Clients and projects
A selection of my work in the sake industry, including translation, interpreting, subtitling, event support, writing and editing.
Koji the Kitchen
Service: Speaker support, consultancy, translation, interpreting
Contact: Yuichiro Murai, Kojiya Sanzaemon
Date: April 2024
Koji the Kitchen is a series of events aimed at Japanese practitioners of traditional mould-based fermentation to help them deepen their understanding of technique and possibilities. I worked with a Danish researcher to prepare his presentation for the audience, focus on the points that would be most interesting to them, translated his presentation into Japanese, and interpreted his presentation live for the event.
Kojiya Sanzaemon, a kōji spore (tane-kōji) producer founded around 600 years ago, carry on this very traditional and specifically Japanese method of microbial fermentation while pushing its technical boundaries and applications with modern technology and international influences.
Site: Koji the Kitchen (Japanese)
Interpreting for a Danish researcher presenting in English to an audience of Japanese amateur fermenters
Kojicon 2024
Service: Speaker support, consultancy, translation, editing, interpreting
Contact: Jen Rothman and Eric Dawson, Yellow Farmhouse Education Center / Marika Tazawa, Kurabito Stay / Nobue Ooki, Natura Asamakoji / Tyler Ide, Kitsukura
Date: February 2024
Kojicon, founded by innovative chefs Jeremy Umansky and Rich Shih, brings together practitioners of Japanese mould-based fermentation for two weeks of inspirational talks by those working in and on the edges of the food and drink industry.
I introduced the organisers to potential speakers, then helped the speakers to schedule their talk and plan how to present, translated and edited their slides and script, then interpreted for the full presentation or during the Q&A sessions.
Site: Kojicon (English)
Three sessions at the Kojicon online conference with Japanese speakers sharing their practice of Japanese mould-based fermentation and its impact on their local community
Sake on Air
Service: Research, writing
Contact: Justin Potts, Host
Date: June–December 2023
Sake on Air is the world’s foremost podcast about sake, shōchū and awamori, Japan’s traditional alcoholic drinks. Hosted by a range of experts from the industry, it highlights the complexity and charm of Japanese drinks as well as those who make and promote them.
I was commissioned to write a series of articles drawing on my knowledge of the crossover between sake and wine in overseas promotion, and to research several articles on the impact of climate change on all aspects of the industry from rice farmers to brewing conditions. The articles are being published in the News section of the Sake on Air site.
Site: Sake on Air (English)
News page of the Sake on Air site featuring articles on marketing sake alongside wine, and the impact of climate change on sake
Brewing Society of Japan (BSJ)
Service: Consulting, full localisation, translation, editing, voiceover
Contact: Hitoshi Simoi, Vice-Chairman/Managing Director
Date: February 2021 – September 2023 (course release)
The Introductory Sake Brewing Seminar is designed to provide new sake brewery employees with a thorough understanding of the brewing process and the scientific principles that underpin it. It gives a detailed breakdown of every step of the brewing process, as well as characteristics of sake yeast strains, microbiological and quality control, component analysis, storage, shipping, tasting and the long history of sake brewing. The content is at a much higher level than even the most advanced sake courses available in other languages.
The course features 8 hours of video with presenters talking over timed slideshows of presentations with still images, embedded videos, and scanned graphs and illustrations with Japanese text, which made it extremely challenging to localise. As well as translation of PowerPoint slides and notes, graphs and illustrations had to be recreated or edited and text abbreviated or summarised where there was not enough space.
I worked with the BSJ to make less familiar aspects of sake brewing easily understandable to a non-Japanese audience, including researching current practice at sake breweries outside Japan. I also developed a bilingual terminology list, and made suggestions for improving the structure and delivery of the course in its translated form. After investigating the challenge of subtitling, especially with the amount of information on screen in some slides, the BSJ asked me to create new videos providing voiceover for the fully translated slides.
