Ichinomiya Sake Brewery Rika Asano part2

In Topics, we will deliver not only the taste of sake but also the story and thoughts behind it through interviews with the sake producers handled by the sake select shop Mirai Nihonshuten .

Continuing from last time, we interviewed Ms. Rika Asano of Ichinomiya Sake Brewery in Shimane Prefecture.
In the second installment, we will ask Ms. Asano what she has felt as a female brewer and her future prospects.

What you can do as a “Kurabito” and as a “woman”

-Among the several products you have now, I would like to ask you to list about three representative brands and tell me if you have something like "This is the sake you want to drink at such a time."

I think that the most popular "Iwami Ginzan Tokubetsu Junmai" is the standard. Rather than the so-called easy-to-drink type, I would like you to have a type of sake with a strong taste and enjoy it with food.
Junmai Ginjo is the next classier. We did well this year. It's gorgeous, but the taste of rice is strong, so we recommend this for those who want to take it as a souvenir. Of course it's good to have it with food, but it's more fragrant than special junmai, and it's beautiful, so I don't really know the taste of sake.
After that, "Special Honjozo" is a type that you can drink even if it is cold. I think it's good to have it as a warm sake and drink it normally. I think it's a versatile drink.

-thank you. I would be happy if you could talk about Junmai Daiginjo and the image and drinking scene of "Barahime".

Junmai Daiginjo has become a particularly heavy sake this year, so at first I didn't think about selling that sake alone. It's not the sort of sake that ranks high at competitions, but on the positive side, it's full of flavor and you can really feel the umami. Especially when it comes to Junmai Daiginjo.

-That means it's pure rice daiginjo, but I think it's more competitive if you pair it with meat or fatty fish rather than before meals.

I agree. As for Rose Princess, the method itself is slightly different. Originally, the undiluted sake is about 8 to 9 degrees, but the number of days of moromi itself is very short compared to other sake. It has a very strong sour taste, but it is also sweet. The balance is taken at a high point, and it's really easy to drink, like juice.
In the case of Barahime, the rose petals are soaked in the sake to bring out the color and fragrance, but the sake is also served without the roses. It's called "Angel's Kiss", but based on that, I pickled the roses using the petals.

-thank you. I think that the warehouse is relatively often a male workplace, but as a woman, do you want to be conscious of the construction and PR, and do things that are unique to women?

To be honest, until I entered this world, I never thought that I would be told how to enter this world even though I am a woman. It may be a bit unnecessary because I actually started working in the industry, but after being told many times, "So you entered this world even though you're a woman," I realized that's what it's all about. So far, until I entered, I didn't feel uncomfortable or conscious of being a woman. It was simply an image of a sake brewery successor. Right now, I'm participating in a community of female kurabito-sans, and what I really feel is that they share information down to the smallest details. They open up about the details of their brewery and exchange information, and they use social media to send messages, which is overwhelmingly more common than men. I think women are good at capturing people's hearts with words. I wish I could do that too.

- I think that "I understand the customer's feelings" is about whether or not they are close to me, but it would be nice if there was something like this from the standpoint of women, not gender differences. , Is it the product axis that it is not because you have been making it from a man's point of view? I think one answer is that men and women are basically the same, but do you have any thoughts on that?

I agree…. Sparkling is popular now, and I think there are various types. This is also the case with Rose Princess, which I mentioned earlier, but rather than my own idea, it was the president's idea, and for a long time I was focusing on sparkling and low-alcohol, easy-to-drink sake. It's been three years since I returned to the brewery, and people often ask me, "Did you come up with the idea?"

-Is that so. I also thought that Rose Princess was created after she returned.

It is often said. The president wants to get such new customers, and although it may be unnecessary because he is a man, he has a very strong desire to have women drink alcohol. I usually like Japanese sake, so I didn't really think about it. "Isn't normal sake fine?"
However, there are many customers who have made new connections because there is actually such sake. Even people who don't usually drink alcohol, but when I hear that "I can drink this," I've been able to realize that there are people who are interested in sake in this way. I would like to think about various kinds of sake that can be introduced not only to those who like sake, but also to such people.

What you can do as a “Kurabito” and as a “woman”

-Among the several products you have now, I would like to ask you to list about three representative brands and tell me if you have something like "This is the sake you want to drink at such a time."

I think that the most popular "Iwami Ginzan Tokubetsu Junmai" is the standard. Rather than the so-called easy-to-drink type, I would like you to have a type of sake with a strong taste and enjoy it with food.
Junmai Ginjo is the next classier. We did well this year. It's gorgeous, but the taste of rice is strong, so we recommend this for those who want to take it as a souvenir. Of course it's good to have it with food, but it's more fragrant than special junmai, and it's beautiful, so I don't really know the taste of sake.
After that, "Special Honjozo" is a type that you can drink even if it is cold. I think it's good to have it as a warm sake and drink it normally. I think it's a versatile drink.

