Today, Japan celebrates Nihonshu no hi, the National Sake Day. This unusual celebration was established by the sake industry in 1978, and the day of October 1st was selected for several reasons, mainly because around this time of year begins the traditional sake-brewing season.

But a more compelling argumentation is related to the way October was written in the past, when the months were represented by the animals of the Chinese zodiac. October, the tenth month, was represented by the rooster (tori in Japanese) that was written with the kanji 酉, and the same character is part of the word used for sake, 酒…

Sake Barrels, Hie Shrine, Tokyo

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: An old story about revenge, Soga brothers