Editing Sake (section)

==History==
[[File:Pair of Sake Flasks Momoyama Period Yale University Art Gallery.jpg|thumb|A pair of sake flasks painted in gold and black [[lacquer]]. [[Azuchi–Momoyama period|Momoyama period]], 16th century.]]

=== Until the Kamakura period ===
The origin of sake is unclear; however, the method of fermenting rice into alcohol spread to Japan from China around 500BCE.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-01-07 |title=The History of Japanese Sake {{!}} JSS |url=https://japansake.or.jp/sake/en/basic/japanese-sake-history/ |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association {{!}} JSS |language=ja}}</ref> The earliest reference to the use of alcohol in Japan is recorded in the ''[[Book of Wei]]'' in the ''[[Records of the Three Kingdoms]]''. This 3rd-century Chinese text speaks of Japanese drinking and dancing.<ref name="EB">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/sake|title=sake {{!}} alcoholic beverage|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-03-09|language=en}}</ref>

{{nihongo|Alcoholic beverages|酒|sake}} are mentioned several times in the {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Kojiki]]}}, Japan's first written history, which was compiled in 712. Bamforth (2005) places the probable origin of true sake (which is made from rice, water, and {{Nihongo3|''[[Aspergillus oryzae]]''|麹|[[Kōji (food)|Kōji]]}}) in the [[Nara period]] (710–794).<ref name="ivan1964">{{cite book |last=Morris |first=Ivan |year=1964 |title=The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan|url=https://archive.org/details/worldofshining00morr |url-access=registration |publisher=New York: Knopf }}</ref> The fermented food fungi traditionally used for making alcoholic beverages in China and Korea for a long time were fungi belonging to ''[[Rhizopus]]'' and ''[[Mucor]]'', whereas in Japan, except in the early days, the fermented food fungus used for sake brewing was ''Aspergillus oryzae''.<ref name="jabba">{{cite web|url=https://katosei.jsbba.or.jp/view_html.php?aid=366|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204012158/https://katosei.jsbba.or.jp/view_html.php?aid=366|script-title=ja:国際的に認知される日本の国菌|language=ja|publisher=Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry|author=Eiji Ichishima|date=20 March 2015|archive-date=4 February 2021}}</ref><ref name="sbj2012">{{cite web|url=https://www.sbj.or.jp/wp-content/uploads/file/sbj/9007/9007_yomoyama_1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031014115/https://www.sbj.or.jp/wp-content/uploads/file/sbj/9007/9007_yomoyama_1.pdf|script-title=ja:麹菌物語
|language=ja|publisher=The Society for Biotechnology, Japan|author=Katsuhiko Kitamoto|page=424|date=|archive-date=31 October 2022}}</ref><ref name="matsushima210122">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jbrewsocjapan/109/9/109_643/_pdf/-char/ja|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621222449/https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jbrewsocjapan/109/9/109_643/_pdf/-char/ja|author=Kenichiro Matsushima|script-title=ja:醤油づくりと麹菌の利用ー今までとこれからー|page=643|language=ja|archive-date=21 June 2022}}</ref> Some scholars believe the Japanese domesticated the mutated, detoxified ''[[Aspergillus flavus]]'' to give rise to ''Aspergillus oryzae''.<ref name="sbj2012"/><ref name="sys131122">{{cite web|url=http://www.yeast.umin.jp/yeast-symposium21/abstract21-21.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113184903/http://www.yeast.umin.jp/yeast-symposium21/abstract21-21.pdf|script-title=ja:家畜化された微生物、麹菌 その分子細胞生物学的解析から見えてきたこと|page=2|author=Katsuhiko Kitamoto|language=ja|publisher=The Society of Yeast Scientists.|archive-date=13 November 2022}}</ref><ref name="dj101122">{{cite web|url=https://discoverjapan-web.com/article/65729|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110122008/https://discoverjapan-web.com/article/65729|script-title=ja:日本の発酵技術と歴史|language=ja|publisher=Discover Japan Inc.|author=Kiyoko Hayashi|date=19 July 2021|archive-date=10 November 2022}}</ref>

In the [[Heian period]] (794–1185), sake was used for religious ceremonies, court festivals, and drinking games.<ref name="ivan1964"/> Sake production was a government monopoly for a long time, but in the 10th century, [[Buddhist temples in Japan|Buddhist temples]] and [[Shinto shrine|Shinto shrines]] began to brew sake, and they became the main centers of production for the next 500 years.

