1PROMOTIONBuilding on its success in winning over discerning customers at home,
the Japanese sake maker eyes new markets overseas.The chairman of Asahi Shuzo, an artisan sake
brewery nestled in the quiet hills of eastern
Yamaguchi prefecture, wants to take his pre-
mium Japanese sake brand Dassai and make
it a fi xture on menus from upmarket eateries
in Manhattan to atmospheric soirees in Paris.
Dassai, which refers to otters laying their
catch along the riverbank as if showing them
off at a festival, represents Hiroshi Sakurai’s
dream that people everywhere will drink his
sake and share in a feeling of happiness. And
with his trademark uncompromising attitude
to quality, Sakurai has introduced to his sake
line Dassai 23, a fl agship product designed to
attract new fans in Japan and overseas.
The “23” refers to the volume of rice left after
a polishing process has removed 77% of the
outer shell, which contains fats and protein.
Most high quality sakes only remove about
50% of the surface. Sakurai’s commitment to a
superior product is refl ected in his company's
intensive milling process, which is among the
most rigorous in the industry and takes up to
four days to complete.
“When we take Dassai overseas, what we try
to tell people is that we have made this deli-
cious sake. Please try it and enjoy yourselves.
We are staking our entire reputation on this
one point,” Sakurai says.Complimentary Appeal
Traditionally prepared Japanese cuisine, or
washoku, continues to enjoy worldwide pop-
ularity because of its aesthetically pleasing
presentation and healthy eating qualities. In
2013, the United Nations Educational, Scien-
tifi c and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) des-
ignated washoku as an “Intangible Cultural
Heritage.”
The spread of washoku has clearly helped
sales of Japanese sake overseas, but some crit-
ics have suggested that sake goes well only
with Japanese food and not other culinary
traditions.
With its taste described as clean, yet plump
and fruity, the highly refi ned qualities of DassaiAsahi Shuzo Co., Ltd, Chairman, Hiroshi SakuraiDASSAI
ASAHI SHUZO: SMALL-TOWN BREWER GOES GLOBAL
23 in particular make it a good match not only
for most Japanese food, but also for other
high-end cuisines. Sakurai emphatically points
out that it is not the nationality of the food that
counts, but the level of expertise in the presen-
tation that is important.
“It is not a question of Dassai not going well
with non-Japanese food. It matches any food
that is prepared with great care,” he says.
Sakurai focuses more on the quality of his
sake for his customers rather than the volume
potential of any given market. He has an acute
awareness of the diff erence between provid-
ing a meticulously prepared product that sat-
isfi es the needs of discerning customers and
viewing a country merely as a market to be
exploited for business purposes.
For that reason , Sakurai notes that for now
Dassai is more likely to continue to seek out
partners in Europe and the U.S., with develop-
ment of the Asian market likely to be a topic
for the future.And Yet...
Many global brands have developed interest-
ing backstories to promote their products,
but few compare with the Dickensian drama
of disenfranchisement, abandonment and
resurrection that Sakurai and his company
Asahi Shuzo have experienced.