Pouring Silence: Sake, the Voice of the Season

Pouring Silence: Sake, the Voice of the Season

As night falls, the moon is reflected in a single cup.
It's not just alcohol.
Rice, water, and the invisible activities of life fluctuate with the voices of the seasons.

Sake is a poem brewed by the Japanese climate.
In spring, cloudy flowers bloom, and in summer, cool sake carries the breeze.
In autumn, chilled sake ripens, and in winter, warm sake relaxes the soul.
All of this is a dialogue between nature and people,
It is also a ritual to savor the "stillness that exists here and now."

If Western wine is "memory of fruit,"
Sake is the "memory of water."
Transparent, soft, and leaves room.
It's as if it gently embraces emotions that cannot be put into words.

The Toji is both a poet and a philosopher.
They listen to the rice, they talk to the water,
Listening to the whispers of microorganisms,
The sake embodies the spirit of the season.

And the drinker also becomes a poet.
The moment you bring the sake cup to your mouth,
The seasons that have passed and the scenery that I have yet to see,
It sways quietly deep in my chest.

Sake is a cultural heritage of drinking.
It is a blessing and a prayer,
It's like an invisible river that flows between people.

Every drop you pour tonight
It may contain the melting snow on distant mountains and the ripples of rice fields.
That's why sake is not just for getting drunk,
It is meant to allow you to savor the "afterglow of being alive."