Opening the "Open-Air Sake Shop Sairin"!

March 11th: The Great East Japan Earthquake, magnitude 6+ on the Japanese scale. During the long, intense shaking, I could only do my best to shield our customers who were in the store. Sake bottles from the top shelf of the reach-in coolers fell, hitting my back with loud thuds. In front of my eyes, bottles crashed and shattered. There was nothing I could do.

Outside, the sake brewery had collapsed, and the air was thick with dust… I was stunned, but I quickly checked on the safety of my family and staff, and felt relieved… that's the memory that remains. The store itself, renovated just two years prior, held up, but the old house, sake warehouse, and brewery suffered significant damage, forcing us to evacuate.

From the next day, we started cleaning up as soon as the sun rose, and lived by candlelight after sunset… but people kept coming, seeking supplies like canned beer, cup sake, cigarettes, juice, and water. Of course, the store wasn't in a condition to handle customers, but I thought, "We have to utilize the capabilities of a small business!" So, we set up plastic crates (P-boxes) and tables under the eaves outside the store, and opened the "Open-Air Sake Shop Sairin." We operated without a single day off.

Some wept the moment they held sake in their hands

At first, it was people from our local community, and as the days passed, it included people from the heavily damaged coastal areas. There were those who had lost family, those whose homes were washed away and were living in their cars because shelters were full. Young couples searching for their children while their grandparents stayed at a relative's. People in a mountain shelter, with no supplies, sharing gasoline and desperately searching for food for everyone… Some, perhaps finding a moment of relief, shed tears the moment they held sake and juice in their hands.

What can I do as a sake shop owner? It has to be Japanese sake! Some might think, "Sake at a time like this?" but it's not just for celebrations. Sake is used not only for joyous occasions but also for somber ones. I realized it's indispensable for people's joys and sorrows. So now, I thought, "Sake that brings peace, comfort, and the energy for tomorrow!" I devised several plans for providing it at the disaster sites, proposed them, and after confirming they would be accepted, we got the go-ahead. We couldn't deliver it ourselves because we ran out of gasoline for the debris removal, but we started with 90 bottles.

Japanese Sake is Undoubtedly Disaster Relief Supplies!

Were there any problems? After checking on those who drank it, we provided another 100 bottles twice. "Despite being anxious and exhausted every day, I was able to sleep soundly after a single cup of sake." "It revitalized the staff working day and night." "An elderly person who had become withdrawn started to engage with others in the group." "For a brief moment, many people regained their smiles." We received many such heartwarming messages of gratitude. "Japanese sake is undoubtedly disaster relief supplies." I believe so. While I was doing these things, our powerful staff member, Kakizaki, was silently clearing debris!

Electricity and water were restored, and the gasoline panic subsided, allowing us to finally start deliveries on March 31st. Just as we were gearing up with the spirit of "Let's go full throttle from now on!"… April 7th, a late-night aftershock, magnitude 6-. The vertical shaking was incredibly powerful, far more so than the main quake. To prepare for aftershocks, we had secured the display shelves and warehouse inventory with ropes, minimizing damage. However, the house, sake warehouse, and brewery were dealt a final blow and completely destroyed. Furthermore, the piping of the in-store reach-in coolers and the prefab refrigerator in the back office were dislodged, and the fan was crushed by debris, rendering it inoperable. "We're back to square one." Honestly, the second time, my spirit was broken. At that moment, with the dawn, the "Three Musketeers of Abe Kan Brewery" arrived in full gear to help!

The next day, Master Yoshida from "Soba Izakaya Suimeian" (the man in the orange hat) from Hokkaido arrived! And then, our store's resident advisor, Mr. Watanabe (white towel), came to help. Furthermore, many customers, armed with work gloves, offered, "We'll help!"… I was deeply moved. I couldn't work through my tears. Naturally, my broken spirit became a stronger pillar than before, an unshakeable one.

Brewery owners and fellow sake shop owners visited to offer their condolences. Honestly, these were tough days. But seeing everyone's faces gave me strength. I will never forget the "extra-large" strong beef bowls either. It's been a whirlwind two months. Currently, we have finished moving and dismantling the sake in the warehouse and are discussing plans for a new warehouse.



Kogota's Local Sake Shop, Sairin Honten
124 Machiyashiki, Minami-Misato, Tōda-gun, Miyagi Prefecture
http://www.sairin.jp/