Chobei Yamamoto

Seven with Signor Sake: Chobei Yamamoto (Yucho Shuzo, Nara) 

I’m asking seven questions to my favourite sake makers to hear their story and get their take on the centuries-old craft. 

Much like their European counterparts’ impact on beer and wine, Japanese clergymen made great strides in the development of sake. In the Nara region from the 14th to the 16th century, monks brewed sake in temples and developed techniques that form the basis of modern sake brewing.

Shoryakuji temple in Nara is one such temple. A number of key brewing advancements were documented here, which contributes to Nara’s identification as the birthplace of refined sake. One notable advancement was the Bodaimoto fermentation starter method. Even though method fell out of use in the early 20th century and was almost forgotten, it has been recently revived through the collaboration of the temple and a handful of breweries in Nara Prefecture.

They gather in early January every year at the temple to steam the rice and make a batch of the starter. One of those breweries is Yucho Shuzo, maker of the Kaze no Mori label and headed by 13th-generation owner Chobei Yamamoto. He has been a much-needed ambassador for Bodaimoto after his late father played a pivotal role in a 90s-era research group that promote sake knowledge. The result of their work cemented Nara’s historical significance, essentially establishing a local designation. 

Despite the historical richness of the area, Chobei is a pioneer at heart with the future generations firmly in mind and an unwillingness to let the past hold him back. He believes that they must revolutionise sake brewing today just like his ancestors did centuries ago. 

Q1: You’re located in Nara, where the ancient Bodaimoto method originates. How and when was the method revived?

Our Takacho label uses the Bodaimoto fermentation starter that was first made at Shoryakuji Temple and has a very strong historical background. As you may already know, the starter name originates from the Mount Bodai where Shorakuji Temple sits. From the mid-Edo period (1700s) onwards sake was being made in winter—before that, it took place in summer. Bodaimoto fell out of popular use until recently. 

“The technique, which was once almost forgotten, has now gained recognition in Japan, and the number of breweries using it has increased.”

However, since it’s a special starter with origins in Nara, my fathers' generation set up a group in 1996 called the Nara Prefecture Bodaimoto Sake Production Study Group and started a project to begin sake production again at the temple. This led to Bodhizan Shoryakuji obtaining a licence to use the starter, and production started around 1999. The technique, which was once almost forgotten, has now gained recognition in Japan, and the number of breweries using it has increased. I think that the role of the study group was quite significant.

The key point that makes the starter different from others is that raw rice is soaked in the spring water from the Shorakuji Temple before steaming. By soaking it, lactic acid fermentation takes place, and in two days it produces sour water (soyashi-mizu), which is then used to make the starter. Researcher found a special lactic acid bacteria (Shoraiji) in the water of this Shorakuji. The Bodaimoto method is unique in that soyashi-mizu is made in advance, and is used to make the starter to prevent bacterial contamination. This is a little like the modern sokujo method where lactic acid is added. At the same time, it is also similar to Kimoto and Yamahai methods in the sense that it utilises wild lactic acid bacteria.

Q2. Can you tell us about your labels and the concepts behind them?

We can broadly divide our labels into the three categories: Kaze no Mori, Mizuhata and Takacho. Mizuhana and Takacho explore classical techniques, while Kaze no Mori combines modern techniques to create sake that can only be expressed today. We want to pass these down to the next generation.

“‘Mizuhana’ which we launched in 2021, explores the traditional techniques of Nara by brewing in ceramic jars.”

The Kaze no Mori brand was started by my father in 1998. Since the brand's inception, it has been unfiltered, unpasteurised and undiluted sake—in short, freshly pressed sake. The concept is to use the same No.7 yeast to express various polishing ratios of mainly Akitsuho and Tsuyuhakaze rice varieties that are locally contract-cultivated. The Kaze no Mori ALPHA series uses traditional Nara Bodaimoto techniques and combines it with modern innovative technology to create a new Kaze no Mori style. The Bodaimoto yeast used in Kaze no Mori ALPHA is made in the Yucho brewery using the Shorakuji lactic acid bacteria found at Shorakuji Temple. 

‘Mizuhana' which we launched in 2021, explores the traditional techniques of Nara by brewing in ceramic jars. 'Mizuhana' means ‘the beginning’ in old Japanese. It was created from the process of asking ourselves what our mission is as brewers who have been brewing sake since 1719. With Mizuhana, we have decided to trace the origins of modern sake brewing technology. Through its brand message, 'a forgotten technique from ancient Nara, reproduced by modern brewers with the help of documents from that time,’ we aim to offer drinkers a taste of the depths of sake history, as well as a profound, penetrating taste that can be enjoyed by all senses. 

