Series: Wa-jo Wa-raku | Part 26: Sumikawa Brewery: The Hare and the Tortoise

Aiming to be a brewer who revitalizes Japan through sake.

Usagi to Kame: Sumikawa Brewery

Sumikawa Brewery, where Yoshifumi Sumikawa is the Toji (master brewer). The local sake from Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, plays a perfect harmony born from Hagi's "rice, water, people, and time." The brewery's "Toyo Bijin" aims to be "water that has passed through rice."

Text by Wajo WarakuPhoto by JAMANDFIX(TOP)

Different Perspectives Create Different Outcomes

About four years ago, I encountered a book that became a turning point in my way of thinking. Everything written in it was a revelation, fundamentally changing my previous perspectives. Among its contents was the episode of "The Tortoise and the Hare."

When people read the story of "The Tortoise and the Hare," they each engage with it through their own interpretations. Some simply think the hare lost and the tortoise won. Others interpret it as the hare losing due to overconfidence, while some are inspired by the tortoise's persistent effort leading to victory. However, this book posits that the story questions "what determined the outcome was a difference in perspective. It is a tale that teaches us the importance of what we focus on when competing." In other words, the crucial element is the dynamic of "a hare focused only on the tortoise" versus "a tortoise focused solely on the goal, the finish line."

Upon reading this passage, I frankly thought, "Ah, I was like that hare." This book prompted me to shift from thinking "I want to beat him" or "I don't want to lose to this sake" to considering "What kind of company do I want to build?" "What kind of person do I want to become?" and "What kind of sake do I want to brew?" This became the source of my awareness that "different perspectives create different outcomes."

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"Where are you looking, and what are you aiming for?" I believe this is truly important. Forgive my late introduction, but I am currently brewing a sake called 'Toyo Bijin' in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. My goal is to be a brewer who revitalizes Japan through sake. By the way, the part about 'The Tortoise and the Hare' continues. "Why didn't the tortoise wake the hare? Wouldn't it be more fun to reach the goal together?" How do you interpret this?

Yoshifumi Sumikawa, Sumikawa Brewery

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Toyo Bijin Junmai Ginjo Aiyama Giveaway

We are giving away a 720mL bottle of sake, introduced in each installment of the "Wajo Waraku SAKE Academy" series on the web magazine OPENERS, to three lucky winners.

If you wish to enter, please apply via the application form below.
Winners will be contacted directly.

Application Period: Friday, September 3, 2010 – Thursday, September 30, 2010 (until 12:00 PM)