High Life

HIGH LIFE 93 中 国秦汉之际，正是日本的弥生时代。水稻种植技术抵达九州后，迅速传遍 日本列岛各部分。时至今日，日本的清酒酿制大师仍被尊称为「杜氏」， 即日语对中国神话人物兼酿酒祖师爷杜康的称呼。类似现代清酒的饮品，据说早 于日本奈良时代已出现，大概与中国盛唐同期。日本的统治阶层曾长期垄断清酒 酿制业，直到十一世纪前后，寺庙与神社才开始酿制酒酿，并打破当局的垄断。 除了水质、酒米品种及精米步合外，酿造酒精乃清酒世界里的关键分水岭之 一。早于十七世纪时，杜氏们已经发现在清酒酿制过程中加入少量酿造酒精，有 助于增添风味并加强口感。明治维新时期，日本政府鼓励人们创业并累积民族资 本。日本现存的清酒酒造大多始建于这个时期，更在国家的崛起中发挥了重要作 用。 「日本清酒业正在经历翻天覆地的巨变——纯米与非纯米系列之间的分野已变得 愈来愈模糊。今时今日，饮家们更为注重的是特别制作方法，如生酛、山废、古 酒、原酒及无滤过等等。」 李天彦 S ometime during China’s Qin and Han dynasties, or Japan’s Yayoi period, rice agriculture reached Kyushu and spread across the Japanese archipelago. To this day, Japanese brewmasters still proudly bear the title of toji, the Japanese rendition of Du Kang, the legendary inventor of libation. Sake as we know it probably emerged during Japan’s Nara period, contemporary with the zenith of China’s Tang dynasty. It was not until the turn of the first millennium that monasteries and shrines began to make sake, which used to be a government monopoly. Apart from water properties, rice varieties and polishing ratios, brewer’s alcohol is a defining feature in the world of sake. In the 17th century, tojis discovered that adding small amounts of brewer’s alcohol helped extract flavors and enhance mouthfeel. Sake played a pivotal role in Japan’s accumulation of national capital, as the Meiji Restoration government encouraged people to start their own businesses. This is precisely why so many shuzos – sake breweries – are more than a century old. “The sake sector is in a state of flux. The distinction between the jumai and non-junmai lines is becoming blurred. What perhaps count more nowadays are special designations such as kimoto, yamahai, koshu, genshu and muroka.” Tony Lee