Voice of Koji: an ethnography of a Japanese saké brewery

Purpose We explore a terrain that goes beyond craftwork’s imaginary of primarily human, as craftwork is actually performed in relation to craft materials and environmental forces. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon our ethnographic inquiry into Japanese saké-making, we follow the experiences of how the fieldworker becomes a novice craftsperson. Such an apprenticeship-based ethnography alerts us to the centrality of nonhuman actors such as the rice, water, invisible microbes and weather patterns, which guide and shape the craft processes. Findings We develop two core concepts: “animate beings” and “ecological rhythms.” Nonhuman actors such as the microorganisms used for making saké or the weather patterns in which it is produced are not passive objects to be manipulated by a human maker but are animated in the flow of daily routines. Moreover, the rhythms of craft are thus ecological in the sense that they are not just constituted in the skills and knowledge of craftspeople but are distributed across and in correspondence with the wider craft environment. Originality/value Our post-anthropocentric engagement with craft invites organizational scholars to explore the interrelations between human and nonhuman entanglements. These correspondences between non/human beings shape practices and know-how, and our post-anthropocentric perspectives illuminate new dimensions for scholars.