Japanese Culture

Bonsai is aptly defined as the process by which trees or shrubs are purposefully grown to be miniature models of their natural size. Pine trees in the wild reach a height of several meters but through bonsai, the tree is kept at less than a meter high. In addition to keeping the plant in a small pot or container, the miniaturization process is accomplished by pruning both the foliage and roots. Over time the branches are treated to follow a certain aesthetic transformation. The trunk is made to look aged and the foliage becomes a miniature representation of actual leaves.

History

Although 'bonsai' generally conjures up images of the Japanese version, the term has also come to include both the Chinese penjing and Korean bunjae. In fact, the bonsai process appears to have originated in mainland China around 200 AD. Although its origins on not entirely clear, the art may have started with the practice of potting medicinal plants for traveling Chinese healers who attempted to shape trunks to look like animals and mystic figures.

Beer consumption in Japan dates back to the establishment of the trade route between the Dutch Empire and Japan, when Dutch sailors brought the first beer to the country. During the Meiji Period (1868-1912), Germany re-introduced not only beer but also manufacturing and brewing techniques. It was during this time that Japanese style commercial brewing was born and has since become instrumental in its spread throughout Asia. Since then, beer has become the alcoholic drink of preference for Japanese people.

Over the years, drinking beer has become a popular pastime and many people in Japan frequent open-air beer gardens during the hot summer months. In fact, beer is so popular in Japan that it can be found almost anywhere, including vending machines throughout the country, which are a favorite of many foreigners visitors and residents of Japan.

Sake or nihonsho, is a Japanese alcoholic beverage brewed from rice and known to the world over as Japanese Rice Wine. Sake is traditionally a part of the Shinto religion and the Japanese culture. Usually served in a tokkuri or ceramic flask, the drink is poured in o-choko or small cups. It is customary to fill the cups of people around you, and to wait for them to notice and pour for you when yours is empty.

Sake can be served either as atsukan (hot sake) or hiyazake (cold sake). Heating sake will hide some of the less than desirable flavors of the cheaper variety and professional sake tasters prefer to drink it at room temperature. In the United States, sake is most often consumed at after heating it to body temperature. Drinking it cold is also becoming popular as hizasake tastes sweet and tingy.

How is sake made? Sake has four basic ingredients: water, rice, yeast and koji (converts carbohydrates to sugar). These ingredients are fermented and brewed like beer, but the end product is wine. Many Westerners view sake as another white wine because both have distinct similarities.

Koji is a round and robust mold variety intended only for sake. Rice is milled so that 40% is discarded until the whitish substance at the core appears. Only then can actual mixing and fermenting commence.

As with wine, sake may be dry to sweet and fragile to full-bodied. Nigori is a sweet sake, while genshu is full bodied.

As in places around the world, Japanese alcoholic drinks often evolved from simple mixtures into potent potions handed down from centuries of innovation and refined by distillers today. In Japan, intoxicating mixes were products of organic origin, such as plants, trees, and root crops. A few were acquired from foreign countries which suited local taste. Some of the more popular acoholic drinks in Japan are found below.

Amazake

Amazake is a sweet, low-alcohol content Japanese drink made from fermented rice. Koji is added to cooled-down whole grain rice and made to stand for days to develop natural sweetness. The basic recipe for Amazake has been around for centuries and can often be found at street vendors and outside of shrines around the New Year. Amazake is also thought to be very nutritious and, having no additives, salt, preservative, and no added sugars, is sold in health food stores outside of Japan.

Non-alcoholic drinks in Japan are classified as organic since most are concoctions of various edible shrubs, herbs, vegetables, root crops, grains and fruit juices. They are marketed in bottles, aluminum cans and plastic containers. Some drinks are for winter while others are for the warm months. A few of the most common drinks in Japan are listed below.

Aojiru

Aojiru (あおじる；青汁) means 'green drink' or 'green juice' and is a vegetable drink usually made from kale. Developed in 1943 by Dr. Niro Endo (えんどう・にろう；遠藤仁郎)developed the drink in 1943 and claimed the drink cured his wife from nephritis and his son's pneumonia. The drink gained in popularity in the 1980s when it was turned into a power marketed as a dietary supplement. Despite its awful, the market for aojiru exceeded $500 million in 2005.

Boss Coffee

Sold in cans and plastic canisters, Boss (ボス) coffee is by made by Suntory.

Calpis

Similar to vanilla yogurt, Calpis (カルピス)is non-alcoholic with a light milky and acidic flavor. The drink is sold both in cans and bottles, and in concentrate form with milk or water as additives. Many foreigners who come to Japan find it difficult drinking something that sounds so much like cow urine.

