The core idea: two questions build every grade name
Brewers polish rice because the outer layer of the grain holds protein, fat and minerals that roughen taste and aroma. The more that is ground away, the cleaner and more fragrant the sake tends to be, and the more rice it costs. The figure for this is seimai buai (精米歩合), literally polished-rice ratio: the weight left compared with the brown rice, genmai. Seimai buai 60 percent means 40 percent was removed.
The second question is whether jōzō arukōru, distilled alcohol, was added to the mash. The rules cap it at 10 percent of the rice weight; brewers use it to lift aroma and sharpen the finish. No added alcohol is junmai (純米), literally pure rice. The grid in the diagram is the whole system: pick a column, pick a row, and you have the name.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 純米酒はどれですか。 | Junmaishu wa dore desu ka. | Which ones are junmai? |
| これは醸造アルコールが入っていますか。 | Kore wa jōzō arukōru ga haitte imasu ka. | Does this one have added alcohol? |
| 精米歩合は何パーセントですか。 | Seimai buai wa nan pāsento desu ka. | What is the polishing ratio? |
| 吟醸と大吟醸は何が違うんですか。 | Ginjō to daiginjō wa nani ga chigau n desu ka. | What's the difference between ginjō and daiginjō? |
The eight official grades in one table
The National Tax Agency's labelling standard for sake defines eight tokutei meishōshu (特定名称酒), literally specially designated name sake. A brewery may print one only if the sake meets the conditions, and must then show the seimai buai beside the ingredients. All eight also need at least 15 percent of the rice made into kōji.
Ginjō (吟醸) literally means carefully examined brewing: well-polished rice fermented slowly and cool, which produces the fruity aroma called ginjō-ka. Dai, great, marks the top polishing tier. Tokubetsu, special, requires 60 percent polishing or a special method explained on the label. Since a revision that took effect in 2004, junmai has had no minimum polishing figure at all.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 特別純米の特別は、何が特別なんですか。 | Tokubetsu junmai no tokubetsu wa, nani ga tokubetsu na n desu ka. | What makes tokubetsu junmai special? |
| Grade | Reading | Polishing ratio | Added alcohol |
|---|---|---|---|
| 純米酒 | junmaishu | No minimum | None |
| 特別純米酒 | tokubetsu junmaishu | 60% or less, or a special method | None |
| 純米吟醸酒 | junmai ginjōshu | 60% or less, ginjō method | None |
| 純米大吟醸酒 | junmai daiginjōshu | 50% or less, ginjō method | None |
| 本醸造酒 | honjōzōshu | 70% or less | Capped at 10% |
| 特別本醸造酒 | tokubetsu honjōzōshu | 60% or less, or a special method | Capped at 10% |
| 吟醸酒 | ginjōshu | 60% or less, ginjō method | Allowed, capped at 10% |
| 大吟醸酒 | daiginjōshu | 50% or less, ginjō method | Allowed, capped at 10% |
Sake outside the eight is often called futsūshu, ordinary sake: an industry word, not a legal grade, covering a large share of what Japan drinks.
Confusable pairs on the shelf
Most confusion comes from names that look like a ladder when they are really a grid. Set the pairs side by side and the difference is usually one condition.
| Pair | Reading | What actually differs |
|---|---|---|
| 純米 / 本醸造 | junmai / honjōzō | Added alcohol: none in junmai, a capped amount in honjōzō, which also needs 70% polish |
| 吟醸 / 大吟醸 | ginjō / daiginjō | Polishing only: 60% or less against 50% or less, both brewed the ginjō way |
| 特別純米 / 純米吟醸 | tokubetsu junmai / junmai ginjō | Both can be 60%; only junmai ginjō must be brewed by the ginjō method |
| 精米歩合60% / 60%削る | seimai buai 60% / 60% kezuru | 60% remaining against 60% ground away: the first is the label figure |
| 生酒 / 生一本 | namazake / kiippon | Unpasteurised sake against junmai from one brewery; 生 is read differently |
Reading the back label, line by line
The front label sells; the back label informs. It must show the ingredients, alcohol content, volume and maker, special grades add the seimai buai, and almost every bottle carries a bottling date. The rice variety, nihonshu-do and acidity are optional. The item line may say nihonshu only if the rice is Japanese and the sake was made in Japan; otherwise it says seishu.
Alcohol is written with do (度), degrees: one do is one percent, and most sake is diluted to 15 or 16. Seizō nengetsu (製造年月), literally manufacture year and month, is the bottling date, not the brewing date, so it is not a vintage.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 甘口と辛口、どちらがお好みですか。 | Amakuchi to karakuchi, dochira ga okonomi desu ka. | Which do you prefer, sweet or dry? (shop assistant) |
| こちらは日本酒度プラス五の辛口です。 | Kochira wa nihonshu-do purasu go no karakuchi desu. | This one is dry, with a nihonshu-do of plus five. |
| 酸度が高めなので、しっかりした味です。 | Sando ga takame na no de, shikkari shita aji desu. | The acidity is on the high side, so it tastes full and firm. |
| 製造年月は瓶詰めした時期のことです。 | Seizō nengetsu wa binzume shita jiki no koto desu. | The production date means when it was bottled. |
| 生酒なので、冷蔵庫に入れてください。 | Namazake na no de, reizōko ni irete kudasai. | It's unpasteurised, so please keep it in the fridge. |
Beyond the basics: nihonshu-do and sando
Nihonshu-do (日本酒度), literally sake degree, compares the sake's density with water. Sugar makes a liquid heavier, so a sweeter sake scores minus and a drier sake scores plus. Most bottles fall between about minus 10 and plus 10.
