NAGANO, Oct. 1 – On the day of sake (October 1) in Japan, the Saku Branch of the Nagano Sake Brewery Association unveiled a pioneering project to brew sake, the traditional Japanese rice wine, using rice, “koji” mold, and sake yeast that will be returned from space. The seed rice, ideal for sake brewing, koji and such will be stored in the International Space Station (ISS) for a specific period and then brought back to Earth for cultivation for the brewers to craft “Space Sake” by 2030.
The Saku Branch’s initiative, the Saku Sake Mission, of brewing sake from rice that has journeyed to space is a tribute to the second trip to the ISS by Kimiya Yui, a 55-year-old astronaut from a local lettuce farm in Kawakami Village, Saku. All 13 members of the Brewers Association are dedicated to making sake using rice, koji mold, and yeast, which will be returned from their space voyage.
The project took flight when one of the 13 members shared his dream of making sake using sake rice that had ventured into Space. Hisatomo Takahashi, the branch head, recalls how the initial reluctance of other members was transformed into enthusiasm by the initiator’s passion. Takahashi hopes that this project will ignite people’s interest in the sake industry, often perceived as traditional.
The Saku Branch has sent 500 grams of Hitogokochi sake rice seeds, koji mold, and yeast in a dormant state to the ISS, along with lettuce and cosmos seeds. This was accomplished using a rocket launched at the end of August, with the cooperation of a screwed space system operated by a company involved in space development.
The sake ingredients will be stored in the “Kibo” Japanese Experiment Module of the ISS for four months at normal temperature. When the sake seeds are returned to Saku, the association members will plant them in their fields. They also collaborate with research institutions to test the suitability of the koji and the yeast simultaneously.
According to Takahashi, they will need at least 1,200 kilograms of sake rice. “We want to strengthen our partnership with a local agricultural cooperative and farmers in growing rice. Through the project, we would like to focus on regional revitalization, as well,” he said. If all goes well, sake brewed with the rice that traveled space will be available in 2030.
Minoru Osawa, who started the project, said, “I want to brew sake that will make people happy and give a cosmic feel.” “We are also happy if it inspires children to become master brewers or astronauts,” he added.
“I already feel thrilled to think of the challenge of making sake from ingredients that were in space,” Osawa said. (In Saku City, Nagano Prefecture)