=== Muromachi period ===
Before the 1440s in the [[Muromachi period]] (1333–1573), the Buddhist temple [[Shōryaku-ji]] invented various innovative methods for making sake. Because these production methods are the origin of the basic production methods for sake brewing today, Shoryakuji is often said to be the birthplace of {{Nihongo3||清酒|[[#Different handling after fermentation|seishu]]}}. Until then, most sake had been [[Nigori|{{tlit|ja|nigorizake}}]] with a different process from today's, but after that, clear {{tlit|ja|seishu}} was established. The main production methods established by Shōryaku-ji are the use of {{Nihongo|all polished rice|諸白造り|morohaku zukuri}}, {{Nihongo|three-stage fermentation|三段仕込み|sandan zikomi}}, {{Nihongo|brewing of starter mash using acidic water produced by lactic acid fermentation|菩提酛づくり|bodaimoto zukuri}}, and {{Nihongo|[[pasteurization]]|火入れ|hiire}}. This method of producing starter mash is called [[#Methods of preparing the starter mash|{{tlit|ja|bodaimoto}}]]. These innovations made it possible to produce sake with more stable quality than before, even in temperate regions. These things are described in {{tlit|ja|Goshu no nikki}}, the oldest known technical book on sake brewing written in 1355 or 1489, and {{tlit|ja|Tamonin nikki}}, a diary written between 1478 and 1618 by monks of [[Kōfuku-ji]] Temple in the Muromachi period.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pref.nara.jp/miryoku/ikasu-nara/seishu/shoryakuji/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011155002/https://www.pref.nara.jp/miryoku/ikasu-nara/seishu/shoryakuji/|script-title=ja:清酒発祥の地 正暦寺|language=ja|publisher=[[Nara Prefecture]]|archive-date=11 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://shoryakuji.jp/sake-birthplace.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906124314/https://shoryakuji.jp/sake-birthplace.html|script-title=ja:正暦寺、清酒発祥の歴史|language=ja|publisher= [[Shōryaku-ji]]|archive-date=6 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sakestreet.com/ja/media/interview-with-shoryakuji-about-bodaimoto|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241108140213/https://sakestreet.com/ja/media/interview-with-shoryakuji-about-bodaimoto|script-title=ja:原点を追求する営みが、長い歴史と未来をつなぐ - 奈良県・菩提山正暦寺の菩提酛づくり|language=ja|author=Kazuha Seara|publisher=Sake street|date=9 December 2020|archive-date=8 November 2024}}</ref>

A large tub with a capacity of 10 ''[[koku]]'' (1,800 liters) was invented at the end of the Muromachi period, making it possible to mass-produce sake more efficiently than before. Until then, sake had been made in jars with a capacity of 1, 2, or 3 ''koku'' at the most, and some sake brewers used to make sake by arranging 100 jars.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kikusui-sake.com/home/jp/fun/story/07-2/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706152932/https://www.kikusui-sake.com/home/jp/fun/story/07-2/|script-title=ja:第七話 十石桶が出現|language=ja|publisher=Kikusui|archive-date=6 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sakestreet.com/ja/media/history-of-sake-vessels|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526184002/https://sakestreet.com/ja/media/history-of-sake-vessels|script-title=ja:日本酒の「容器・流通イノベーション」の歴史と現在地|language=ja|publisher=Sake street|date=3 June 2020|archive-date=26 May 2022}}</ref>

In the 16th century, the technique of distillation was introduced into the Kyushu district from Ryukyu.<ref name="EB" /> The brewing of [[shōchū]], called "Imo–sake" started and was sold at the central market in [[Kyoto]].

