The Sake Samurai Association have just announced the sake promoters and supporters chosen to receive the title of Sake Samurai for 2023. They will be formally inducted at a ceremony to be held on 26 September 2023 at Matsuo Taisha in Kyoto.
Sake Samurai of 2023:
- Shūhō “Bon” Yagi, CEO TIC Restaurant Group (based in the USA)
- Baku Takahashi, International affairs consultant, sake educator/consultant, etc. (based in Vietnam)
- Kenji Fabio Ōta, Founder/owner MEGA SAKE (based in Brazil)
- Akiko Tomoda, Director of the Association of Women who Love Japanese Sake and Wine, General Coordinator of the Japan Women’s SAKE Award (based in Japan)
[My translations of job titles – Yagi’s name is given on the TIC site as “Shuji Bon Yagi”.]
The Sake Samurai award is conferred by a group called the Japan Sake Brewers Association Junior Council (JSBAJC).
The name is confusingly similar to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS), but they are different organisations – however, the JSS has been funding JSBAJC since 1970.
The JSBAJC was founded in 1955 under a different name (Zenkoku Seishu Kyogikai, National Sake Council) and changed to its current name in 1991.
Source: Sake Samurai Association press release 1 September 2023 (Japanese)
Want Japanese sake news and information delivered straight to your inbox?
Sign up for Sake Muse!
The translations/summaries of Japanese language news articles or other resources, personal commentary and other content provided on this site or through its associated newsletter are part of a personal project to increase the amount of information about Japanese sake and related fields available in English.
Coverage of an organisation, product, process, event, etc. on this site or in the associated newsletter does not in any way imply approval or endorsement.
After signing up, please look out for a confirmation email and confirm your subscription to start receiving the newsletter. It usually goes out every 2 weeks or so, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
All translations/summaries and other content are © 2017-2026 Arline Lyons.