Japan's sacred sake songs
by editors@theworld.org (Hannah Kirshner) from The World: Latest Stories on (#70SG3)
The Terada Honke sake brewery is like a shrine to the microorganisms brewers must cooperate with to make sake. The workers there sing traditional songs as they pound steamed rice to make a fermentation starter with ambient yeast. Reporter Hannah Kirshner captures these rare sounds in an audio postcard and tells the story of why the owner brought back the old songs.