Japanese alcoholic drinks are having a moment. Its sake and whisky in particular are world-famous and can be found in many bars across the globe. Yet lately, another Japanese concoction has been gaining popularity: doburoku.
Doburoku, which translates into “cloudy” or “unrefined” liquor, might not ring a bell for everyone but it certainly has a long history in Japan. One of the main ingredients being rice, the drink has been around ever since the cereal made its appearance in the country.
Contrary to regular sake, making doburoku isn’t that complicated. Just like its better-known cousin, the recipe asks for a yeast starter, steamed rice, kouji, or moldy rice fungus, and water. Yet instead of adding those ingredients to the starter gradually over the course of multiple days, to make doburoku, one adds all the ingredients at once. This process means the fermentation phase is much shorter, creating a sweeter drink with a lower alcohol percentage (6-12%). The fact that it is not filtered afterwards gives the beverage its cloudy appearance.
That simplicity meant that doburoku was a popular choice amongst Japanese farmers for a very long time. Shinto priests too took on the habit of brewing the beverage, especially during festivals and other special occasions. This went on for centuries and, in 1855, there were 459 doburoku producers in Edo (now known as Tokyo) alone, according to Utsunomiya Hitoshi, director of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS).
However, the end of the Edo period (1603 – 1868) also meant the end of doburoku, in many ways. The centralised Meiji government saw the tax potential of breweries and distilleries, meaning it gradually restricted home brewing activities. By 1899, a complete prohibition of homebrewed liquors was installed.
After that, doburoku became known as mitsuzoushu or moonshine. Of course, the prohibition didn’t mean the end of doburoku altogether. Some people still brewed their own illegal batches and Shinto shrines were still allowed to make the beverage in order to be used during their rituals.
However, since 2003, the drink has been making a comeback. That year, the Japanese government started to allow certain inns and restaurants to sell doburoku. Those establishments were located in special so-called “deregulation zones”, mostly in regions where economic growth had stagnated. Steadily, their number increased and, in 2021, 193 establishments in Japan were authorised to sell doburoku.
While home brewing is still illegal in Japan and the context of doburoku has thus heavily shifted since its starting days, the drink is now being rediscovered by curious minds both nationally and internationally.
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