Sake with Personality

　For the last few years, sake sales in Japan have continued on a downward trend. Conversely, sales of sake increased 20% in the U.S. last year alone. A report from Adams Handbook informs us that sake - like wine – is clearly becoming popular in the American market. In the future, how will influential wine sommeliers and Japanese sake sommeliers convey the individuality of Japanese sake to the American general public; also, how can the industry people who handle Japanese sake create an appealing plan for the restaurants? These are key points to consider.

To understand the reasons for the slump in sales of sake in Japan, there are no limits to the various factors to be considered: problems with quality, problems with the tax system, the level of corporate efforts, a lack of promotion, young people moving away from alcohol, etc. Well, thisaying “Um, for now…beer.” A schema of Japanese food = sake is not well established in Japan, which for me, as a fan of sake is disappointing. (Don’t get me wrong: I’m not necessarily saying that beer is bad)

However, the likeliest top reason is that sake in the past had no individuality and no special characteristics. I also believe there is a problem with the structure of Japanese society, which does not accept distinctive sake. And it is not just Japanese sake that has no individuality and no special characteristics; this is a problem for Japanese people in Japan and for Japanese society, and is a problem peculiar to Japanese society overseas as well.

As far as sales of products and services in America are concerned, “individuality” and “character” are essential factors to help distinguish between other companies.

From discussions about Japanese sake to discussions on the values of a number of business enterprises, for creative new products and services, the biggest enemy no matter what, I believe, is feudalistic management. Well, so just what is feudalistic management?
1. A desire for visible control. (Formal thinking, pushing one’s own selfishness).
2. Only the people in charge are responsible for wielding authority (no trust of those below).
3. The lack of a fair personnel system or salary system (The only thing in place is the meaningless “ranking by seniority” system).
4. Like the requirement for regional lords to reside every other year in the capital during the Edo Era (1600-1867), there are many useless gatherings (which stray far from the definition of ‘meeting’).
5. A negative evaluation system (obsessively finding fault with inconsequential details).

As a result, it can be said that:
1. Collusion among business people, the use of one’s position to gain favor, and embezzlement all increase (Like the bad local chief in the stories of Mito Komon, an Edo-era Shogun).
2. The truth of what’s happening on the job is not conveyed to top management (middle management plays the part of the villain and reporting and information is blocked as when cholesterol prevents the free flow of blood).
3. The motivation and morale of new employees greatly decreases.
4. Essential work is not done, sucking up to superiors is rampant, and intra-office administration becomes the main job.

In the current era, it is safe to say that enterprises and industries that are run in the above manner will steadily decline. People today are able to get information from around the world from the Internet at any given moment. It’s now possible to research phenomenon happening in another world in real time and compare it to the different situation in one’s own world. Also, ours has become a world where actual words and even moving images can be conveyed, and consumers’ opinions and assertions arrive by direct e-mail, and individual opinions can - with one push of the ‘send’ button – be read by hundreds or even thousands of people. A company’s upper management can no longer hide mistakes or inconvenient things as they could in the past; which, for them, is terrifying.

Well, so just what sort of management makes the best use of individuality? Put simply, it is the kind which creates an environment that doe not have the things I mentioned above. So then the question becomes how to make an environment that is not like that. Doesn’t it start from seriously pursuing those products and services customers actually want? The point is that a market tendency can shift feeling and behavior all over the whole system. Then, with that consciousness displayed to the utmost, it’s possible to create a worthwhile organization and personnel evaluation system.

On developing products, for products to appeal to young people, it’s necessary for taste, packaging, and marketing to be done. The final decision-maker should not decide by selfish (being ‘particular’ about something is altogether different from being ‘selfish’) feeling or sensation. Being particular about something means providing goods and services that really meet the needs of the market, and is usually reflected in the feeling of the product, and not, in an individual’s inclination or personal interest.

Creative goods and services can be created by the kind of management that brings out each individual’s personality. At this level it isn’t 1+1 = 2; instead, it depends on the multiplier effect (synergy effect), where the enterprise can show individual ability possibly several times--even several hundred times – greater in power than normal. Most likely, isn’t that what a real organization is? If individuality and individual ability is not displayed in the environment, the business cannot be called a modern business structure, since if employees simply wait for instructions, the business cannot be more than just a “passive group.” As such, we can’t at all expect to get good products and services from such an enterprise.

Whether in the manufacturing sector or in the service sector, this principle is universal. The United States places great importance on individuality and on individuals in a melting pot of ethnic groups, so it is a natural feature of the nation that, in regard to sales of products, if there aren’t any special characteristics, they won’t sell. What’s more, instead of competing with something like wine with its long history and custom of being enjoyed during a meal, it is necessary to provide things with individuality. Whether it is running a restaurant business, running a wholesale business, or manufacturing things, the point is that for all these there are “people” who stand between them all. One by one, those peoples with creative sensibilities are a big driving force in the United States, and it is here in the huge market of the U.S. that Japanese sake can most likely be spread widely.

Lately, I have been reading of a hot topic of conversation in Japan where young successors at sake breweries are making sake with special characteristics. At recent exhibitions, there was not only the mainstream *YK35, but also the traditions of unfiltered sake, raw sake, long-ripe sake and such have been revived and sake with special characteristics is getting popular - a pleasant phenomenon. As a Sake Sommelier from Japan in America, I would also like to energetically continue to contribute as much as I can.

* The Sake used: Y = Yamadashiki Rice from Hyogo Prefecture
K = The NinthYeast
35 =Rice Polishing Percentage is 35%.
For seminars on Japanese sake or shochu, contact Yuji Matsumoto at 310-936-4649 or ymatsumoto001@gmail.com.