Last but not least, the Takacho label is a cultural project, using the fermentation starter made at Shoryakuji Temple on Mount Bodai in Nara. 

Q3: One of my favourite drinks is your aged Takacho. How do you age it and what have you learnt from ageing sake?

In terms of ageing, the first thing to consider is the design philosophy of the maker: whether the sake was made with the intention of ageing it, or whether it was intended to be drunk fresh. It may be possible to age sake with a certain amount of fruity or floral aromatics—a modern favourite—by storing it at a very low temperature, perhaps 0-5°C or below zero, for a long time. But this is something that the industry is still exploring. 

“As expected, the quality is sufficiently good to withstand long-term ageing, and even after five to ten years of ageing at room temperature, you can still enjoy the richness.”

This is because, sake has been consumed as a blend of fresh and aged sake, rather than being aged for a long period of time. There wasn’t much sake made with long-term maturity in mind. On the other hand, there are some, such as our Takacho series, which we intentionally age from the very start. In order to ensure that the expression of it can be enjoyed even after maturing, the acidity produced by the lactic acid bacteria and yeast is high and the rice is well dissolved to give it a lot of sweetness from the rice, which can simply be described as sweet and sour. It’s my own experience that sweet and sour sake can easily withstand long-term ageing.

When I first had sherry, I preferred sweet matured sherry over dry matured sherry. I’m a little conscious of this, and also aware that people in the Muromachi period drank this kind of sweet and sour sake without ageing it. A very small amount of Takacho is also matured at room temperature in ceramic jars. As expected, the quality is sufficiently good to withstand long-term ageing, and even after five to ten years of ageing at room temperature, you can enjoy the richness.

The contact with the air is completely different between maturing in stainless steel tanks than earthen jars or pots; maturing in a jar or pot allows for faster maturation and greater changes in flavour. We believe it has the potential to be more appealing.

Q4: How do you keep your Kaze no Mori (Wind of the Woods) releases so fresh?

In terms of maturing, the Kaze no Mori series, including ALPHA, is made with the opposite approach to the Takacho series. It’s not pasteurised at all, so the flavour of the sake can change rapidly. If you compare it to a flower, Kaze no Mori is like a bud in its newborn state. When it’s first born, it’s like a hard bud. Over time, the buds open more and more. We want the customer to have the drink in their hands during the bud state. After they open the bottle, the flower blooms, disperses, and becomes just the stem. I want to show all expressions.

“If you compare it to a flower, Kaze no Mori is like a bud in its newborn state.”

If we sell sake that has already blossomed in the brewery to the liquor store for delivery to the drinker, they will only be able to enjoy the taste in its blossomed state not in all the different states. We are conscious of providing our customers with a drink that is as fresh as possible, with minimal changes in flavour after pressing.

We maintain the bud state of the sake by avoiding contact with oxygen as much as possible during the production process. In order to slow down the rate at which the buds open up during the process up to bottling, oxidation must be firmly in check. To do this, we use a bottling device of my own design, which uses nitrogen gas to expel air from the bottle before we add the liquid. Also, the pressing machine is on the second floor, so we don't have to pump the sake far; we just drop the pressed sake (from the third floor) using gravity, so we can catch the sake gently. By doing various things like this, we reduce the risk of oxidation and with low temperature conditions, we can provide our customers with sake in a bud-state condition.

Q5: Louis Pasteur is widely credited as discovering pasteurisation in the 19th century but ancient documents show that it was in fact a common practice in Japan long before that. Can you elaborate on that?

There’s a description of sake making in the Tamonin Diary, dated from the Muromachi period (1336-1573) written by a monk at Kofukuji Temple. In it, there’s a description of sake being pasteurised and stored in barrels. This was in June of the 11th year of Eiroku, so it is thought to be in the 1560s. This is the first written mention of pasteurisation. However, it’s said that the temperature of pasteurisation at this time was probably lower than the 63°C discovered by Louis Pasteur. Pasteur found that microbiological enzymes were completely inactivated at that temperature, increasing stability. At that time, temple monks would measure the temperature by putting their hands into the kettle heating the sake, so it was not precisely 63 degrees Celsius. However, there’s no doubt that they found that heating stabilises sake.

“There were different types of pasteurisation, with “light pasteurisation” for local distribution, and “hot pasteurisation” for sake to be transported as far away as Tokyo.”