Founded in 1906, the Brewing Society of Japan is one of the leading organisations in research and development for traditional Japanese brewed and fermented products. They publish the Journal of the Brewing Society of Japan, provide technical advice and publish technical information, hold training courses, collect and store microorganisms relevant to traditional brewing and fermentation, and maintain yeast strains with defined characteristics for distribution to breweries, distilleries and miso and soy sauce makers across the country.
Site: Brewing Society of Japan (English)
Introductory Sake Brewing Seminar online video course from the Brewing Society of Japan
Kurabito Stay
Services: Translation, substantive editing, localisation consultancy
Contact: Marika Tazawa, CEO
Date: May 2023 – ongoing
Translation and localisation of promotional website text advertising brewery experiences, and legal text explaining terms and conditions. As well as translating the event details into engaging English, I identified areas of possible misunderstanding and rewrote the terms and conditions to ensure they were clear for potential customers.
Kurabito Stay is a sake brewery tourism company founded by Marika Tazawa in Saku, Nagano. It aims to promote the area as a destination for sakagura tourism by allowing people to experience the role of a kurabito (brewery worker) in a traditional brewery.
Site: Kurabito Stay (English)
Translation (Japanese -> English) of promotional and legal text for the Kurabito Stay sake brewery experience
Proof Podcast
Services: Research and interview support, translation, fact-checking
Contact: Hannah Kirshner, journalist
Date: January – May 2023
Language support for a journalist interviewing a non-English speaking sake brewer and retired specialist researcher for a podcast episode. I liaised with the interviewees, scheduled online meetings, checked and translated Japanese interview transcripts, fact-checked and liaised with the podcast producers.
Hannah Kirshner is a journalist, author and illustrator based in Brooklyn, New York and the small community of Yamanaka in Ishikawa Prefecture. She regularly writes about and promotes Japanese food and drink.
Site: Proof by America’s Test Kitchen (Season 13, Episode 5, “The Road to Good Sake”) (English)
Site: hannahkirshner.com (English)
Language support (interpreting, translation) in research and interviewing for an episode created by journalist Hannah Kirshner for the Proof podcast from America’s Test Kitchen
Kojicon 2023
Services: Translation, interpreting, localisation consultancy, presentation support
Contact: Jen Rothman, Yellow Farmhouse Education Center / Yuichiro Murai, Kojiya Sanzaemon
Date: March 2023
Localisation consultancy on potential topics for an international audience, followed by translation and editing of a PowerPoint presentation, coaching the speaker to deliver their talk in English, and interpreting for an unscripted Q&A session as part of the online event Kojicon 2023.
Kojicon was started in 2021 by Jeremy Umanski and Rich Shih, authors of Koji Alchemy, to celebrate the growing international community exploring the uses of kōji.
Kojiya Sanzaemon, a kōji spore (tane-kōji) producer founded around 600 years ago, carry on this very traditional and specifically Japanese method of microbial fermentation while pushing its technical boundaries and applications with modern technology and international influences.
Site: Kojicon (English)
Site: Kojiya Sanzaemon (English)
Translation and interpreting (Japanese-English) for Yuichiro Murai, president of kōji spore producer Kojiya Sanzaemon, at the Kojicon 2023 online conference
JSS Influencer Tour 2023
Services: Interpreting, tour support
Contact: Maki Maruoka, Kinki Nippon Tourist / Hiromi Iuchi, Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association
Date: February 2023
Interpreting and support for a specialised tour introducing five highly experienced wine sommeliers to the production processes, tasting, pairing, history and culture of Japanese sake. This included interpreting for presentations received in advance, where I worked with the speakers to tailor the interpreting to achieve their aims, interpreting for unscripted brewery visits including detailed technical questions from the participants, and ad hoc translation and interpreting for the tour operators and sommeliers.
The Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS) is a non-profit organisation that brings together sake, honkaku shōchū, awamori and hon-mirin producers throughout Japan. The JSS support their members through developing brewing and distilling technology, analysing and sharing market information, advising on export and distribution, helping to secure government assistance, and providing guidance and representation for labelling, taxation and food safety. They also take an active role in promoting Japanese drinks at home and abroad, including sponsorship, hosting events and courses and publishing educational material.