-thank you. I would be happy if you could talk about Junmai Daiginjo and the image and drinking scene of "Barahime".

Junmai Daiginjo has become a particularly heavy sake this year, so at first I didn't think about selling that sake alone. It's not the sort of sake that ranks high at competitions, but on the positive side, it's full of flavor and you can really feel the umami. Especially when it comes to Junmai Daiginjo.

-That means it's pure rice daiginjo, but I think it's more competitive if you pair it with meat or fatty fish rather than before meals.

I agree. As for Rose Princess, the method itself is slightly different. Originally, the undiluted sake is about 8 to 9 degrees, but the number of days of moromi itself is very short compared to other sake. It has a very strong sour taste, but it is also sweet. The balance is taken at a high point, and it's really easy to drink, like juice.
In the case of Barahime, the rose petals are soaked in the sake to bring out the color and fragrance, but the sake is also served without the roses. It's called "Angel's Kiss", but based on that, I pickled the roses using the petals.

-thank you. I think that the warehouse is relatively often a male workplace, but as a woman, do you want to be conscious of the construction and PR, or do something unique to a woman?

To be honest, until I entered this world, I never thought that I would be told how to enter this world even though I am a woman. It may be a bit unnecessary because I actually started working in the industry, but after being told many times, "So you entered this world even though you're a woman," I realized that's what it's all about. So far, until I entered, I didn't feel uncomfortable or conscious of being a woman. It was simply an image of a sake brewery successor. Right now, I'm participating in a community of female kurabito-sans, and what I really feel is that they share information down to the smallest detail. They open up about the details of their brewery and exchange information, and they use social media to send messages, which is overwhelmingly more common than men. I think women are good at capturing people's hearts with words. I wish I could do that too.

- I think that "I understand the customer's feelings" is about whether or not they are close to me, but it would be nice if there was something like this from a woman's point of view, not a gender difference. , Is it the product axis that it is not because you have been making it from a man's point of view? I think one answer is that men and women are basically the same, but do you have any thoughts on that?

I agree…. Sparkling is popular now, and I think there are various types. This is also the case with Rose Princess, which I mentioned earlier, but rather than my own idea, it was the president's idea, and for a long time I was focusing on sparkling and low-alcohol, easy-to-drink sake. It's been three years since I returned to the brewery, and people often ask me, "Did you come up with the idea?"

-Is that so. I also thought that Rose Princess was created after she returned.

It is often said. The president wants to get such new customers, and although it may be unnecessary because he is a man, he has a very strong desire to have women drink alcohol. I usually like Japanese sake, so I didn't really think about it. "Isn't normal sake fine?"
However, there are many customers who have made new connections because there is actually such sake. Even people who don't usually drink alcohol, but when I hear that "I can drink this," I've been able to realize that there are people who are interested in sake in this way. I would like to think about various kinds of sake that can be introduced not only to those who like sake, but also to such people.

Let people know about sake brewing that will remain in their hearts

-Do you ever think about wine? I think there are various contents such as how to charm, vintage, terroir, etc.

As for vintage, it would be really interesting if it could be done. I think it will be difficult. I think it would be interesting if even just a few books could be kept for 10 years. I like aged sake, so I would like to try it someday. I like wine and beer, but I've never been particularly conscious of sake.

-Are there any areas in particular that you would like to focus on in regards to overseas expansion?

Even if we go to business talks now, there is an overwhelming increase in talks about expanding overseas. There is talk of going to Shanghai as well. I personally like Europe, so it would be nice to be able to do it someday. It seems that there are some breweries in Shimane Prefecture that mainly export their products, but our brewery is not very large, so I think it would be unreasonable for one brewery to have an export container.

-Does 250 koku in Shimane fall into the small category?

is not it. I think it's small.

-thank you. Finally, please tell us what the future brewery is aiming for and what you are aiming for.

As a brewery, we currently have Iwami Ginzan as our main brand, but it's still not well known. It is often said that it is quite difficult to sell under such a name in Tokyo.
I don't know what the brand name will be, but when something happens, I suddenly say, "I'm going here, so let's buy this sake." I wish I hadn't been. Personally, I want as many people as possible to know that there is a person like me. I think it's important because it's also related to publicity. It doesn't start unless you know about alcohol and yourself. I wish I could do my best.

-You're right. I'm rooting for you. Thank you again for your time today.

thank you very much.

Mr. Asano, thank you very much for your kind words.