Pasteurisation is quite profound, and even in the Edo period (1603-1867) there were still no thermometers, which is documented in the Doumo Sake Brewer's Chronicle. There were different types of pasteurisation, with “light pasteurisation” for local distribution, and “hot pasteurisation” for sake to be transported as far away as Tokyo. It seems that they did something unique in the Edo period, changing the temperature according to the destination.

Q6: There’s been a resurgence of brewers using cedar barrels. Why have you decided to stick to steel tanks despite cedar tanks being so closely linked to the story and success of brewer monks in Nara?

The reason we make sake by fusing Nara's traditional techniques with modern, avant-garde ones is because Nara is the place where the explosive evolution of sake making in temples 500 years ago took place. And we believe that we can change something today that will become the standard again in the future. I believe that boldly taking up the challenge of doing something that can only be done now will also become a tradition. We want to create using the best techniques and methods available to us today, without being bound by the past, with the future generations firmly in mind. Today, research into micro-organisms is advanced, so we want to make sake by altering the workings of micro-organisms through precise temperature control.

“The wooden vat was born roughly around 1590, according to the third volume of the Tamonin Diary.”

The wooden vat was born roughly around 1590, according to the third volume of the Tamonin Diary. It describes the first sake brewing using wooden vats in Nara. During this period, the precision of wood processing increased and it became possible to successfully combine large parts. Wooden vats were created by carefully processing the wood (the material of the time) in search of even larger fermentation vessels to increase productivity. This enabled the mass production of sake. Prior to this, sake was made in jars which had the capacity of around three koku (180 litres). In today's terms, the capacity is around 300-400 litres. In 2021, we revived sake brewing using jars under the brand name 'Mizuhata', using a recipe from the Tamonin Diary.

The number of breweries using wooden vats to make sake has increased rapidly in recent years. However, as we are based in Nara, where sake was brewed in jars in temples during the Muromachi period (1336 to 1392), it’s jar-brewing rather than wooden vat-brewing that intrigues me. By brewing in the most classic jar for the Mizuhata label, we are trying to recreate a forgotten technique in this world and see if we can apply the knowledge we gain from this to modern sake brewing at Kaze no Mori. And we want to aim for sustainable sake brewing. I want to build a brewing mechanism here that my children and grandchildren can be confident in as a sake brewery in Nara.

Q7: There’s a lot of controversy whether we should even be adopting wine terms for sake. Can ‘terroir’ an expression of time and place exist in the sake world like it does with wine? 

If sake brewing were to be described in terms of terroir, it would be a fusion of the regional characteristics of the rice growing area and the individuality of the brewery where the brewing water is located.

“Sake is truly a multiplication of the individuality of the rice and the brewing water.”

The basic premise is that sake has different raw materials to wine. There’s one raw material that is used more than rice: the brewing water. Since the main ingredient of sake is grain, it’s possible to make sake using rice from the region where the brewery is located. At the same time, it’s also possible to choose rice from a different region.

Rice from different regions is still brewed with water unique to the brewery. Sake is truly a multiplication of the individuality of the rice and the brewing water. Therefore, it’s a mistake to say that a brewery can’t express its terroir because it uses rice from a different region.

Using rice produced in other regions in sake brewing dates back to Nara period (710–784). Here’s the proof. There was a brewery within the government at the time, and a wooden memo, called mokkan, was excavated from a groove near the government brewery. There are many interesting things written there. For example, there’s a cargo note for sake rice from Owari Province. Owari is now Aichi Prefecture.

This means that Nara has been using rice from all over the country to make sake for 1,300 years, and making sake using local water that can only be obtained in the region. This is, after all, different from wine-making.

Sake-making is a fusion of the regional characteristics of the rice growing area and the individuality of the brewery where the water is sourced. 

FAVOURITE SAKE

Takacho ‘Regal Hawk’ Bodaimoto Unpasteurised

Although this is not categorised as a specialty sweet style, it’s definitely sweet but also sour with lots of complexity that makes it very drinkable. It’s silky and voluptuous with notes of pear, fennel, raisin, vanilla and shiitake mushroom. Drink at a range of temperatures to discover its chameleon-like character.

It’s made with the ancient Bodaimoto fermentation starter method developed by monks in Nara, which builds lactic acid bacteria naturally, creating a defence mechanism to ward off unfavourable microorganisms. The starter for Takacho is in fact made right at the temple where the recipe originates, and then it’s transported back to the brewery to the main fermentation tank. 

Rice type: Hinohikari
Polished to: 70%
Yeast: Natural
ABV: 17%
Grade: Junmai
Subcategory: unpasteurised
Style: Sweet & Sour
Amino acidity: 2.0
Nihonshudo: -30