Sake Brewer Dassai Features Art in Pop-Up at Mitsukoshi Store

Tokyo, May 14 (Jiji Press)–Dassai Inc., a Japanese sake brewer with international acclaim, opened a pop-up store featuring the collaboration between artworks by Japanese artists and sake at Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd.’s flagship Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi department store in Tokyo on Wednesday. The temporary shop, which will be open through May 26, exhibits artworks expressing the essence of sake brewing, as felt by young artists who visited Dassai’s brewery, according to the company based in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. The works are displayed alongside sake products made with Yamada Nishiki, known as the king of rice used for making sake. “Art is very similar to sake brewing in that it gives shape to the thoughts (of creators),” Dassai CEO Kazuhiro Sakurai said. “I want people to learn more about Japanese culture, including sake, through artworks.” “Art and sake may not be necessities in daily life, but they shake people’s hearts and make them feel alive,” Hiroshi Sakurai, chairman of the company, said in a discussion event held at the pop-up store Wednesday, which was also attended by manga artist Kenshi Hirokane, known for the “Kosaku Shima” series, and Yamada Nishiki rice farmer Masaharu Kitajima. Dassai is working to enhance its brand recognition and expand into foreign markets, aiming to achieve annual sales of 100 billion yen. Dassai Blue, a U.S. brand produced in the state of New York, is steadily increasing its sales channels in the United States. It has also collaborated with Yannick Alleno, a three-star Michelin chef in Paris, to open a new restaurant in the French capital. Dassai’s “junmai daiginjo” premium-grade sake products are popular in over 40 countries. Foreign sales are projected to make up 70 pct of total sales in the future. “The Chinese market has great potential and will likely continue to grow,” Chairman Sakurai said. “Dassai is also very popular among South Korean tourists to Japan.” But the company has no plans to establish production bases in the Asian neighbors and will keep production in Japan, he added. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]