Toji Summit 2026: How to Pass On the Craft After UNESCO Recognition

In December 2024, Japan’s “traditional sake brewing” was inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The inscription does not cover any particular brand or product. It covers the techniques for making sake, honkaku shochu and more using koji mould (a mould grown on steamed rice and similar materials that converts starch into sugar), and the people who carry those techniques. The Preservation Society for Sake Brewing Techniques Using Japan’s Traditional Koji Mould, which works to safeguard these techniques, had announced that it would hold “Toji Summit 2026” on 18 September, jointly with the Japan Sake Brewers Toji Association Federation. A toji is the head brewer who leads production at a brewery.

A place to support life after inscription

The venue was a meeting room at the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, in a hybrid format that could also be joined via Zoom. Participation was said to be free of charge. According to the society, the aim was to share the skills of veteran toji and the similarities and differences between sake and shochu brewing, and to learn from one another about the current state, challenges and new ventures of traditional brewing. The discussions were to be recorded on video and in writing and put to use. Intangible cultural heritage does not finish its work the moment it is inscribed. It only has meaning if the people who inherit the craft continue to be trained. The summit was positioned as a practical forum for exactly that.

From kimoto to earthquake recovery: the toji’s topics

Three toji were scheduled to speak in Part 1, the “Toji Relay Talks”. Kojima Kiyoteru of the Tamba Toji Guild was due to speak about Tamba-style kimoto brewing. Kimoto is a labour-intensive traditional method that makes use of natural lactic acid bacteria to cultivate the shubo (the yeast starter that drives fermentation). Naomachi Goetsu of the Nanbu Toji Association was to talk about his work on organic junmai sake, and Hirano Yasuo of the Niigata Sake Brewing Research Association was to address recovery from the Niigata Chuetsu earthquake. All the talk titles were described as provisional. The theme of Part 2 was “Making sake is making people”. Ishikawa Tatsuya, president of the Japan Sake Brewers Toji Association Federation (Hiroshima Toji Guild), and Omure Yoshiyuki of Daikai Shuzo, a shochu distillery, were to discuss the exchange of skills and knowledge and the development of people. Part 3 was structured as a discussion, moderated by Utsunomiya Hitoshi, in which everyone taking part in the room and online would consider “what should be passed on to the next generation”.

What to watch from Europe

A record of the summit was to be published as video and text. Once it is available, anyone can learn what the brewers want to preserve without travelling to Japan. If you are picking a single bottle in Europe, a good place to start is the “Kimoto” designation on the label. It can offer a rich, full-bodied acidity derived from lactic acid. Organic junmai sake is a style that should be easy to approach for people who enjoy organic wine. The speakers include shochu makers too, so it is worth trying honkaku shochu alongside, as a distilled spirit born of the same koji culture. One more thing to keep in mind: if you come across a bottle that advertises “UNESCO registration”, what was inscribed is the craft itself, not any individual product.