Mami Wakabayashi gets back to her roots as toji of Moon Bloom Sake.
There areseveral potential origin storiesabout the Japanese word for master sake beer maker : toji . While some consider that the term comes from names of the ancient Chinese gods of alcoholic beverage , Yi Ti and Du Kang , others argue that the condition originates from the Japanese Son for Shinto priests tasked with making their shrine ’s sacredsake .
But , the most rife theory , cognise as the Toji possibility , argues that the term issue forth from the ancient Nipponese intelligence for housewife , tonushi . The Toji theory line up with what historiographer have long known about sake in ancient Japan — century before it became a male person - rule craft and manufacture , sake - brewing was originally the domain of women .
Moon Bloom Sake , a new woman - brewed and woman - owned interest brand founded by entrepreneurs Ruriko Yamada and Shana Atwood , aims to honor that history with its trade sake brewed by 5th propagation tojiMami Wakabayashi , the first woman toji to preside over the 120 - yr - oldWakabayashi Breweryin Nagano , Japan .
Mami Wakabayashi|Photo courtesy of Moon Bloom
“ There are very few charwoman tojis , ” Wakabayashi says . “ It used to be that , for a period of time of time , woman were n’t allowed in sake breweries . But now , there are more and more cleaning lady tojis . ”
Wakabayashi is proper . While record of prehistorical Japan show women brewing sake as betimes as 500 - 1000 B.C. , the drill was ban for woman in Japan ’s Edo period in the 1600s when breweries started mass produce sake .
According to theSake Times , breweries during the Edo catamenia had a host of antediluvian reasons for the wholesale Bachelor of Arts in Nursing — chief among them was the false argument that flow women produced poisons that would interrupt the unrest process . These case of limitation were gradually rolled back in the 1900s with the industrialization of sake brewing , but the essence linger . Today , out of 1,500 licenced interest brewery in Japan , only 50 are melt down by women .
Wakabayashi ’s way to becoming the first woman toji of her family ’s brewery was unconventional . When she graduate mellow school , she left her home in Nagano to attend university inTokyo , where she bulge a career in travel , then fashion . For Wakabayashi , her family ’s sake business was the last thing on her mind . But it was n’t until she studied abroad in New Zealand and the United States that she begin to think about its importance .
“ the great unwashed would ask me what my family did and when I told multitude that my family line were sake beer maker , they became really interested , ” she recalls . “ But I did n’t have intercourse anything about the commercial enterprise . I was embarrassed , but at the same time , it was the first clock time that I realized that my family ’s business , interest brewing , was an crucial symbol of Nipponese heritage and culture . ”
In 2013 , Wakabayashi ’s parents broke the word to her and her baby that they were thinking of closing down the family brewery , so she sprung to activity . That year , she prompt back home and began an apprenticeship under award - advance toji Masaru Nishizawa at the Shinshumeijo Brewery . She studied sake for three years .
Photo courtesy of Moon Bloom
For her , it was an gentle decision . “ My parents were unquestionably surprised and felicitous , ” she express joy . “ I did n’t give it much thought . I just thought , ‘ What a waste , ’ so I came home . ”
By hazard , five years after , Wakabayashi ’s chronicle caught the eye of Los Angeles - base enterpriser , Ruriko Yamada , who read about her journey to become the Wakabayashi Brewery ’s first woman toji in a magazine found at her parents ’ theater in Nagasaki . Yamada had also returned to Japan after nearly two X in the U.S. manner industry to take over her family ’s business .
In Wakabayashi , she insure a reflection of herself — a determined Japanese woman compelled to revert home to deliver her family ’s legacy . “ I had always desire to do something related to my culture and background , ” Yamada say . “ I did not roll in the hay her , but I immediately baffle into liaison with her . ”
Moon Bloom Sake
After that , Yamada enounce , it all happened organically . Shana Atwood , Yamada ’s longtime co-worker in the style industry and a sake partisan , boarded the speculation after savor Wakabayashi ’s saki , and in 2020 , the two plunge Moon Bloom Sake , named after the brewery ’s signature sake brew , Tsuki - yoshino .
The mark has since released two bottle of Wakabayashi ’s sake : theYamahai — a rich , milky sake with a yoghourt - similar gustatory sensation — and theJunmai Ginjo Genchu — a crisp , light sake with citrus notes . This yr , they ’re launching a new nursing bottle , the Junmai Daiginjo , which Yamada says is the “ high storey ” of rice beer they ’ve ever imported .
consort to Wakabayashi , there are four elements that can make or break the flavor of sake : the rice , the polish of the rice , the barm culture , and the temperature of the ferment process . Wakabayashi takes pride in the fact that all of Moon Bloom ’s rice beer is brewed with a local style , made in lowly batches with rice and mountain pee find in the Nagano prefecture , fermented for a calendar month at a low temperature , then pressed using a labor - intensive traditional rice beer insistency . The result is a saki that reflects Nagano as a whole .
“ Nagano sake is known for being sweeter and more redolent than other prefectures ’ sake , ” Wakabayashi explains . “ Originally , our rice beer was only enjoy by locals near our brewery , but now , thanks to [ Moon Bloom ] , others can delight it . ”
For Yamada and Atwood , it was crucial for Moon Bloom ’s labels to be in English and accessible forcustomers stateside . “ There are so many Nipponese saki [ sell in the U.S. ] but the recording label are all in Nipponese characters , ” Yamada say . “ I want to do something unlike . ” They want their customers to fully appreciate the nuances of Wakabayashi ’s sake , from the flavor notes to her personal journey to becoming the first woman toji of her family ’s brewery .
Moon Bloom has a big year out front . Atwood says that she ’s hope to submit its coming Daiginjo nursing bottle to sake competitions , as well as expand their brand ’s reach beyond California and Nevada . She hope that the brand give Wakabayashi a market outdoors of Japan , and the revenue to continue her family ’s brewing business sector for years to get along .
“ We ’re just a chemical group of the great unwashed that love sake , ” Atwood says . “ And all of us are here because of Mami and we want to introduce her rice beer to as many people as possible . ”
But , even with their big breathing in , at its core , Moon Bloom will always stay a fair sex - owned , woman - brewed foxiness sake brand — a solemnization of women brewers like Wakabayashi .
“ Hopefully , this will grow . Then again , [ Moon Bloom ] is n’t give-up the ghost to be a mass grow intersection , ” Yamada say . “ Even if we succeed , we will always remain a small craft rice beer make . ”
