Hello, everyone. I’m Miyu Matsuzaki, 2021 Miss SAKE.
The other day, we visited Sake Museum (Hakushika Memorial Museum of Sake) located in Nishinomiya-go（present-day Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture）,
one of the five areas of Nada Gogo, the largest sake brewing region in Japan.
This museum is Japan’s one and only museum dedicated to sake and cherry blossom trees. The museum was established in 1982 by Tatsuuma-Honke Brewing Co. Ltd. with the aim of “passing down on the history of sake brewing as a living cultural heritage to future generations”.
Today, the museum is a public interest incorporated foundation which preserves and passes down the whole history and culture of sake brewing regardless of the brand names.
Sake Museum (Hakushika Memorial Museum of Sake)
Sake Museum consists of two buildings: Sakagura-kanand Kinen-kan.
The museum building of Sakakura-kan was built in 1869 and housed the original Tatsuuma-Honke Sake Brewery. Visitors can explore the traditional sake brewing process through watching videos, listening to the songs of sake brewing as well as challenging quizzes. As seen in the photo, visitors can take a photo in the large wooden vat!
A collaboration event with the anime “KONOSUBA-God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!-” is currently held at the museum. This event features a riddle game (Japanese only) related to sake which can be enjoyed with the Konosuba characters. Also featured is an original narration of Aqua
(voice actress: Sora Amamiya, Japanese only) explaining the sake brewing in the Nada region.
At the museum, not only adults but also children and can enjoy and learn the traditional sake brewing through various activities and events. This is a perfect place to go on a social studies field trip and to do a research assignment.
Besides, there is a special exhibition room where actual sake brewing tools damaged by the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995 are displayed. Those tools were preserved as the memory of the earthquake for the local community.
On the other hand, the Kinen-kan has three exhibition rooms: the Planned Exhibition Room, the Sake Reference Room and the Sasabe Sakura Reference Room. At the Planned Exhibition Room, various exhibitions are held according to the season presenting a variety of works of art and dolls of the seasonal festivals from the collection of the sake brewing Tatsuuma family. Materials related to the deity Ebisu who is enshrined at
nearby Shinto shrine Nishinomiya Jinja and local materials from Horiuchi Ebisu Collection are also featured.
At the Sake Reference Room, exhibitions related to sake are held twice a year. A variety of materials are selected in adherence with the theme and are chosen from historical documents, photos, Japanese paintings, and sake vessels.
Through various exhibitions which are held according to the season, you’ll be able to discover something new every time you visit the museum.
After learning about sake brewing, you can take a break and enjoy a meal in Hakushika Classics Restaurant which is located right next to the museum.
With the aim of registering sake and other Japanese alcoholic beverages as part of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List, the National Tax Agency has allocated a supplementary budget for 2021 (for the promotion of the alcoholic beverage industry) and has set out guidelines for holding symposiums and other events to build momentum.
Sake as a living cultural heritage is expected to attract more and more attention in the future. Miss SAKE is committed to working together with Sake Museum to preserve and pass down the culture of sake, and to contribute to the prosperity of this culture.
We would like to thank Mr. Kenji Tatsuma, Chairman of the Sake Museum (Hakushika Memorial Museum of Sake), and Ms. Sawa Danjōbara, Director of the Museum, for taking the time to show us around and introduce the Museum.
2021 Miss SAKE
Miyu Matsuzaki
