水 Mizu: Water

 

Clear water is indispensable for brewing good sake

 
Sake is basically formed from rice, rice malt, and water, with 80 percent of the contents being water. No wonder most breweries are founded in rural counties where natural clear water is in abundance. We have tons of “meltwater” from great alpine peaks all through the year, such as Tateyama Renpo and Mt. Hakusan. Thus Hokuriku has become one of the famous sake-brewing regions in all Japan. Breweries can pull plenty of good water from subterranean rivers for brewing, washing sake tools, and even for the brewers' bathing! Breweries are required to give public notice in advance of their water sources. Natural water in Japan generally doesn’t contain much iron and manganese, minerals which can ruin the taste of sake.

酒米 Saka-mai: Rice

Special rice for brewing sake is distinguished from edible variants

 
Rice for making sake has two different uses: malting and steaming. For specially designated sake (see below), typically a particular grain called saka-mai is utilized, while general, non glutinous rice is used in making ordinary sake. As a result of searching for a refined sake, breweries started to polish rice grains to remove bran, cereal germ, and also endosperm.
Saka-mai is specially crossbred for brewing, and hence has a larger grain in order not to be smashed into smithereens from the polishing process. Though the Yamada Nishiki brand rice from Hyogo is well known as the ultimate saka-mai, recently local “micrograin” saka-mai from our region is also being utilized.