About Kokushu Digital Museum

The Kokushu Digital Museum is an online museum
aimed to introduce the historical and cultural
aspects of ‘Kokushu’, traditional alcoholic drinks
that are deeply rooted in Japanese society.

What is Kokushu?

Many countries around the world
have an alcoholic beverage
that represents the region.
In Japan, sake, honkaku shochu, awamori,
and hon mirin have been enjoyed
by the Japanese people for centuries.

'Kokushu' is a collective term that refers to
these four types of drinks
and literally means "national alcoholic drink".
While they are produced across the country,
each drink is adapted to the local climate and culture
in different regions.

Our Mission

Kokushu has been enjoyed by the Japanese people for centuries.
However, it also plays a significant role
in Japanese society and culture as a whole.
The Kokushu Digital Museum was established to
introduce and help people
around the world learn more about
the historical and cultural
aspects of these beverages.

In addition to the many of the historical seasonal events
and traditional rituals of Japan that include kokushu,
the museum will also introduce
how the drinks are portrayed in the modern era.
These examples will include
ukiyo-e paintings, posters, films, and manga works.
Through focusing on the everyday and subtle portrayals,
visitors can learn about the intimate connection between
Kokushu and Japanese culture.

In different regions of Japan,
kokushu has been developed and
enjoyed according to the local climate and culture.
Visitors can learn in-depth about the diversity of Kokushu
through exhibitions of regional festivals and ingredients,
and videos of local brewery tours and their sake brewing processes.

Lastly, another important mission of the Kokushu Digital Museum is
to continue the legacy of kokushu history.
By creating a hub of videos and historical documents
that feature traditional brewing and distillation techniques,
we hope to pass down the knowledge and appreciation of this culture
on to the next generation.

We hope that your visit to the Kokushu Digital Museum
will help you discover the many charms
that Japanese traditional alcoholic beverages have.

What is Sake?

What are Shochu and Awamori?

What is Hon Mirin?

PICK UP

sake

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DRINKING AGE?

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legal drinking age in the country you reside in.