For years, the Japanese sake (ๆฅๆฌ้ ; nihonshu, rice wine) market has fought to stay alive. Declining sales left sake breweries scrambling to find new selling strategies.
Now, however, sake appears to be enjoying a renaissance thanks to its popularity outside of Japan. Here’s why sake is more popular than ever among tourists and overseas buyers – and why the boom is leading Japan to request the world recognize nihonshu as part of its cultural heritage.
Sake’s declining popularity in Japan
Rice wine has a long and venerable history in Japan. Early versions of the drink date back to the country’s Yayoi period (10BCE-3BCE). The first-recorded mention of modern sake dates to around 500CE. Japan’s oldest sake brewery, Sudouhon, has been operating since 1186.
However, it’s been rough times for sake brewers in Japan for the past 40 years or so. Back in the 1960s, an estimated 91% of adults drank sake. Consumption peaked in 1990 thanks to Japan’s booming economy.
But then the bubble burst. As Japan’s economy declined, so did the taste for sake. As of 2020, only 65% of adults drank nihonshu. Among people who drink, whisky and wine are enjoying booming popularity.
However, another cause of the decline is that people just aren’t drinking. Japan’s young are drinking less than they used to. (And when they do drink, it tends not to be sake.) Surveys by Japan’s government also show that many people are trying to drink less to improve their health. Brewers have increased their non-alcoholic options in recent years to cater to this growing market.
As a result, sake brewers have been hard-hit. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of breweries declined from 1,977 to 1,405. That means an average of 2.9 brewers closed every month during a 16-year period.
Why sake is booming abroad
It isn’t all doom and gloom, however.
Japanese alcohol has grown in popularity abroad. Japanese whisky has been so popular for the past decade that manufacturers like Suntory have struggled with shortages that have caused the price of their premium offerings to skyrocket.
Sake is enjoying a similar boom – both among tourists to Japan as well as abroad. In fact, as consumption of sake locally has plummeted from 550,000 liters/year in 2014 to around 400,000 in 2022, consumption abroad skyrocketed. Sales of sake in world markets went from 10 million yen (USD $64.6M) in 2014 to 40 billion yen (USD $258.6M) last year.
Who’s drinking sake? Most of the consumption is in China, followed next by America and then Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore. Most of these countries set records for imports of Japanese sake last year. The upper class of Asian countries has particularly taken to drinking high-end sakes.
Part of what’s driving the boom is a growing awareness of sake driven by the spike in Japanese restaurants abroad. The number of Japanese restaurants outside of Japan grew from around 55,00 in 2013 to 118,000 in 2017.
This growing reputation is reflected in surveys of tourists as well. Sake comes in second only to Japanese beer as the most requested drink among foreign tourists, according to one survey. Another survey found that 80% of foreign tourists had tried sake while in Japan, which piqued their interest in and appreciation for the beverage.
Making alcohol part of Japan’s intangible cultural heritage
Japan’s government is seeking to capitalize on this new booming popularity. This week, Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs announced that UNESCO plans to designate a number ofย Japanese alcoholic drinksย – including sake, shochu (a distilled spirit), and awamori (a distilled drink native to Okinawa) – as part of Japan’s intangible cultural heritage. The Agency expects the body will formally grant the designation next month at its meeting in Paraguay.
Japan selected its traditional alcoholic drinks as part of its intangible cultural heritage back in 2021. in 2022, it made a request to UNESCO to receive a formal designation.
Most local brewers seem thrilled about the news. They’re hoping that the announcement helps lead to a boom in sake drinking locally, reversing a decades-long decline. Here’s hoping for the breweries – some of which have handed down their practices for hundreds of years – that this wish becomes reality.
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ใๅ้ฃใใซ็ถใโฆโฆไผ็ตฑ็้ ้ ใใโ็กๅฝขๆๅ้บ็ฃโใธใๅๅฎใ่ฟฝใ้ขจใใฉใใชๅนๆใ๏ผใใๆฅๆฌ้ ใ่ผธๅบ้กใฏ10ๅนดใง4ๅใซ. NTV
๏ฝขSAKE๏ฝฃไธ็ใ่ฉไพกใ่ผธๅบ3ๅนดใง1.7ๅใ็กๅฝขๆๅ้บ็ฃใธ. Nikkei
ใชใๆฅๆฌ้ ใฏๆตทๅคใงๅฅฝใพใใใใใซใชใฃใใฎใ๏ผ่ผธๅบๅขๅ ใฎ่ๆฏใใ่ผธๅบใฎ้ใฎๆณจๆ็นใซใคใใฆ่งฃ่ชฌ. FBGM
ๅฅๅบทๅฟๅใไบบๅฃๆธโฆๆฅๆฌใฎ้ ๆถ่ฒป้ใฏๅฐๆฅใๆธๅฐ๏ผ็ตๆธๅญฆใฎ่ฆ็นใงๅฐ้ๅฎถใๅๆ. Asahi Globe
้ ่ตๆฐใฎๆธๅฐ. Cabinet Office of Japan
ๅคๅฝไบบใๆฅๆฌใง้ฃฒใฟใใใ้ ๏ผใซใฏใคในในใฟใใใซ่ใใใๅฎ้ใซไบบๆฐใฎใ้ ใใ็ดนไป. Nandemo Sake
้ ่ตใป้ ้ ใใขใผใฏๅคๅฝไบบ่ฆณๅ ๅฎขใซไบบๆฐ๏ผๆฅๆฌ้ ใไฝฟใฃใใคใณใใฆใณใๅฏพ็ญใจใฏ. WorldMenu