Sando (酸度), acidity, changes how that sugar is felt. Acid cancels sweetness on the tongue, so a sake with high sando tastes drier and fuller than its nihonshu-do suggests, and low sando makes it feel softer and sweeter. Most bottles sit between about 1 and 2. Read the two numbers together, as a guide rather than a promise.
What happened after pressing: nama, genshu and seasonal words
Most sake is pasteurised twice, once before storage and once before shipping, by a quick heating called hiire. The nama words tell you which heating was skipped. Genshu (原酒), literally original sake, skips the dilution step. Two seasonal words mark the brewing calendar: shiboritate in winter and spring, hiyaoroshi in autumn.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ひやおろしはもう出ていますか。 | Hiyaoroshi wa mō dete imasu ka. | Is this year's hiyaoroshi out yet? |
| 搾りたては今の時期だけです。 | Shiboritate wa ima no jiki dake desu. | Freshly pressed sake is only around at this time of year. (staff) |
| これは火入れしていますか。 | Kore wa hiire shite imasu ka. | Has this one been pasteurised? |
| Label word | Reading | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 生酒 | namazake | Never pasteurised; sold chilled, often marked yōreizō |
| 生貯蔵酒 | nama-chozōshu | Stored raw, pasteurised once at bottling |
| 生詰め酒 | namazume-shu | Pasteurised once before storage, bottled without a second heating |
| 原酒 | genshu | No water added after pressing, so usually stronger, often 17% or more |
| ひやおろし | hiyaoroshi | Autumn release after a summer's rest, usually namazume; no legal definition |
| 搾りたて | shiboritate | Freshly pressed new sake, winter to spring, usually unpasteurised |
| 生一本 | kiippon | Junmai brewed entirely at one brewery |
| 樽酒 | taruzake | Stored in a wooden cask and carrying its scent |
Hiyaoroshi keeps an old sense of hiya: not heated. The sake is taken from the tank (oroshi) without the second heating (hiya). The same idea returns when you order at the counter.
Ordering at an izakaya: hiya, reishu and kan
Sake is served across a fifty-degree range, and temperature words are where visitors most often go wrong. Reishu (冷酒) is chilled. Kan (燗), or politely okan, is warmed, with names from hitohada-kan, body warmth, to atsukan, hot. Hiya (冷や) is written with the kanji for cold, but traditionally it means served as it is, at room temperature. The diagram's temperatures are approximate.
You are at an izakaya counter with a colleague. Sake comes by the gō, 180 millilitres, in a flask called a tokkuri with small cups called ochoko, or by the glass.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 日本酒は何がありますか。 | Nihonshu wa nani ga arimasu ka. | What sake do you have? |
| 冷やとお燗、どちらにしますか。 | Hiya to okan, dochira ni shimasu ka. | Room temperature or warmed? (staff) |
| 冷やでお願いします。 | Hiya de onegai shimasu. | Room temperature, please. |
| これ、お燗にできますか。 | Kore, okan ni dekimasu ka. | Can you warm this one? |
| 熱燗を一合お願いします。 | Atsukan o ichigō onegai shimasu. | One gō of hot sake, please. |
| お猪口は二つください。 | Ochoko wa futatsu kudasai. | Two cups, please. |
| 飲み比べセットはありますか。 | Nomikurabe setto wa arimasu ka. | Do you have a tasting set? |
| 冷やって、常温ですか。 | Hiya tte, jōon desu ka. | By hiya, do you mean room temperature? |
How people really talk about sake
In Japanese, sake or osake means alcohol in general, so osake wa nomemasu ka asks whether you drink at all. To mean the Japanese rice drink, say nihonshu. In speech the grade names lose their final shu: people ask for a junmai or a daiginjō, and staff describe a bottle by brewery and region before grade. Nobody says tokutei meishōshu outside a textbook.
The legal drinking age in Japan is 20, and labels say so. The sake brewery tour article follows a visit to the brewery and its tasting counter; this one stays with the bottle in your hand.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| お酒は飲めますか。 | Osake wa nomemasu ka. | Do you drink alcohol? |
| 日本酒が好きです。 | Nihonshu ga suki desu. | I like Japanese sake. |
| 地元のお酒はありますか。 | Jimoto no osake wa arimasu ka. | Do you have any local sake? |
| 純米で何かおすすめはありますか。 | Junmai de nanika osusume wa arimasu ka. | Is there a junmai you'd recommend? |
| お酒は二十歳になってから。 | Osake wa hatachi ni natte kara. | Alcohol only from age 20. (printed notice) |
Common mistakes reading sake labels
Reading a bigger seimai buai as more polished. The cause is that most percentages on a product count something added. This one counts what is left, so 50 percent is more polished than 70.
Thinking honjōzō or ginjō with added alcohol is a cheaper, cheated sake. The cause is the English idea of fortified drinks. The amount is capped and is a style choice for aroma and crispness.
Ordering hiya and expecting it chilled. The cause is the kanji 冷, cold. Traditionally hiya is room temperature, and reishu is chilled. Ask for reishu, or check what hiya means at that bar.
Reading 生一本 as nama ippon. The cause is that 生 so often means unpasteurised on labels. In kiippon it means pure and unmixed: a junmai from one brewery.