Kudari-zake
下り酒
Definition
Sake shipped 'down' from the Kamigata region (Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe) to Edo (Tokyo) during the Edo period. Kudari-zake was considered premium sake, and the term 'kudari-mono' (things from above) became synonymous with high quality.
In Depth
The kudari-zake trade route was one of the most important commercial shipping lanes in Edo-period Japan. Sake barrels were loaded onto taru-kaisen (barrel ships) in Nada and shipped around the coast to Edo, arriving after a journey of several days to weeks. The sea voyage and barrel aging actually improved some sake. The enormous demand in Edo — the world's largest city — drove Nada's expansion into Japan's dominant brewing region. The expression 'kudaran' (literally 'doesn't go down to Edo') came to mean worthless or boring, a testament to the cultural primacy of kudari-zake.
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