Cheerio

Cheerio (チェリオ) is a carbonated soft drink that comes in a variety of flavors, including grape, orange and many more.

Georgia

The highest grossing coffee beverage in Japan, Georgia (ジョージ　缶コーヒー) is a brand of coffee based drinks developed and sold by the Coca-Cola Company.

Green Tea

Green tea, or ryokucha (りょくちゃ;緑茶), is a traditional tea extracted from Camellia sinenses that is treated to attain minimal oxidation during processing in order to maintain its health enhancing properties. Green tea is so popular in Japan it is often simply referred to as 'tea' (ocha;おちゃ；お茶) or even 'Japanese tea' (nihoncha;にほんちゃ；日本茶). Green teas are graded according to quality and by which part of the plant is used. The best Japanese green teas are those that come from the Uji (うじ；宇治) region in Kyoto (きょうと；京都), although some prefer those obtained from Shizuoka Prefecture (しずおかけん；静岡県).

Hoppy

Developed by Kokuha Beverage Company, Hoppy (ホッピー) is a non-alcoholic beer that become popular as a mixer for shochu in post-WWII Japan when beer was unavailable to the ordinary Japanese person.

Canned Coffee

This beverage is available in vending machines, supermarkets, and convenience stores, or kombini (コンビニ), throughout Japan.

Jurokucha

The literal meaning of jurokucha (じゅうろくちゃ；十六茶) is 16 teas. The drink consists of a blend of leaves, grains and fruits and is considered a health drink due to its rich dietary fiber content.

Lipovitan

Lipovitan (リポビタン), or 'Lipita' for short, is an energy drink that is supposed to improve performance and relieve physical and mental fatigue. The ingredients are similar to the ubiquitous Red Bull and is being marketed in English-speaking countries as Libogen. Vodka lipos have made their way onto some drink menus but remember that they are potent concoctions and having several may cause insomnia.

Match

A carbonated soft drink with a fruity taste, Match (マッチ) is very popular among tourists.

Mitsuya Cider

Mitsuya Cider (ミツ矢サイダー) a is carbonated soft drink produced by Asahi Breweries. Sold in lavishly designed bottles, it comes in various fruity flavors.

Mugicha

Mugicha (むぎちゃ;麦茶) is an herbal tea made from roasted barley that can be brewed with both hot or cold water. In Japan, it is most commonly served cold during the summer. Canned and bottles mugicha is available in vending machines.

Oronamin C Drink

Carbonated Oronamin C Drink (オロナニンCドリンク), the number one health drink in Japan in terms of sales.

Pocari Sweat

Despite its peculiar name, Pocari Sweat (ポカリスエット) is both a sports drink/soft drink that resembles Arctic Shatter flavored Powerade. The drink enjoys popularity outside of Japan, including South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan and Indonesia. Numerous foreigners in Japan are conducting thorough searches throughout the country but have not been to find any Pocaris. When one is finally found, the next step is to discern the sweat extraction process.

Ramune

Ramune (ラムネ) is a carbonated lemon-lime soft drink sold in a unique Codd-neck bottles, whose design is names after its inventor Hiram Codd.

Sangaria

Sangaria (サナガリア) is a tea based soft drink infused with vitamins. It is widely known to promote health and is not to be confused with the similar sounding sangria, which is a type of fruit-based wine cooler.

Tamaryokucha

A Japanese green tea mixed with berries, almond, citrus and edible grass, Tamaryokucha (たまりょくちゃ；玉緑茶) comes in two variants: the pan fried or steamed.

Yakult

Invented by Dr. Minoru Shirota, Yakult (ヤクルト) is a probiotic drink with live Lactobacillus casei bacteria to correct intestinal problems. It is a yogurt-like drink that is a fermented mixture of skimmed milk and sugar. Sold in 27 countries, Yakult was developed in 1930 by Minoru Shirota. The parent company, Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd. own one of Japan's major league baseball teams, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

What kind of drink do most Japanese people have when they get to work in the morning? Green tea, right?...Wrong. As in most countries around the world coffee is the drink of choice for the majority of people in Japan.

Here is our section about different beverages in Japan and you will find information about alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

From samurai and sushi to geisha and kimono to anime and manga, Japanese culture has achieved a level of world renown shared by few nations. Japan is certainly the only country in Asia that has had such an influence on global culture. Sometimes subtle and sometimes pronounced, Japanese culture has seeped across borders and touched every country on earth.