Photo/Illutration Workers mix "koji" rice with water and steamed rice at Nabedana, a sake brewer in Kozaki town, Chiba Prefecture, on Nov. 1. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Sake has fueled many joyous and commemorative occasions in Japan. Now, it has provided another reason to celebrate.

UNESCO on Dec. 4 registered the “traditional knowledge and skills of sake making with ‘koji’ mold in Japan” as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The decision to accept Japan’s proposal was made at an intergovernmental committee meeting held in Paraguay.

This brings the total number of Intangible Cultural Heritage registered from Japan to 23.

Traditional sake-making refers to the manual technique of “toji” (master brewers), “kurabito” (brewers) and other craftspeople at sake breweries who use koji, a type of mold, to make the alcoholic beverage.

The technique is called “multiple parallel fermentation,” which is rare in the world. It can produce a higher alcohol content than wine.

In this process, koji, which grows on rice or wheat, converts starch in the rice into sugar, which is then converted into alcohol by the yeast.

According to the outline proposed by Japan, the prototype of the sake-making technique using koji was established more than 500 years ago during the Muromachi Period (1336-1573).

Since then, the technique has developed in accordance with the climates of various regions of Japan, and it has been passed down through production of shochu, awamori, mirin and other products.

The UNESCO committee noted that traditional sake-making is considered a sacred gift from the gods, is essential for festivals, weddings, rites of passage, and social and cultural occasions, and is deeply rooted in Japanese culture.

The committee also registered the “Nablus” soap-making tradition in Palestine and the knowledge, beliefs and practices related to “jang”-making in South Korea as Intangible Cultural Heritage.

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