=== Edo period ===
By the [[Genroku]] era (1688–1704) of the [[Edo period]] (1603–1867), a brewing method called {{Nihongo||柱焼酎|hashira jōchū}} was developed in which a small amount of distilled alcohol ([[shōchū]]) was added to the mash to make it more aromatic and lighter in taste, while at the same preventing deterioration in quality. This originates from the distilled alcohol addition used in modern sake brewing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jyokai.com/?p=275|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216123035/https://www.jyokai.com/?p=275|script-title=ja:九州人が日本酒復権に挑む、柱焼酎造りを復活|language=ja|publisher=Jyokai Times|date=13 July 2005|archive-date=16 December 2022}}</ref>

The [[Nada-Gogō]] area in [[Hyōgo Prefecture]], the largest producer of modern sake, was formed during this period. When the population of [[Edo]], modern-day [[Tokyo]], began to grow rapidly in the early 1600s, brewers who made sake in inland areas such as [[Fushimi-ku, Kyoto|Fushimi]], [[Itami]], and [[Ikeda, Osaka|Ikeda]] moved to the Nada-Gogō area on the coast, where the weather and water quality were perfect for brewing sake and convenient for shipping it to Edo. In the Genroku era, when the culture of the ''[[chōnin]]'' class, the common people, prospered, the consumption of sake increased rapidly, and large quantities of {{Nihongo||樽酒|[[#Different handling after fermentation|taruzake]]}} were shipped to Edo. 80% of the sake drunk in Edo during this period was from Nada-Gogō. Many of today's major sake producers, including Hakutsuru, Ōzeki, Nihonsakari, Kikumasamune, Kenbishi and [[Sawanotsuru]], are breweries in Nada-Gogō.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nippon.com/en/guide-to-japan/gu900138/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109220048/https://www.nippon.com/en/guide-to-japan/gu900138/|title=Exploring the Sake Breweries of Nada.|publisher=Nippon.com.|date=15 May 2020|archive-date=9 November 2022}}</ref> The [[#Methods of preparing the starter mash|{{tlit|ja|kimoto}}]] method, one of the traditional techniques for preparing the starter mash, was developed in the Nada during the Edo period.<ref name="ni210116">{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXKZO96334720Q6A120C1L60000/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829113652/https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXKZO96334720Q6A120C1L60000/|script-title=ja:日本酒、江戸時代の製法に　酵母加えぬ「生酛造り」|language=ja|publisher=The Nikkei|date=21 January 2016|archive-date=29 August 2024|access-date=26 April 2025}}</ref>

During this period, frequent natural disasters and bad weather caused rice shortages, and the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] issued sake brewing restrictions 61 times.<ref name="times130117">{{cite web|url=https://jp.sake-times.com/knowledge/culture/sake_g_meiji_shuzei_koshu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703110921/https://jp.sake-times.com/knowledge/culture/sake_g_meiji_shuzei_koshu|script-title=ja:政策によって姿を消した熟成古酒―明治時代における造石税と日本酒の関係|language=ja|publisher=Sake Times|date=13 January 2017|archive-date=3 July 2022}}</ref> In the early Edo period, there was a sake brewing technique called {{Nihongo||四季醸造|shiki jōzō}} that was optimized for each season. In 1667, the technique of {{Nihongo||寒造り|kanzukuri}} for making sake in winter was improved, and in 1673, when the Tokugawa shogunate banned brewing other than ''kanzukuri'' because of a shortage of rice, the technique of sake brewing in the four seasons ceased, and it became common to make sake only in winter until industrial technology began to develop in the 20th century.<ref name="lab1">{{cite web|url=https://sake-5.jp/history-of-sake-part-1/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211124316/https://sake-5.jp/history-of-sake-part-1/|script-title=ja:日本酒の歴史、起源から明治時代までの変遷を解説|language=ja|publisher=Nihonshu Lab|date=24 February 2021|archive-date=11 December 2022}}</ref> During this period, aged for three, five, or nine years, {{Nihongo||古酒|[[#Different handling after fermentation|koshu]]}} was a luxury, but its deliciousness was known to the common people.<ref name="times130117"/>

