Japan’s Unlikely Sake Brewer

The Los Angeles Times has a neat article on British born Philip Harper, the only non -Japanese sake brewer to achieve the status of toji, or master brewer, in Japan.

They call him “the sake savant,” but that doesn’t bother Philip Harper, a 42-year-old native of another rugged coastline, thousands of miles away: Cornwall, in southwest England.

For 18 years, this unlikely foreigner has stubbornly endured both hard labor and silent resistance, studying Japanese and the brewing craft until he was eventually accepted — and celebrated — by even the most traditional brewers.

In sake-drinking circles across Japan and abroad, Harper is considered a cross-cultural pioneer: the only non-Japanese sake-maker to rise to the rank of toji, or master brewer. This “miracle” of the conservative world of Japanese brewing has people scratching their heads that a foreigner has emerged as the boss of a factory floor.

“Philip loves sake, but he also loves Japanese traditional culture,” says Hiroshi Ujita, a Kyoto brewery owner. “His character is almost Japanese. He understands the Japanese way of thinking, our style of daily life. You can taste it in his sake.”

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From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.