Sake Brewer

"Sake Brewer" (Toji) is a color woodblock print from around 1940 by Wada Sanzo depicting the master brewer who oversees the production of Japan's national beverage. The toji holds a position of enormous responsibility within the brewery, directing a seasonal workforce through the complex biochemical process of converting rice starch to sugar and then to alcohol using koji mold and yeast. Wada shows the brewer amid the equipment of the trade: the massive cedar vats, the steaming trays of koji rice, the tools for testing temperature and fermentation progress. Sake brewing traditionally took place during the cold winter months, when low temperatures allowed the toji to control fermentation more precisely. The craft demanded scientific understanding expressed through sensory judgment, with the toji monitoring progress through taste, smell, and the sound of actively fermenting mash. Wada's print preserves the image of a seasonal tradition stretching back centuries.