[[File:Bereiding van saké 1781.jpg|thumb|right|Title page of {{Lang|nl|Bereiding van Sacki}}, by [[Isaac Titsingh]]: earliest explanation of the sake brewing process in a European language. Published in 1781, in [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies]].]]
In the 18th century, [[Engelbert Kaempfer]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Kaempfer|first= Engelbert |year=1906 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kcsNAAAAIAAJ |title=The History of Japan |volume= I |page= 187}}</ref> and [[Isaac Titsingh]]<ref>Titsingh, Isaac. (1781). [http://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/catalog/66098?wq_sfx=lang ''"Bereiding van de Sacki"'' ("Production of Sake"), ''Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap'' (''Transactions of the Batavian Academy'').] Vol. III. {{OCLC|9752305}}</ref> published accounts identifying sake as a popular alcoholic beverage in Japan, but Titsingh was the first to try to explain and describe the process of sake brewing.  The work of both writers was widely disseminated throughout Europe at the beginning of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Morewood |first=Samuel |year=1824 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_os4GAAAAQAAJ |quote=japan sacki. |title=An Essay on the Inventions and Customs of Both Ancients and Moderns in the Use of Inebriating Liquors |publisher=Books on Demand |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_os4GAAAAQAAJ/page/n155 136]}}</ref>

=== From the Meiji era to the early Shōwa era ===
Starting around the beginning of the [[Meiji era]] (1868–1912), the technique for making sake began to develop rapidly. Breeding was actively carried out in various parts of Japan to produce [[#Rice|sake rice]] optimized for sake brewing. ''Ise Nishiki'' developed in 1860, ''Omachi'' developed in 1866 and ''Shinriki'' developed in 1877 are the earliest representative varieties. In 1923, [[Yamada Nishiki]], later called the "king of sake rice," was produced.<ref name="lab1"/> Among more than 123 varieties of sake rice as of 2019, Yamada Nishiki ranks first in production and ''Omachi'' fourth.<ref name ="nourin"/> The government opened the sake-brewing research institute in 1904, and in 1907 the first government-run sake-tasting competition was held. In 1904, the National Brewing Laboratory developed ''[[#Methods of preparing the starter mash|yamahai]]'', a new method of making starter mash, and in 1910, a further improvement, ''[[#Methods of preparing the starter mash|sokujō]]'', was developed.<ref name="lab1"/> Sake [[yeast]] strains specifically selected for their brewing properties were isolated, and enamel-coated steel tanks arrived. The government started hailing the use of enamel tanks as easy to clean, lasting forever, and devoid of bacterial problems. (The government considered wooden tubs to be unhygienic because of the potential bacteria living in the wood.) Although these things are true, the government also wanted more tax money from breweries, as using wooden tubs means a significant amount of sake is lost to evaporation (approximately 3%), which could have otherwise been taxed. This was the temporary end of the wooden-tubs age of sake, and the use of wooden tubs in brewing was temporarily eliminated.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/43735?page=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122013850/https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/43735?page=2|script-title=ja:最後の大桶職人が抱く｢木桶文化｣存続の焦燥|language=ja|publisher=[[Toyo Keizai]] Online|date=27 July 2017|archive-date=22 January 2021}}</ref>

In Japan, sake has long been taxed by the national government. In 1878, the liquor tax accounted for 12.3% of the national tax revenue, excluding local taxes, and in 1888 it was 26.4%, and in 1899 it was 38.8%, finally surpassing the land tax of 35.6%.<ref name="times130117"/> In 1899, the government banned home brewing in anticipation of financial pressure from the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] and in preparation for the [[Russo-Japanese War]]. Since home-brewed sake is tax-free, the logic was that by banning the home-brewing of sake, sales would increase, and more tax revenue would be collected. This was the end of home-brewed sake.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ruralnet.or.jp/syutyo/2002/200212.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619123714/https://www.ruralnet.or.jp/syutyo/2002/200212.htm|script-title=ja:「ドブロク」から21世紀の新しい社会を展望する|language=ja|publisher=Rural Culture Association Japan|date=December 2002|archive-date=19 June 2020}}</ref> The Meiji government adopted a system in which taxes were collected when sake was finished, instead of levying taxes on the amount and price of sake at the time of sale to ensure more revenue from liquor taxes. The liquor tax for the sake produced in a given year had to be paid to the government during that fiscal year, so the breweries tried to make money by selling the sake as soon as possible. This destroyed the market for aged {{Nihongo3|||koshu}}, which had been popular until then, and it was only in 1955 that sake breweries began to make {{Nihongo3|||koshu}} again.<ref name="times130117"/>