Site: Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (English)
Interpreting (Japanese-English) for a group of wine sommeliers visiting Japanese sake breweries and seed kōji makers, sponsored by the Japanese Sake & Shochu Makers Association (JSS)
Salon du Sake 2022
Services: Booth support, interpreting
Contact: Sylvain Huet, organiser, Salon du Sake / Tsunenori Abe, owner, Otone Shuzo
Date: October 2022
I supported a two-person team from a tiny brewery in Gunma Prefecture on the professionals-only day of Salon du Sake 2022 in Paris. They were at the Salon du Sake for the first time and looking for importers/distributors for their sake, which required interpreting between English, Japanese and French for potential clients.
The Salon du Sake is Europe’s largest dedicated sake event, held over three days in Paris and normally attended by a number of sake brewers who travel from Japan. It offers both a forum for sake lovers to meet and learn, and the opportunity to taste hundreds of sake while talking to the brewers or brewery representatives.
Site: Otone Shuzo (Japanese)
Site: Salon du Sake (English)
Booth support and interpreting (Japanese – English – French) for Otone Shuzo at Salon du Sake 2022
Booth support and interpreting (Japanese – English – French) for Otone Shuzo at Salon du Sake 2022
Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS)
Services: Consulting, translation, localisation
Contact: Hitoshi Utsunomiya, Director
Date: November 2021
Japanese to English translation of a revised version of the 1991 publication “Japanese Sake: Service and Knowledge“, also called “The Sake Manual”, released to increase overseas awareness of how to pair sake with both Japanese and non-Japanese food.
I also advised on sections that needed to be updated, adapted or removed for a non-Japanese audience, alternatives and substitutions for trademarked products and Japanese food and drinks, as well as international health and safety standards. Part of my role is going beyond ‘just translation’ to provide an international context for the client’s material, ensuring their message is properly heard and understood outside Japan.
The Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS) is a non-profit organisation that brings together sake, honkaku shōchū, awamori and hon-mirin producers throughout Japan. The JSS support their members through developing brewing and distilling technology, analysing and sharing market information, advising on export and distribution, helping to secure government assistance, and providing guidance and representation for labelling, taxation and food safety. They also take an active role in promoting Japanese drinks at home and abroad, including sponsorship, hosting events and courses and publishing educational material.
Site: Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (English)
Retrovino/Retrosake
Service: Writing
Contact: Colly Murray, Principal Director
Date: August 2021
Planning and writing a series of blog posts introducing sake to wine lovers for an existing wine-savvy customer base. I also incorporated the range of sake in the RetroSake online shop, including links to suitable sake so readers could purchase directly from each post while their interest was piqued.
Ireland’s first and only dedicated importer of premium sake, Retrovino have a long history of importing high quality European and New World wines into Ireland. Their passion for sourcing quality wines made by independent producers led them to build up an extensive list of exceptional wines that never make their way to supermarket shelves. They supply restaurants, licensed premises, events and individual wine collectors.
Site: Retrovino/Retrosake (English)
Colly Murray of RetroSake
Rainbow Sake
Services: Subtitling, editing, writing
Contact: Yoko Suganami, CEO
Date: April 2021
Translation of timed subtitles into concise English, editing existing site content and writing a series of educational articles to make the site more engaging and give readers ideas on how to get started drinking and pairing sake.
Yoko Suganami founded boutique sake PR and marketing company Rainbow Sake in 2013 with the aim of creating a beautiful, colourful bridge between her homeland of Japan and second home of Hawaii through traditional Japanese fermented foods – including sake – and crafts. Her new site, launched in May 2021, includes exclusive video interviews with sake brewers, subtitled for her English-speaking audience.
Site: Rainbow Sake (English)
Yoko Suganami of Rainbow Sake
Yoko Suganami of Rainbow Sake
Setting up the Rainbow Sake site
Yoko Suganami founded Rainbow Sake in 2013 to create a bridge that could carry the soul of Japan to the world through the experience of sake and Japanese culture. She chose the rainbow, beautiful and full of colour, as her symbol of that bridge.
