Happy Girl’s Day — Hinamatsuri
Let’s enjoy Shirozake — the drink for Girl’s Day Festival!
What we all love about Japan is the seasonality. In this season, you see many stores and hotels decorated with Hinadan (hina dolls decorated in steps 雛壇) and hanging Hina, Tsurushi Bina(つるし雛).
This is also the peach and plum blossom season which is lovely everywhere before the cherry blossom season.
Today I want to write about Shirozake which most people are not familiar with.
In China, there is a liqueur called baichu (白酒). The drink for Girl’s Day in Japan is written with the same kanji 白酒, meaning white alcohol, but read Shirozake (しろざけ). It’s a different thing.
According to the sake brewery Toshimaya Shuzo in Tokyo, their Shirozake became very popular during the Edo period and appears in Ukiyoe pictures and books.
If you are familiar with the Hinamatsuri song, “Ureshii Hinamatsuri (うれしいひなまつり)” there’s a line where shirozake is mentioned. Also Sanninkanjo (三人官女) (three ladies in the Hinadan) play important roles serving Shirozake to the Emperor Odairisama (お内裏様) and the Empress Ohinasama (お雛様) in the Hinadan!
Originally, Hinamatsuri was not just a festival for girls but for women, too. They would enjoy drinking Shirozake. It was believed that people tend to get sick when there are extreme temperature changes; drinking Shirozake was a way to prevent getting sick. Peach flowers and branches were also dipped into Shirozake.
Mr. Takahashi of Toshimaya Shuzo explained that Shirozake is made from glutenous rice, rice koji, and mirin. It was fermented for a month and grinded. It typically has 7% ABV.
It’s Hinamatsuri today, so I hope you’ll join me for a drink of Shirozake. Kanpai!