When [[World War II]] brought rice shortages, the sake-brewing industry was hampered as the government discouraged the use of rice for brewing. As early as the late 17th century, it had been discovered that small amounts of distilled alcohol could be added to sake before pressing to extract aromas and flavors from the rice solids. During the war, large amounts of distilled alcohol and [[glucose]] were added to small quantities of rice mash, increasing the yield by as much as four times. A few breweries were producing "sake" that contained no rice. The quality of sake during this time varied considerably. Incidentally, as of 2022, so much distilled alcohol is not allowed to be added, and under the provisions of the Liquor Tax Act, 50% of the weight of rice is the upper limit for the most inexpensive sake classified as ''[[#Special-designation sake|futsū-shu]]''.<ref name="jozo">{{cite web|url=https://tanoshiiosake.jp/8357|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626121242/https://tanoshiiosake.jp/8357|script-title=ja:「醸造アルコール」って何？ なぜ使われているの|language=ja|publisher=Tanoshii osake.com|date=7 February 2022|archive-date=26 June 2022}}</ref>

=== Since the mid-Showa era ===
After the war, the breweries gradually recovered and the quality of sake steadily improved, and there were various innovations in sake brewing. The term {{Nihongo||吟造|ginzō}}, which means carefully brewed sake, first appeared at the end of the Edo period, and the term {{Nihongo||吟醸|ginjō}}, which has the same meaning, first appeared in 1894. However, {{Nihongo||吟醸酒|[[#Special-designation sake|ginjō-shu]]}}, which is popular in the world today, was created by the development of various sake production techniques from the 1930s to around 1975. From 1930 to 1931, a new type of rice milling machine was invented, which made it possible to make rice with a polishing ratio of about 50%, removing the miscellaneous taste derived from the surface part of the rice grain to make sake with a more aromatic and refreshing taste than before. In 1936, [[Yamada Nishiki]], the most suitable sake rice for brewing ''ginjō-shu'', became the recommended variety of [[Hyogo Prefecture]]. Around 1953, the {{Nihongo|"Kyokai yeast No. 9"|協会9号酵母|kyokai kyu-gō kōbo}}, was invented, which produced fruit-like aromas like apples and bananas but also excelled in fermentation. From around 1965, more and more manufacturers began to work on the research and development of ''ginjō-shu'', and by about 1968, the Kyokai yeast No. 9 began to be used throughout Japan. In the 1970s, temperature control technology in the mash production process improved dramatically. And by slowly fermenting rice at low temperatures using high-milled rice and a newly developed sake yeast, ''ginjō-shu'' with a fruity flavor was created. At that time, ''ginjō-shu'' was a special sake exhibited at competitive exhibitions and was not on the market. From around 1975, ''ginjō-shu'' began to be marketed and was widely distributed in the 1980s, and in 1990, with the definition of what can be labeled as ''ginjō-shu'', more and more brewers began to sell ''ginjō-shu''. The growing popularity of ''ginjō-shu'' has prompted research into yeast, and many yeasts with various aromas optimized for ''ginjō-shu'' have been developed.<ref name="ginjo">{{cite web|url=https://www.gekkeikan.co.jp/enjoy/sake/industry/industry04.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521054045/https://www.gekkeikan.co.jp/enjoy/sake/industry/industry04.html|script-title=ja:「吟醸」のあゆみ 特別に吟味して醸造する酒として、長年かけ洗練|language=ja|publisher=[[Gekkeikan]]|archive-date=21 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sake-5.jp/history-of-sake-part-2/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211124322/https://sake-5.jp/history-of-sake-part-2/|script-title=ja: 日本酒の歴史、昭和から戦後を経て現代までの変遷を解説|language=ja|publisher= Nihonshu Lab|date=2 March 2021|archive-date=11 December 2022}}</ref>

