Today, sake is sold mostly in bottles, but it wasn’t always like this. Until the beginning of the 20th century, sake was stored and transported in taruzake, wooden barrels made of Japanese cedar (sugi), and at the store it was transferred into ceramic vessels.

The sake stored that way has a distinctive aroma due to the cedar wood scent, and even today, on special occasions, at Shinto shrines, and in certain restaurants, the sake still brought in cedar taruzake.

Sake barrels, Tenmangu Shrine, Osaka

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Simply beautiful Japanese scenes, Taikobashi reflection