The return of Tosa sake  – Tosa Sake Fair 2016

Following a successful first expedition to London last year, the Tosa sake delegation wowed UK trade and sake lovers again with a selection of nihonshu from the “Land of Sake”. Six sake makers lead by Mr Akihiko Takemura from Tsukasabotan and much respected Father of Kochi Yeast, Dr Haruhiko Uehigashi attended a three-day Tosa Sake Fair in London. On the 10th October, the Embassy of Japan hosted the Tosa sake Seminar and Tasting for trade and press.
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Sake Academy at the London Business School

The Sake Academy initiative was launched in 2014 at St John’s College, Oxford.

Spearheaded by Sake Expert Rie Yoshitake, Sake Academy aimed to introduce Japan’s national beverage and culture to bright young minds, who would go on to become future world leaders.

Since then, Rie Yoshitake and her team at Yoshitake & Associates have expanded the Sake Academy initiative across academic institutions both in the UK and abroad including the London Business School, Cambridge Judge Business School, Edinburgh University, IESE…and its geographic reach only continues to grow.
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Sake Tasting at The Holburne Museum in Bath

1st October 2016

On World Sake Day, the Bath and Beppu Friendship Association in collaboration with Sake Samurai organised a unique and groundbreaking sake tasting in the elegant setting of Bath’s Holburne Museum. This was also the headline event for The Great Bath Feast. Nishinoseki, the household sake brand from Oita prefecture in Kyushu, generously sponsored sake for this event, offering a heartwarming, quintessential taste of Kyushu.
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World Sake Day

1st October 2016

The 1st October was World Sake Day. Watch this video to learn more about Japan's national drink and how to celebrate with Sake!
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IWC Award Winning Sake Seminar & Tasting

8th July 2016 Embassy of Japan

Following the excitement of the awards dinner, the proud champion and shortlisted trophy sake makers gathered at the embassy of Japan to showcase a selection of premium sake to trade, media and friends of Sake Samurai. The afternoon began with a seminar section, followed by brief presentations from nine of the award winning sake makers. Each sake maker passionately and charmingly introduced their sake brewery and philosophy, as well as the story of the winning sake itself.
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IWC 2016 Champion Sake Announcement

7th July at IWC Awards Dinner

‘To protect sake culture and to promote sake internationally’ … in order to realise this mission, the Sake Samurai Association collaborated with the International Wine Challenge (IWC) ten years ago, and has since grown to become the world’s largest and most prestigious sake competition.
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Sake Academy at Oxford University – Educating Future Global Leaders

It goes without saying that future global leaders require a world class education. At Oxford, the cradle of many of the world’s visionaries past and present, this “world class education” evolved in 2014 to include Sake 101, with the launch of the Sake Academy initiative. Led by Sake Expert Rie Yoshitake, Sake Academy aimed to introduce Japan’s national beverage to bright young minds at university campuses across the world. The Oxford chapter was launched at the St John’s College Triennial May Ball, in true Oxford style.
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Japan Day at Cambridge University

Cambridge Japan Day was started in 2015 by a team of Japanese MBA students studying at Judge Business School, with the purpose of promoting Japanese culture ("Cool Japan") to students from all over the world. With the support of Sake Samurai UK and Tazaki Foods UK, they were able to host their second Japan Day this year with great success.
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IWC 2016 Sake judging and award announcement in Hyogo

The 2016 International Wine Challenge sake competition celebrates its 10-year collaboration between the Sake Samurai Association and the IWC. This robust and fruitful relationship has supported the global expansion of sake, by both boosting international awareness and exports, as well as increasing the popularity of sake within Japan itself.
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“Sake no Tomo”, Friend of Sake

