Surrounded by mountains and crossed by the tumultuous turquoise waters of the Kuma River, Hitoyoshi looks like a postcard of a timeless rural Japan. However, the city of 86,000 inhabitants located in the Kumamoto prefecture (southwest of Japan) is experiencing a deep crisis. In the midst of reconstruction after the violent floods of 2020, it is fighting for the survival of its 27 shōchū distillers. Everyone suffers from the decrease in consumption of this alcohol made here with rice and in other places with sweet potato, barley or even buckwheat. Nationally, production was only 368.5 million liters in 2022, compared to 497.5 million in 2012. “Young people don’t drink it anymore. Our clients are getting older. “They are all over 40 years old.” deplores Seiichi Fukano, seventh generation producer of the Fukano house.
Started after a peak in consumption in the 2000s, the current crisis threatens an ancient activity, whose origins date back to the 15th century.my century in the then independent kingdom of Ryūkyū (now Okinawa Prefecture). In 1546, the Portuguese merchant Jorge Álvarez already mentioned a “Rice-based spirits in the Yamagawa region”, or the current city of Ibusuki, in Kagoshima prefecture (southwest). At that time we were still not talking about shōchū, but about arrak. The first written mention of the “shōchū” ideograms dates back to 1559 at the Koriyama Hachiman temple in Isa, north of Kagoshima.
Rice was the first basic ingredient of shōchū. Sweet potatoes, barley and buckwheat appeared later, especially in regions such as Kagoshima, where the volcanic lands are not suitable for growing rice. Today, 85% of Japanese shōchūs are made with sweet potatoes or barley. Only 6.2% is produced from rice. As in Hitoyoshi, where the production of shōchū – protected by the Kuma shōchū geographical indication – dates back to before the Edo period (1603-1868), according to Fumihito Shimoda, a great educator and patron of the Yamatoichi house. His kura (generic name for sake or shōchū breweries) was submerged in 2020. “I almost quit” The producer acknowledges that he rebuilt everything with rope and pulley systems to prevent the submersion of the kame, these large jars where the shōchū ages.
Mixologist cocktails and visits to distilleries.
To survive, Fumihito Shimoda, like the entire profession, strives to find new markets, in East Asia, but also and above all in the United States and Europe. The efforts are supported by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, the tax agency and the Japan Foreign Trade Organization, which launched a promotional site featuring cocktails created by nine Los Angeles bartenders.
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