SAKE.

Picture scroll on silk, entitled on manuscript label on outside: “Hakutaka shuzō emaki” 白鷹酒造絵巻 [“Hakutaka Sake Brewers, Illustrated Scroll”].

One large fine panoramic color painting of the process of sake brewing. Scroll (455 x 2000 mm.; image: 410 x 1380 mm.), mounted on thick scroll paper, borders of silk patterned fabric, silk brocade on outside of scroll at beginning, inner front endpaper with specks of gold, inner core roller. [Japan]: late Meiji or early Taishō.

The well-known Hakutaka Shuzō sake brewery was founded in 1862 in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, in the famous Nada 灘 region, known for the excellence of its sake production by a number of companies. The brewery continues to thrive today under the direction of the sixth generation. “Hakutaka” means “white hawk,” suggesting purity and nobility. The brewery is the exclusive supplier of the daily sacred sake (Goryōshu) to the prestigious Ise Jingu shrine 伊勢神宮.

In one large panoramic painting, our handsome scroll depicts all the steps of sake production. The artist of the scroll is Honda Shōfu 本田蕉風, a native of Hyōgo and active from the Meiji to Shōwa eras. His seal and signature appear at the beginning. He was a disciple of Kawai Gyokudō 川合玉堂.

From the right side to the left, we see an enormous vat where the steaming of the rice is taking place. Beneath this vat is an image of two komodaru, traditional wooden sake barrels wrapped in woven straw mats and tied, both with the logos of the Hakutaka Shuzō brewery. Next, we see the vats containing the koji mold, which, when introduced to the steamed rice turns the rice starch into fermentable sugars (the starter mash). This is followed by placement of the mash into large vats with additional rice and water, where the fermentation will continue over several weeks.

When the fermentation is completed, the mash is pressed to separate the clear liquid sake from the remaining rice solids. After filtering, the sake is stored in large vats to mature.

The many workers in the brewery are clearly singing sake-zukuri uta 酒造り唄, traditional work songs, repeatedly sung to keep a steady rhythm and coordinate their hard physical labor.

Fine condition. Some of the white pigment, representing rice, has flaked off. Minor foxing, and a few defects carefully repaired. Preserved in a wooden box placed within a stiff paper box.