For years, sake has been casting its spell far beyond the borders of its homeland. More and more, epicures from across Europe are expressing a curiousity to learn more about a drink they had always associated with hangovers. In an effort to nurture Europe’s developing sake market, the Sake Samurai Association (SSA) launched a Sake Roadshow initiative across the UK and mainland Europe, in order to educate and spread the passion for Nihonshu. On 13th April 2015, the IESE Business School in Barcelona in partnership with the Japanese Consulate, Sake Samurai UK, and Comerjapones.com hosted the Spanish chapter of the Sake event which Academy initiative.
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Fukushima: Sake Wonderland

As Fukushima Sake swept the board at the 2015 IWC Sake Championships, it became evident that something extraordinary was afoot. Just how was it possible for a single prefecture to produce such a variety of world class Sake? Rie Yoshitake, UK Sake Samurai Representative and Hitomi Kumasaka, Social Media Specialist, made a pilgrimage to the prefecture and visited four of the most prestigious breweries, Daishichi, Yamatogawa, Suehiro and Aizu Homare, to uncover the “Fukushima Formula” for trophy sake.
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Fukushima Meets Oxford

In conjunction with Oxford University’s Japan Society (OUJS), Yoshitake and Associates and the Sake Samurai Organisation hosted students and residents of Oxford for an evening of dance, music and commemoration, on 10th March, 2016.
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Gekkeikan Masters of Sake Competition 2016 – “Sake to Eat”

It’s dinnertime; you are enjoying the company of some close friends in your local haunt. Habitually, you reach for the wine list to scout out the perfect liquid companion to your evening meal. Shall you have white tonight, or will it be red? Or will you, like the growing numbers of culturally curious diners across the world opt for something else entirely?
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Scotland Meets Sake

Ceaseless in the search for new markets for sake, a team of brewers and Rie Yoshitake arrived in the very heart of Scotland this November 2015. At an event organised by the Consulate General of Japan in Edinburg, the University of Edinburg and Yoshitake & Associates, our trailblazing team met with sake lovers and distributors alike.
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Fukuoka Evening

Amid the excitement of this year’s Rugby World Cup celebrations in the UK, festivities of a different kind were also taking place. In a bid to showcase Fukuoka prefecture’s regional charm and delights abroad, Governor Hiroshi Ogawa hosted an evening of warm and vibrant hospitality at the Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane.
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Presenting Japan

A seven-day extravaganza of lively art, Japanese cuisine and sake was held at the Japan Pavilion at the Queen Elisabeth II Centre, timed carefully to coincide with the most climactic week of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
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European Sake Summit at the Salon du Sake in Paris

The Salon du Sake 2015, brainchild of Sylvain Huet (Sake Samurai and the founder of L’Academie du Sake), took place this October, building on the success of the first Salon in 2013. Over the course of two days, more than 40 sake artisans flew their flags under one roof at the Centre du Congress in Paris, attracting sake lovers from throughout Europe.
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Ken Ohashi, the First Master of Wine and Sake

The Sake Samurai Association and the International Wine Challenge (IWC) are very proud to announce that the IWC Co-chairman of Sake has been newly conferred with the title of Master of Wine (MW). The MW is the most acclaimed title in the wine world, issued by the Institute of Masters of Wines.
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Sake Samurai Inauguration 2015

The Sake Samurai Association has commemorated its 10th anniversary this year; with 7 individuals who have dedicated themselves in promoting the tradition and culture of Sake across the world, selected as Sake Samurai. The inauguration ceremony took place at the Shimogamo shrine in Kyoto on the 16th October.
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International Sake Day Celebrations

Japan is a nation that understands the art of celebration. Countless festivals, or 'Matsuri', are held throughout the year, featuring music, traditional garb and taiko drumming. With the rice harvest comes the start of the Sake brewing season. This day is now known as 'Nihonshu no hi', or International Sake Day.
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Tosa Sake Fair

On the 17th September, Kochi prefecture hosted a grand sake event at the Embassy of Japan, showcasing the best of Tosa sake and food culture to London’s trade and sake lovers. Nine sake makers out of Kochi’s 18 came to London to promote the region’s sake.
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