In 1973, the [[National Tax Agency]]'s brewing research institute developed {{Nihongo||貴醸酒|[[#Others|kijōshu]]}}.<ref name="kijoshu"/>

New players on the scene—beer, wine, and spirits—became popular in Japan, and in the 1960s, beer consumption surpassed sake for the first time. Sake consumption continued to decrease while the quality of sake steadily improved. While the rest of the world may be drinking more sake and the quality of sake has been increasing, sake production in Japan has been declining since the mid-1970s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gauntner|first= John |year=2002 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5y7X-mfWCEIC |title=The Sake Handbook| page= 78|publisher= Tuttle |isbn= 9780804834254 }}</ref> The number of sake breweries is also declining. While there were 3,229 breweries nationwide in fiscal 1975, the number had fallen to 1,845 in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|last=Omura |first=Mika |title=Weekend: Sake breweries go with the flow to survive |url=http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200911060122.html |date=November 6, 2009 |access-date=December 29, 2009 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In recent years, exports have rapidly increased due to the growing popularity of sake worldwide. The value of sake exports in 2022 was more than six times that of 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jacom.or.jp/ryutsu/news/2023/02/230206-64508.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207170150/https://www.jacom.or.jp/ryutsu/news/2023/02/230206-64508.php|script-title=ja:日本酒輸出2022年度実績 金額・数量ともに過去最高 日本酒造組合中央会|language=ja|publisher=[[Japan Agricultural Cooperatives]]|date=6 February 2023|archive-date=7 February 2023}}</ref> As of 2022, the value of Japan's alcoholic beverage exports was approximately 139.2 billion yen, with [[Japanese whisky]] in first place at 56.1 billion yen and sake in second place at 47.5 billion yen.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/sake/yushutsu/yushutsu_tokei/pdf/0021010-203.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207165709/https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/sake/yushutsu/yushutsu_tokei/pdf/0021010-203.pdf|script-title=ja:最近の日本産酒類の輸出動向について|language=ja|publisher=[[National Tax Agency]]|date=|archive-date=7 February 2023}}</ref> Today, sake has become a world beverage with a few breweries in China, Southeast Asia, South America, North America, and Australia.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2019/05/04/food/american-based-breweries-creating-brand-sake/|title=American-based breweries are creating their own brand of sake|last=Hirano|first=Ko|date=2019-05-04|work=The Japan Times Online|access-date=2019-12-04|language=en-US|issn=0447-5763|archive-date=April 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423224228/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2019/05/04/food/american-based-breweries-creating-brand-sake/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In addition to ''Aspergillus oryzae'' (yellow ''kōji''), ''[[Aspergillus luchuensis|Aspergillus kawachii]]'' (white ''kōji'') and ''[[Aspergillus luchuensis]]'' (black ''kōji''), which are used to brew ''[[shōchū]]'' and ''[[awamori]]'', have been used to brew sake since the 21st century.<ref name="kawachii220520"/>

In 2018, [[Satake Corporation]] developed a new type of rice milling machine that allows dramatically faster and more focused milling of the long axis portion of rice, which has a high mineral content and adds a miscellaneous taste to the flavor. This has made it possible to achieve the same flavor in a ''ginjō-shu'' with a 60% polishing ratio as in a conventional ''daiginjō-shu'' with a 40% polishing ratio, and many breweries now sell sake made from flat-milled rice.<ref name = "nikkei241224">{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO59583050W0A520C2000000/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241224174302/https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO59583050W0A520C2000000/|script-title=ja: 酒米は磨かず「扁平精米」が産み出す大吟醸の味わい|language=ja|publisher=[[The Nikkei]]|date=31 May 2020|archive-date=24 December 2024}}</ref><ref name = "st041120">{{cite web|url=https://sakestreet.com/ja/media/what-is-henpei-genkei-seimai|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519165413/https://sakestreet.com/ja/media/what-is-henpei-genkei-seimai|script-title=ja:精米歩合60%でも、40%と同等の味わいを実現？ - 扁平精米、原形精米を学ぶ|language=ja|publisher=SAKE Street, Inc.|date=4 November 2020|archive-date=19 May 2024}}</ref><ref name = "st260822">{{cite web|url=https://sakestreet.com/ja/media/sake-supporters-satake-2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618030100/https://sakestreet.com/ja/media/sake-supporters-satake-2|script-title=ja:「大吟醸の次」を目指して - 精米機のパイオニア・サタケが拓く新時代の精米「真吟」に迫る(2)|language=ja|publisher=SAKE Street, Inc.|date=26 August 2022|archive-date=18 June 2024}}</ref>

