Join us on Saturday, March 18 at 2 pm in the Stevenson & Hunt room for the third and last screening in a series titled Japanese Food. This time we will present The Birth of Sake directed by Erik Shirai. This awarded documentary tells a story of creating the world-renowned sake, called daiginjō, in the 144 years old Tedorigawa brewery in the Northern Japan. The brewery is in the hands of the multi-generational Yoshida family. The film crew spent six months with the group of workers (ranging from 20 to 70 years old), documenting a little known process of creating the liquor without the use of modern technology. Showing this unique, labour-intensive process was not to promote drinking the wine but to appreciate its producers, who are leaving their families and lives to devote themselves entirely to work for 6 months every year. Erik Shirai is presenting artisans, people who dedicate their entire life to one craft - a very typical element of Japanese culture.

For more information about Japanese cuisine, culture, travel, fiction books by Japanese authors or books in Japanese language please check out our collection.