The company initially focused on B2B when it launched in the USA and Singapore, where Yoko focused on building direct relationships with Japan-friendly wholesalers, restaurants and retailers.
In April 2021 she created an online presence in the form of the Rainbow Sake site, which focuses on sake, Japanese traditional crafts and fermented foods. It reflects genuine demand from local consumers, giving them a space to communicate, and contributes to the spread and acceptance of Japanese culture.
Sake Future Summit
Service: Subtitling
Contact: Justin Potts, Sake On Air
Date: November 2020
Translation of timed English subtitles for conversational sessions between sake brewers, sake promoters, and whisky and shochu distillers recorded in Japanese. The project required a Japanese to English translator with extensive knowledge of the sake and wider Japanese drinks industry and the issues they face, as well as experience formatting translated text for screens. I also advised the organisers on how to use software to ensure translated text was the right length to fit on screen while still being easy to read.
Session subtitles translated:
- Recipe for the Future of Sake
- Local Creations and Creative Business
- The Role of a Sake Brewery in the Local Community
- Barley Shochu vs Japanese Whisky (partial)
Sake Future Summit is a hugely successful online event featuring sake brewers and promoters in conversation on a range of topics relevant to the industry.
Site: Sake Future Summit (English)
Kōji for Life
Service: Editing
Contact: Haruko Uchishiba, translator, kōji educator
Date: February 2020
Editing the English translation for the bilingual text of Koji for Life, clarifying and adding explanation as needed to ensure it was easy to understand and put into practice, as the author intended.
Nakaji Minami is one of the most prominent and respected kōji educators in Japan, and this book lays out his simple process for making and using kōji at home on a daily basis and making it part of everyday life.
Site: The Koji Fermenteria: Koji for Life (English)
Salon du Sake 2019
Service: Interpreting
Contact: Sylvain Huet, organiser, Salon du Sake
Date: October 2019
Interpreting (Japanese/French) for a technical officer of the Japan National Tax Agency (NTA) giving a seminar on the professional-only day of Salon du Sake 2019. The presentation covered the scientific and sensory aspects of sake flavour profile and pairing, including tastings of sake with potential pairings such as cheese, chocolate and nuts. As well as interpreting the presentation (Japanese -> French) I relayed comments from the audience to the presenter (French/English -> Japanese) and interpeted the Q&A at the end of the session.
The Salon du Sake is Europe’s largest dedicated sake event, held over three days in Paris and normally attended by a number of sake brewers who travel from Japan. It offers both a forum for sake lovers to meet and learn, and the opportunity to taste hundreds of sake in the presence of the brewers or brewery representatives. The weekend is open to the public, with the Monday open to professionals only.
Site: Salon du Sake (English)
Interpreting (Japanese – French) for the National Tax Agency at a sake pairing seminar during Salon du Sake 2019
Nomunication
Richard contacted me in June 2019 to ask for a series of five articles explaining the basics of sake to share with the readers of his site, to give them the background knowledge needed to get started and start exploring the great variety sake has to offer with more confidence.
Site founder Richard aims to make drinking and exploring the world of Japanese drinks more approachable and accessible by providing extensive coverage of Japanese drinks events and information about trends and developments.
Site: Nomunication.jp (English)
Writing a series of articles about sake for the Japanese drinks site Nomunication.jp
Iwamura Jōzō
Service: Representation
Contact: Mitsuteru Watarai, owner/kuramoto, Iwamura Jōzō
Date: March 2019
Event representative for small craft sake brewery Iwamura Jōzō, based in the village of Iwamura, Gifu Prefecture. While on the stand, I explained sake to wine and spirits professionals, offered tastings, and collected feedback and leads to help the brewery find new export channels.
ProWein is the largest wine and spirits fair in the world, normally held annually in Dusseldorf, Germany. The Japan Pavilion featuring sake breweries and shōchū and awamori distilleries was sponsored by the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS).
Site: ProWein (English)
Site: Iwamura Jōzō (English)
Representing Iwamura Jozo at ProWein 2019