More breweries are also turning to older methods of production. For example, since the 21st century, the use of wooden tubs has increased again due to the development of sanitary techniques. The use of wooden tubs for fermentation has the advantage of allowing various [[microorganism|microorganisms]] living in the wood to affect sake, allowing more complex fermentation and producing sake with different characteristics. It is also known that the antioxidants contained in wood have a positive effect on sake.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cuisine-kingdom.com/aramasa/2/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212070717/https://cuisine-kingdom.com/aramasa/2/|script-title=ja: なぜ今、【木桶】で酒を醸すのか。新政酒造が追い求める日本酒の本質|language=ja|publisher=Cuisine Kingdom|date=21 January 2022|archive-date=12 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/37114/2/1/1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215073813/https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/37114/2/1/1|script-title=ja:唯一無二の味、「木桶」が醸す日本酒の秘密|language=ja|publisher=Forbes Japan|date=27 September 2020|archive-date=15 December 2022}}</ref>

In December 2024, sake was recognized by [[UNESCO]] as an [[Intangible cultural heritage|intangible cultural heritage]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 December 2024 |title=Japan’s famous sake joins UNESCO’s cultural heritage list, a boost to brewers and enthusiasts |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/japan-sake-unesco-world-heritage-intangible-cultural-ffb84ba291342e62bf0e588729538351 |access-date=5 December 2024}}</ref>

===Oldest sake brewery===
The oldest sake brewing company still in operation, as confirmed by historical documents, is the [[Sudo Honke]] in [[Kasama, Ibaraki]], founded in 1141 during the [[Heian period]] (794–1185).<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja: 日本最古の酒蔵ベスト5！ ほか歴史の古い酒蔵は？|language=ja|url=https://allabout.co.jp/gm/gc/225336/|publisher=All About, Inc.|date=13 June 2010|archive-date=30 December 2022|access-date=5 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230024039/https://allabout.co.jp/gm/gc/225336/}}</ref> ''Sudō Honke'' was also the first sake brewery to sell both ''[[#Different handling after fermentation|namazake]]'' and ''hiyaoroshi''. ''Hiyaoroshi'' refers to sake that is finished in winter, pasteurized once in early spring, stored and aged for a little while during the summer, and shipped in the fall without being pasteurized a second time.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ja: 歴史は850年超！日本最古の酒蔵、茨城・須藤本家に行ってきました|language=ja|url=https://jp.sake-times.com/knowledge/sakagura/sake_g_sudo_ibaraki|publisher=Sake Times|date=21 December 2015|archive-date=28 May 2022|access-date=5 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528234917/https://jp.sake-times.com/knowledge/sakagura/sake_g_sudo_ibaraki}}</ref>

In terms of excavated archaeological evidence, the oldest known sake brewery is from the 15th century near an area that was owned by [[Tenryū-ji]], in [[Ukyō-ku, Kyoto]]. Unrefined sake was squeezed out at the brewery, and there are about 180 holes (60&nbsp;cm wide, 20&nbsp;cm deep) for holding storage jars. A hollow (1.8 meter wide, 1 meter deep) for a pot to collect drops of pressed sake and 14th-century [[Bizen ware]] jars were also found. It is estimated to be utilized until the [[Ōnin War]] (1467–1477). Sake was brewed at [[Tenryū-ji]] during the [[Muromachi period]] (1336–1573).<ref>{{cite web |title=Oldest sake brewery found at former temple site in Kyoto |url=http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ202001190005.html |publisher=The Asahi Shimbun |access-date=January 20, 2020 |archive-date=January 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119222931/http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ202001190005.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>