is
a modern-day Fudoki.

I believe alcohol can make people happy. More precisely, I think it has the power to draw out the happiness that already exists within people. There is an old Chinese saying I like: “Drink is what brings people together in joy.” In other words, alcohol can be the perfect catalyst for sharing joy with others.

For example, people say things like, “I want to try that person’s cocktails,” or “I want to drink something they’ve made.” But really, what they mean is, I want to see that person. The trouble is, saying that directly can feel a little embarrassing. That is why alcohol becomes the perfect excuse when we say, “Let’s go for a drink,” or “Let’s go to that bar.”

Meeting people over a drink, sharing time together, and sharing joy. I think alcohol is what creates that opportunity. That is why I believe alcohol has the power to make people happy.

That is why I believe alcohol has the power to make people happy.

When I was a student, “beer” to me meant getting together with everyone and drinking pitchers of lager. To be honest, I was never really that keen on it. Then one day, a Scottish guy who happened to live in the same apartment building invited me out, and I drank ale for the first time. I was blown away. It had aromas like tea, bread, and biscuits. It was lukewarm, and it was brown. I had always thought beer was something cold and golden, so it felt completely different from lager. From that moment, I was drawn straight into the world of beer.

I definitely think alcohol makes people happy. I mean, I am incredibly happy myself. Of course, there is happiness in enjoying a drink on your own, but time spent drinking also has the power to make the people around you happy. There is something good about everyone sharing the same time together.

What’s more, finished beer is delicious, of course, but there are times when beer in the middle of the brewing process tastes incredibly good, and that is something only we, as makers, get to experience. At times like that, I think to myself I want to make something like this again. Maybe the makers are the ones having the most fun. For me, brewing beer is genuinely exciting and happy work. Even if I could live my life over again, I think I would still make beer.

Alcohol makes people happy.
Sake is a symbol of prayer. Each day, we offer it to the gods and express our gratitude. After festivals, we receive sacred sake. People take the gods into their bodies. Sake is what connects the gods and people. Sake is also absolutely essential in places where people come together. It connects people and opens their hearts. That, I think, is what sake is.

After I graduated from university, before I started working for a company in Tokyo, my father took me to The Sailing Bar in Sakurai. It was my first time experiencing an authentic bar. There, I was able to speak honestly with my father. It is a very happy memory. I think it was sharing a drink that allowed me to do something I would normally have felt too embarrassed to do.

When my younger brother got a job, I took him to The Sailing Bar in place of our late father. Once again, sharing a drink helped open my brother’s heart, and I was able to pass on our father’s message to him. It was a good time. I think alcohol has that kind of power.

In a sense, it is a tool that works on a deeper level, outside the everyday. That is what I think sake can do.