Sake
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 ginzō (吟造), which means carefully brewed sake, first appeared at the end of the Edo period, and the term ginjō (吟醸), which has the same meaning, first appeared in 1894. However, ginjō-shu (吟醸酒), 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 "Kyokai yeast No. 9" (kyokai kyu-gō kōbo, 協会9号酵母) 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 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.

In 1973, the National Tax Agency 's brewing research institute developed kijōshu (貴醸酒).

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. 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. 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. 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. Today, sake has become a world beverage with a few breweries in China, Southeast Asia, South America, North America, and Australia.

In addition to Aspergillus oryzae (yellow kōji), 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.

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 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.
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