Kanpai: The History of Sake

Eric C. Rath approaches the history of sake with the discipline of a historian and a clear interest in the material itself. He is attentive to what the evidence can support, especially in the earliest periods, when written records are sparse.

The book traces competing theories about sake’s origins and uses them to illuminate larger shifts in Japanese culture across two millennia. By the fourteenth century, when documentation becomes more abundant, Rath is able to show how sake had become part of daily life alongside the rise of Zen Buddhism, Noh theater, and the tea ceremony.

He examines attitudes toward intoxication, the appearance of technical brewing manuals in the seventeenth century, and the development of regional brewing traditions. Modern styles receive careful attention as well, particularly the role of government regulation in shaping what most drinkers now recognize as sake.

Rath also addresses the twentieth century’s decline in quality, when industrialization and postwar additives altered production, and he follows the renewed interest in traditional methods that helped drive a contemporary revival. A chapter on North America considers sake made within immigrant communities and versions developed for American preferences.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.