The 8th Interview: Shibata Shuzojo Goshi Kaisha (Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture)

Toji (杜氏) Shizuka Ito

Interviewee: Toji (杜氏) Shizuka Ito (hereafter "Ito")

Interviewer: Ayako Yoshida, bien (hereafter "bien")

bien: Ms. Ito, you're a female toji (杜氏)! How many years have you been involved in sake making?

Ito: I joined the company about sixteen years ago, but I had maternity and childcare leave along the way,

so this is my eighth year actually working in sake making.

bien: So if you joined sixteen years ago, you were doing other work at Shibata Shuzojo before that.

Ito: That's right. I wanted to make sake, so I applied to join this kura (酒蔵) and worked in the brewery from the start.

bien: Why did you want to get involved in sake making?

Ito: I encountered sake in college and thought it was really delicious.

Then my interest grew little by little, and as I visited various kura,

I came to think that people who make things are cool.

So I wanted to try sake making, sent postcards to various places, and was hired here.

bien: Now that you're actually making sake, how is it?

Ito: You can see the moromi (もろみ) change day by day,

so it's hard work, but it's rewarding and enjoyable.

bien: Watching the moromi change is one of the joys! What's the hard part?

Ito: Using your head to plan the next step, and temperature changes are very important, so you have to think about what will happen if you set the next temperature to a certain degree—

you have to plan ahead. One misstep and the sake can suddenly race ahead,

and you can't make good sake, so working carefully while thinking about that is the difficult part.

But when good sake comes out, I think it was worth the effort!

bien: That's a great feeling! How old is your child?

Ito: I have one son, nine years old.

bien: Isn't it tough? Sake making and raising a nine-year-old.

Ito: It is. The mornings are early, so it might be a burden on my child, but he understands my work,

so I'm managing somehow.

bien: Does your child seem interested in sake making?

Ito: Who knows (laughs). He said sake smells nice. And he says he wants to drink it.

bien: Sounds like he has potential! (laughs)

In a word, how would you sum up Kono Tsukasa's sake?

Ito: We brew with very soft water,

so the sake itself is full-bodied and soft,

with a clean finish.

bien: Thank you very much. I'm rooting for you balancing childcare and sake making!

The interview with President Hidekazu Shibata is here