The autumn season of the second year of Reiwa has arrived. It is the time of year when the brewery is filled with the nice aroma of freshly steamed rice.

During the production of koji (malted rice), besides the scent of steamed rice there are various aromas such as the scent of bean sprouts, chestnuts, and so on. These fragrances create an indescribable atmosphere with a slight amount of heat and humidity.

The life of koji can be sensed not only through its scent, but also through the noise it creates. I can hear very faintly in the wind the yeast fermenting at night, making a soft popping noise. Every year I am impressed to know sake is made by something living.

Sorry, I apologize for the self-introduction delay. My name is Hana, the cat, and I am a helper at Kikkawa Jozo (brewery).

The employees at Kikkawa told me I should write an introduction since they are busy renewing our website. On behalf of the brewery, I would like to say welcome to the start of a new brewing year.

This year Kikkawa seemed to have been greatly impacted by the corona virus, and I noticed that the volume of my meals decreased daily. However, recently the brewery has become livelier with a new group of people joining us this fall.

I am happy to see people smiling and moving about in the warehouse and workshop, and with excitement putting up the sugi-dama called “sakayabayashi”, a traditional symbol of sake brewery to notify that new sake has been produced.

For hygienic reasons I am not allowed in the brewery, but in the past cats like me were kept in sake breweries all over the country for mice prevention.

From what I heard, there are cats around the world who have high roles as guard cats to ward off mice not only in sake breweries, but places such as the State Hermitage Museum in Russia and at the British Prime Minister`s office. Someday I would like to share my mice hunting experiences and some personal stories with you all.