October 1st is Japanese Sake Day, 日本酒の日 (Nihonshu No Hi).
There are three reasons why this day is called “Japanese Sake Day.”
① It’s the start of the sake brewing season. Sake brewing begins very soon after rice is mowed.
This is because TOKUTEI MEISHOSHU (特定名称酒), special appellation sakes, must be brewed with rice harvested during the year.
② The sake industry has its own calendar called BY (Brewing Year), which originally ran from October to September (currently July to June). October 1st is therefore the traditional New Year's Day for brewers.
③ Japanese months are each assigned a character called the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac: for October the assigned character is 酉, meaning sake pot or sake.
During Nihonshu No Hi, let's do Kampai! with even more enthusiasm.
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