Rakugo and Sake: "Jokan-ya"

Hello.

I'm Akari, a drinker (who aspires to be a lady).

Inseparable — me and sake.

Inseparable — rakugo and sake.

I'd like to talk about the drinker who appears in rakugo.

I hope you'll enjoy one story with me (laughs).

This is an exchange from the rakugo piece "Jokan-ya":

Customer: Jokan-ya — it says "Jokan-ya" here, but what in the world does it mean?

Shopkeeper: Neither too hot nor too lukewarm — warmed just right, we call it jokan.

Customer: I see — "neither too hot nor too lukewarm, just right is jokan."

Warming sake is quite a tricky business, so let me have it jokan.

It was through this "Jokan-ya" that I first learned the word "jokan."

The types of warm sake are expressed in six categories by temperature!

Here are those six.

◎ Hinatakan (sun-warmed)

30°C. Warm enough that you hardly notice the heat, with a gently lifted aroma.

◎ Hitohadakan (skin-warm)

35°C. Feels warm to the touch. The flavor opens up, with a fine aroma of rice and koji (麹).

◎ Nurukan (lukewarm)

40°C. Not hot, with a good release of aroma.

◎ Jokan (upper warm)

45°C. Just enough to steam when poured, with a taut, restrained aroma.

◎ Atsukan (hot)

50°C. Steam rises from the tokkuri and it feels hot to the touch. Clean finish, sharp aroma.

◎ Tobikirikan (extra hot)

55°C. The tokkuri feels hot to hold. Sharp aroma, tasting even drier.

Just looking at these is exciting.

Hinatakan and hitohadakan feel so warm and soothing.

Since I drink at home a lot now, I'd like to enjoy kanzake at different temperatures freely.

There are also words like "kanagari" and "kanbae" for when warming brings out the aroma and flavor.

Warming brings out a faint sweetness and the umami of the rice that you can't notice when it's chilled. Ah, sake is wonderful. Just changing the temperature can delight people.

And it's gentle on the body, too.

Because it's close to body temperature, it's easy on the stomach and absorbed more quickly. You get tipsy quickly, so compared to cold drinks you're less likely to gulp it down all at once, and you can enjoy it slowly, savoring it.

As a companion to your warm sake, do listen to master Katsura Shijaku's "Jokan-ya" on YouTube.

The phrase "Subiba sen ne" will make you chuckle more and more.

The makura (the opening anecdote before the main story) goes something like this.

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Speaking of sake's reputation, as the cold deepens little by little, we enter sake season, and sake is truly a fine thing, isn't it.

"Sake is the best of all medicines" — what an interesting phrase, "sake is the best of all medicines." And why is sake the best of all medicines? Because it's the best of all medicines.

Though of course this is a saying from those who drink; those who don't drink call it "a plane that shaves away your life." Indeed, you shouldn't drink too much — nothing is without harm, and excess is never good.

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Well then, until next time!

Peace to you today with an ichigo (一合, 180 ml) or two of sake!