SSSIA

Sake brewing plants equipped to brew sake year-round are referred to as “all-season (sake) brewing facilities,” or 

“all-season (sake) breweries.” Also, brewing sake year-round is also referred to as all-season (sake) brewing. Currently, all major sake producers brew sake in facilities equipped to brew sake year-round.

Currently, competition to consume large volumes of sake is rarely held due to social changes and health concerns. However, ancient Japanese records show “sake competitions” held in the past. One such record is a competition held between eight court nobles in the Imperial Court in 911 AD. Korehira Fujiwara was awarded a horse by Emperor Uda for showing no sign of intoxication after consuming eight rounds of sake served in large sake cups.     

More recently, the most famous example is a sake competition held at the Taishi-kawara riverbed in the Kawasaki ward of Kawasaki city, Kanagawa prefecture? between warriors divided into eastern and western teams on August 10, 1648. The competition was held between seventeen warriors in the eastern team against fourteen warriors in the western team. After a fierce drinking competition that lasted hours, the eastern team won.   

On the other hand, the most famous drinking competition between individuals was held in Senju, the suburbs of Edo city, on October 21, 1815, as documented in “Suicho Chronicles” by Shokusanjin Ohta, who acted as the judge. Large sake cups made available for this competition were the Itsukushima cup (1,000 ml = 1 liter), Kamakura cup (1,400 ml = 1.4 liters), Ejima cup (2,000 ml = 2 liters), Manju-muryo cup (3,000 ml = 3 liters), Ryokumouki cup (5,000 ml = 1.3 gallons), and the Tanchozuru cup (6,000 ml = 1.5 gallons), from which the competitors chose freely.

Three geisha entertainers poured sake into large sake cups held by competitors. Every cup of sake finished by each competitor was witnessed by an inspector and documented by the scorekeeper. The winner was a man named Sahei from Yashukoyama, who finished off sake in a Ryokumouki cup (15,000 ml = 3.9 gallons). 

The grand winner of documented sake drinking competitions was Rihei Koiya, who consumed 35,200 ml (9.2 gallons) of sake at a restaurant in Ryougoku-yanagibashi on March 23, 1817. A more recently renowned sake competition is the “Kumagaya sake competition” held in Kumagaya city, Saitama prefecture in the spring of 1927. An entrance fee of 2.50 JPY allowed anyone to participate. The winner of this drinking competition hailed from Kumagaya city and consumed 21,600 ml (5.7 gallons).   

In addition to drinking competitions over volumes of sake consumed, the Imperial Court also hosted drinking competitions over how fast rounds of sake were consumed ritualistically. One drinking competition was documented as “10 rounds of sake” in the “Chikanaga Chronicles” during the Muromachi period (1336-1573). Twenty competitors were divided into left and right teams of 10 competitors each, with each side competing to finish 5 cups of sake the fastest. 




祭の中の日本酒

年間を通じて酒造りをできるように設備された酒造工場のことを、「四季醸造」または「四季醸造蔵」（略して「四季蔵」とも）という。また、四季を通じて酒の醸造を行なうことも、同じく四季醸造という。現在、大手酒 造メーカーはすべて、この設備を擁する工場で生産を行なっている。

現在は社会環境の変化や健康の問題などから、競技としての大酒飲み競争はほとんど行なわれなくなっているが、日本では昔から、飲み比べの「酒合戦」が催された記録が残っている。 

古いものでは、延喜11年（911）に宮中で行なわれた8人の公家による御前試合があり、大盃8回の巡盃にも平然としていた藤原伊衛が宇多上皇から乗馬を賜っている。 

近世で最も有名なのは、慶安元年（1648）8月10日に川崎の大師河原で行なわれた、東西両軍に別れての酒合戦である。東軍17名、西軍14名による団体戦で、数時問ほど続いた壮絶な飲み潰し戦の末に、東軍の勝ちと決まった。 

一方、個人戦で有名なのは、文化12年（1815）10月21日に江戸郊外の千住で催された千住の酒合戦で、検分役をつとめた大田燭山人が『続水鳥記』として伝えている。この酒合戦で使用された盃は、厳島盃（5合）、鎌倉盃（7合）、江島盃（1升）、万寿無量盃（1升5合）、緑毛亀盃（2升5合）、丹頂鶴盃（3升）という大盃で、どれを選んでもよい。芸者三人が競技者の持つ大盃に酒を注ぎ、一杯飲み干すごとに記録係が記帳し、検分役がこれを見届けるというものであった。優勝したのは野州小山の佐兵衛という男で、緑毛亀杯三盃（7升5合）をあけたという。 

このような大酒飲み競技での最高記録は、文化14年3月23日に両国柳橋の料亭で行なわれた酒合戦で優勝した鯉屋利兵衛の1斗9升5合とされる。 近代に入ってからの酒合戦で有名なのは、昭和2年春に埼玉県熊谷市で催された「熊谷の酒合戦」で、2円50銭の会費さえ払えば誰でも参加できた。この時の優勝者は熊谷の人で、記録は1斗2升であった。 

なお、古く宮中では酒量を競う酒合戦のほかに、儀礼に従った早飲み合戦というのも行なわれており、室町時代に書かれた『親長卿記』には「10度飲み」という競技が記されている。右方、左方10人ずつに別れ、順に5杯の酒の早飲みを競った競技だったという。