On Sunday, December 1, 2024, 20 students participated in a brewing experience and training session held at the Ozeki Head Office Factory as part of the "Yamada Nishiki Story at Twenty" project, organized by Yamada Nishiki producers in Hyogo Prefecture, the JA, and the local government (※1).
Now in its fourth year, this project targets students in Hyogo Prefecture turning 20 years old, with the aim of conveying the tradition of the village rice system (*2) through the cultivation of Yamada Nishiki rice and sake brewing, and raising interest in Yamada Nishiki (*3), the sake rice of which Hyogo Prefecture boasts the highest production volume in Japan, and in sake. This year, Ozeki Co., Ltd. (President: Kuniko Nagabe/Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture) will cooperate with the sake brewing, as the project's field will be the Inada area (Special A Area (*4)) in Yoshikawa-cho, Miki City, one of the village rice areas of the project.

The first project involved rice planting in June, and the second project involved rice harvesting in October. This third project involved students experiencing and training in brewing rice using rice that they had planted and harvested themselves. The next project is scheduled for February 2025, at the JA Minori Yoshikawa Agriculture and Economic Center, where the completed sake will be unveiled and a social event will be held with the local community.
Some of the students participating in the project are currently 19 years old and cannot drink alcohol, but they will experience the sake brewing process and taste the sake they helped make when they turn 20 in February next year. In addition, the sake completed through this project will be sold as a product by our company.

State of the day

In the morning, the participants carried out brewing work (transporting, measuring, adding, and plowing steamed rice) at Kowagura. In the afternoon, they attended a lecture on sake brewing, then went to Kotobukigura to experience koji making (the process of turning over rice) and toured the brewery (soaking, koji making machine, brewing tanks, etc.). After the brewing experience and training, they deepened their interactions at Ozeki's antenna shop, Amakara no Sekijuan.
Students who participated commented, "The steamed rice gave off a wonderful aroma." "Padding the rice with the ladles was hard work. I got a sense of how difficult sake brewing is." "Looking at the mash fermenting, I could see that the bacteria were still alive." "I was amazed at the attention to detail they paid to temperature control and hygiene management."

*1: Organizer
Yoshikawa Town Yamada Nishiki Village Rice Committee / Hyogo Prefecture / Miki City / Hyogo Prefecture Sake Rice Promotion Association / Yoshikawa Town Development Corporation / JA Minori

*2: Murame system
This is a sake rice trading system between sake rice producing areas in the Banshu region and specific sake brewers in Nada, a type of contract cultivation. Although village rice areas have regular customers in the form of sake brewers, neglecting to improve quality will lead to a decrease in trading volume, so united cooperation within the village is essential, and it is thought that this has greatly contributed to improving the quality of Nada sake. The close relationship between rice producing areas and sake brewers continues to this day.

*3: Yamadanishiki
This is the best sake rice variety that has been cultivated together with Nada sake as a representative of Japanese sake rice.
It is a large-grained, white-skinned, glossy white-core rice with a majestic appearance. It has a low protein content, is highly absorbent and digestible, produces koji with good breakage, and is less likely to break down during polishing and other processes, making it easy to handle in each process. These characteristics are also the hallmarks of excellent sake rice.

*4: Special A district
This refers to areas with the ideal climate and soil for cultivating Yamada Nishiki, a rice variety that excels in the Toban region. This includes the Yoshikawa and Kuchiyoshikawa districts of Miki City, the Tojo district of Kato City, and parts of Yashiromachi (eastern part).

Past activities

2024 / 6 / 16 (sun)　　 Rice planting (Inada area field)
2024 / 10 / 13 (sun)　   Rice harvesting (Inada area fields)

Future schedule (planned)

February 2025: Unveiling of the completed sake and a social event with the local community (JA Minori Yoshikawa Agriculture and Economic Center)
March 2025: Sales of products from this project at the Yamada Nishiki Festival (Yamada Nishiki no Sato)