THE BIRTH OF SAKÉ
Erik Shirai

O.V. Japanese

In northern Japan, the small Tedorigawa brewery has been making its saké using the same artisanal methods for more than a century. From October to April, the workers, all men, live together at the brewery and work non-stop, even when mourning. Cooking the rice, stirring it by hand, overseeing its fermentation… it is a sacred ritual, conducted silently in a shroud of steam. The faces are focused. Everything is codified, part of a seemingly immutable tradition. There is a good reason saké is...