What Is Sake? Japan Reacts As Its Famed Beverage Joins UNESCO's Cultural Heritage List

LUQUE, Paraguay: Sake is perhaps more Japanese than the world-famous sushi. It's brewed in centuries-old mountaintop warehouses, savored in the country’s pub-like izakayas, poured during weddings and served slightly chilled for special toasts.

The smooth rice wine that plays a crucial role in Japan's culinary traditions was enshrined on Wednesday by UNESCO on its list of the “intangible cultural heritage of humanity."

At a meeting in Luque, Paraguay, members of UNESCO’s committee for safeguarding humanity's cultural heritage voted to recognize 45 cultural practices and products around the world, including Brazilian white cheese, Caribbean cassava bread and Palestinian olive oil soap.

Receiving the news on the other side of the world, Hitoshi Utsunomiya, the director of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, welcomed the announcement and said he hoped this would give a confidence boost to the sake industry.

“I hope that this will give the people in the brewing industry, from sake production to those who make the raw materials and who serve sake, confidence in the work they do and that they'll be proud of what they do,” Utsunomiya told the Associated Press.

“I hope that this will also be an opportunity for Japanese people to take another look at sake, shochu and awamori, which are the essence of their culture. I would like them to try it even once and see what it tastes like.”

Unlike UNESCO’s World Heritage List, which includes sites considered important to humanity like the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Intangible Cultural Heritage designation names products and practices of different cultures that are deserving of recognition.

The basic ingredients of sake are few: rice, water, yeast and koji, a rice mold, which breaks down the starches into fermentable sugars like malting does in beer production. The whole two-monthlong process of steaming, stirring, fermenting and pressing can be grueling.

The rice — which wields tremendous marketing power as part of Japan's broader cultural identity — is key to the alcoholic brew.

For a product to be categorized Japanese sake, the rice must be Japanese.

The UNESCO recognition, the delegation said, captured more than the craft knowledge of making high-quality sake. It also honored a tradition dating back some 1,000 years — sake makes a cameo in Japan’s famous 11th century novel, “The Tale of Genji,” as the drink of choice in the refined Heian court.

Now, officials hope to restore sake's image as Japan's premier alcoholic drink even as the younger drinkers in the country switch to imported wine or domestic beer and whiskey.

“It means a lot to Japan and to the Japanese,” Kano said of the UNESCO designation. "This will help renew interest in traditional sake elaboration.”

In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, in a statement, said he was “delighted” by the inscription of traditional sake-making, the traditional technic that Japan is proud of. Ishiba congratulated those who dedicated to preserving and promoting the tradition.

Also, Japanese breweries have expressed hope that the listing could give a little lift to the country's export economy as the popularity of sake booms around the world and in the United States amid heightened interest in Japanese cuisine.

Sake exports, mostly to the U.S. and China, now rake in over $265 million a year, according to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, a trade group.

Japan's delegation appeared ready to celebrate on Wednesday — in classic Japanese style.

After the announcement, Kano raised a cypress box full of sake to toast the alcoholic brew and cultural rite.