belief that the mouths of healthy young women had a stable balance of bacteria, allowing for delicious sake that wasn't contaminated by unwanted microbes.

The other was the requirement that the sacred sake offered to the gods be made by a "pure being" who was untouched by defilement.

Shrine maidens, being central to Shinto rituals, were the ideal figures who satisfied both conditions.

The kuchikami-zake brewed by such shrine maidens was also known as "bijin-shu" (beautiful person's sake).

When you hear of them chewing prayers with rice, infusing it with saliva, and maturing it in jars, a mythical, almost cinematic scene comes to mind.

In Makoto Shinkai's hit film "Your Name.," there's a scene where the heroine Mitsuha, as a Miyamizu Shrine maiden, brews kuchikami-zake with her sister Yotsuha.

That wasn't merely a creation of fiction; it meticulously depicted the real ancient Japanese sake-brewing culture.

Shrine Maidens Had "Oshi" (Favorite Idols): Ancient Idol Culture?

The word "oshi" (a favorite idol or person one supports) is common today.

In fact, it is said that a similar sentiment existed in the ancient world of kuchikami-zake.

When it came to sacred sake offerings, "who chewed it" was very important.

The mere fact that it was sake chewed by "that shrine maiden from that shrine" gave it special value.

As hinted by the alternative name "bijin-shu" (beautiful person's sake), the youth, beauty, and sanctity of the chewer determined the very class of the sake.

From the perspective of the drinker, saying "I like the kuchikami-zake of that shrine maiden the best" might have been a feeling somewhat akin to modern "oshi-katsu" (activities supporting one's favorite idol).

While it was a solemn world tied to divine rituals, there was a definite human passion for "whose sake it was" hidden beneath. Thinking this way, the people from over a thousand years ago feel much closer.

However, the women who actually chewed the rice must have had a terribly hard time, as making enough sake to drink required vast quantities of rice.

Roughly speaking, to make 10L of moromi, 2kg of rice and 1kg of koji are needed.

Chewing 2kg of steamed rice until it became mush must have been incredibly strenuous work.

Kuchikami-zake in the Anime "Moyashimon"

When "kuchikami-zake" is mentioned, "Your Name." is often the first thing that comes to mind, but there's another work that fermentation enthusiasts always bring up.

That is "Moyashimon" by Masayuki Ishikawa.

It's an unusual manga and anime where the protagonist, Tadayasu Sawaki, can see microbes with his naked eye, causing a stir at a certain agricultural university in Tokyo, all while packing in surprisingly authentic knowledge about fermentation and brewing.

In this work, the character who brews kuchikami-zake is the sub-character Kaoru Misato.

He is a senior in the Faculty of Agriculture who frequents the Itsuki Lab, an insincere but lovable man who causes commotion with his partner Kawama.

He calls himself a "successor of kuchikami-zake tradition."

After failing to illegally brew sake and falling into debt, he even attempts to brew kuchikami-zake, a development only possible in manga.

What makes "Moyashimon" so excellent is how it accurately portrays the mechanism of fermentation – how starch turns into sugar, and sugar into alcohol – while incorporating humor.

Furthermore, there's an episode where "idol's kuchikami-zake" is auctioned at the university festival, connecting the ancient "bijin-shu" culture with modern idol and "oshi" culture.

Reiwa's "oshi-katsu" is an extension of shrine maiden worship.

"Moyashimon" depicts this mysterious continuity in a comical yet insightful way.

From Ritual Sake to Everyday Rural Drink: The Transformation of Doburoku

As time passed and sake brewing using koji mold became established, kuchikami-zake gradually became a special entity exclusively for Shinto rituals.

Among the sake that could be consistently produced with koji, the unstrained variety, "doburoku," took root in rural areas across the country.

Its name already appears in平安時代 (Heian period) documents, and until the Edo period, doburoku was an essential drink for farmers, who brewed it themselves and served it at life's milestones such as New Year's, Obon, Higan, festivals, weddings, funerals, and housewarming parties.

It was a "special day's drink" that connected people in the community.

A turning point came in 1899 (Meiji 32).

With the revision of the Liquor Tax Act aimed at securing tax revenue, home brewing of alcohol was completely prohibited.

As a result, the culture of casually brewing and drinking at home rapidly disappeared, and doburoku transformed into "something made by licensed sake breweries."

The biggest reason doburoku feels like a "distant entity" to the younger generation today is probably the impact of this law.

Since it was impossible to brew or drink at home for over 120 years, it was natural for the culture to fade.

Reiwa's Rediscovery of Doburoku: The Taste of Its Roots

Nevertheless, in recent years, the situation has been slowly changing.

Under a system known as "doburoku special zones," farmers in specific regions are now permitted to brew their own doburoku, leading to the revival of unique brands across the country.

Stylish doburoku that young generations can enjoy, much like craft beer or natural wine, has also been on the rise.

From sparkling varieties that fizz like champagne, to those with a tangy yogurt-like flavor, and others that emphasize the sweetness of koji, doburoku is finally making its way back to modern dining tables.

Thousands of Years of Stories in a Single Cup of Doburoku

Doburoku is not just "cloudy white sake."

It encapsulates thousands of years of stories: the Jomon and Yayoi people chewing rice, shrine maidens offering it to the gods with prayers, rural communities sharing it on festival nights, its temporary disappearance due to Meiji-era laws, and now, in the Reiwa era, its return to us. All this is condensed into that single, thick cup.

Modern doburoku stands on the extended timeline of the playfully brewed sake by Misato in "Moyashimon" and the prayerfully chewed sake by Mitsuha in "Your Name."

Next time you see the word "doburoku" somewhere, please give it a try.

Within its cloudy depths, a long, long story quietly slumbers, layered with everything from the breaths of shrine maidens to modern craft culture.

A drink that was someone else's "oshi" might just become your new "oshi."