From Rice to Barley: Whisky as an Imagined National Symbol of Contemporary Japan

As a latecomer to Western modernity in the late nineteenth century, Japan launched the domestic production of whisky in the 1920s. Through the unswerving efforts of Torii Shinjirō of Suntory and Taketsuru Masataka of Nikka, Japan's whisky industry has become a globally competitive component of the nation's economy. Undergoing several decades of effort and wartime hardship, the quality of Japanese whisky has been internationally recognized, as proven by prestigious awards and increasing global market demand. Alongside industrial development, the Japanese whisky has woven a rich cultural tapestry that constitutes multiple factors, including Suntory's creative marketing strategy, a television drama featuring Taketsuru's epic biography, and the rise of craft distilleries. While saké (rice wine) used to be the symbolic product of Japan, as its consumption has declined, whisky has risen in turn to the status of a quasi-national symbol. Then, unlike traditional scotch whisky, the salient trait of Japanese whisky tends to be conditioned by terroirs specific to local ingredients, climates, and cultural life or cuisine based on people's palates. Whereas these local references might reflect a contemporary form of Orientalist discourse and exoticism, from the vantage point of the global market, mystification is a favorable feature of Japanese whisky. Finally, in a period of low economic growth, Japanese whisky has grown into a driving force helping rebuild a new sociocultural identity through refined craftmanship.