Talk:Shōchū

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[edit] Brands?

What are the major brands of Shochu?

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According to the Teikoku Data Bank, the top 3 in sales are: 1) iichiko 2) kanoka 3) iitomo

Otherwise I dont know, but for otsu shochu, I see Tominohouzan everywhere, and its pretty good. Esp. their zenryokoji. Naerhu 08:41, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

2006 sales of shochu, according to the Mainichi 1)Iichiko (mugi) 2)Tantakatan (shiso) 3)Shiranami　(imo) Myhomeuphere 04:27, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Gold leaf in Shochu

I have a bottle of Shochu complete with about 30 small pieces of what looks like gold leaf floating inside. The bottle is branded 'Hakusui' and was a gift. Does anyone have information on the history and benefits of gold in Shochu?

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Shochu and sake which are given as gives often contain a small amount of gold leaf, as you describe. It's added to confer a feeling of luxury or a sense of celebration to the gift. Gold in metallic form cannot be metabolised by the body so the health benefits are likely to be minimal.

[edit] Origins and distinctions

Shochu is the Japanese version of soju, a drink that originated in Korea. Should mention of this be made here? It is stated in the article for soju. Also, in the article for the Chinese version of shochu, it is said that the Chinese drink has a distinct flavor that is similar to, but different from both soju and shochu. Perhaps it is misleading to simply call it the Chinese version of shochu?

I do not know what think Koreans, but Japanese are not sure that where came from "Shochu". Usually they say, it come from Thailand, China, or China through Korea. (It is interesting that Japanese think that something new has come from not Korea, but China.) So it is not clear shochu is the Japanese version of soju. I think it was common drink in East-Asia. 86.101.91.207 12:58, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

It is thought that the distillation technology of Japan was transmitted from Thailand or Chosun in the 15th century. It is thought that Chosun was transmitted from China. The modern distillation method of a shochu was developed in England. Moreover, the bacterium that the Japanese developed at 1923 is used in Maccori(An accurate spelling is uncertain) of South Korea now. The name of shochu comes out in the record of Japan in 1559. When has the name of soju been used in Chosun? Please teach the document. --Opp2 01:48, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

Soju did not originate from Korea or from Japan. It is known to have its first roots in Persia then made its way to East Asia via Mongolia with its opening up to Islamic culture (ironical because Islam prohibits alcohol). It is known in Arabic as "arag" and was known in Mongolian as araki [亞刺吉]. In Manchu, it is known as "alki" and the Korean term 'soju' is a relatively new word to be used. In some parts of North Korea soju is often referred to as "아락주"/"arakju", the more 'traditional' word of "소주"(soju). --DandanxD 02:11, 9 December 2006 (UTC)


Hello, Cypoet. Re your edits at Shōchū. We are only editors here, not authorities. We don't change sourced material to what we "know" to be true without providing a source to back that up. Please provide sources for your edits and changes. You might want to read Wikipedia:No original research and Wikipedia:Verifiability. Regards. Dekkappai (talk) 21:07, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

@Dekkappai: the source that was previously given is hardly "trustable" being from a webpage with little authority on the history of korea. The source is changed to http://www.tomcoyner.com/moving_beyond_the_green_blur.htm which outlines an article written in a korean newspaper about the origin of soju. This seems more suited. Again, the korean soju does not originate from China, but from Mongolia which gathered the distillation technique from Persia. Some North Koreans today and especially the Jurchens/Manchus/Koreans/Japanese in the past call soju by its persian name origin (Arak-ju), showing the migration path which is backed by archeological data and korean history books. Soju/Shoju is the sino-korean/sino-japanese pronunciation of the chinese characters which replaced the original pronunciation --Cypoet (talk) 13:28, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

I read http://www.tomcoyner.com/moving_beyond_the_green_blur.htm , but it does not say Shochu came from Korea. The source is mostly about Korean Soju, and unrelated to Shochu.--Mochi (talk) 13:17, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Cypoet's new citation http://www.theshochu.com/distillers.html says, Iki is the first place where barley shochu (mugi shochu) was produced. It does not say "from Korea", and the citation is surely misleading.--Mochi (talk) 07:08, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Rewrite

I have spent almost two weeks rewriting and expanding this article.

The new version has a snappier introduction, which I feel is important. It combines all the major points of the original article, along with my translation of almost all of the Japanese article, which I believe is more structured and informative than the prior English version. It has many interesting cultural highlights which I have preserved, and in some cases expanded upon. I have also added a couple of illustrative photos.

Whilst translating and reworking, I have researched extensively on the Internet and added several references. These are English where I was able to find sources, but many interesting items are only available in Japanese, particularly for more technical points. All errors in translation or understanding are my own, much of the Japanese is technical and difficult to translate -- I welcome corrections and improvements. Whilst researching I discovered a handful of points which differed from the Japanese Wikipedia's claims. Since they are my sources and referenced, I have favoured their facts over those of the Japanese article; such details are few and minor but should not be mistaken for errors in translation. Also, in the interests of coherence and readability in English, I have been liberal and not stuck to the structure of the Japanese article, though the influence should be apparent.

Towards the end I noticed my drafts had become a mishmash of American and English spellings. My natural bias is English so I unilaterally converted the rest to English. I have no objection to spelling being reverted to the American form should someone feel strongly and do a complete rather than partial conversion.

Also, please expand and add more references where appropriate! Most unreferenced paragraphs originate in the Japanese article; I intend to continue to update when I find appropriate references. Any photos relating to the shochu production process would be particularly welcome, as would any referenced expansion of the History section.

I hope readers find the new article interesting, and get as much out of it as I did researching it. I humbly submit it is now amongst the better articles on alcoholic beverages in the English Wikipedia and an improvement on what was here before.

Akihabara 14:31, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

For the time being, I have changed the assessment to mid-importance and the article class to B (this relates more to your comments at WP:Japan than here). Good work on the article. (^^) Dekimasu 14:50, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
I've altered the section on the shrine graffiti and attempted a translation of the hashira shochu section. I took out the phrase "wooden plate" because I felt it implied that the graffiti was on a separate piece of wood, like a sign. It's not easy to say from the referenced website, but I thought that probably it was written directly onto one of the boards.
I confess that I don't completely understand the hashira shochu section, as I'm not sure when or why it was impossible to make seishu (清酒?), which I called "refined sake". -- Grgcox 23:45, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
Indeed, that's fantastic, thanks for your help. I prefer your graffiti translation, and now I've seen the hashira shochu bit translated I agree with your interpretation. I hope you don't mind my tweaking your wording of the latter; mainly to read more smoothly and avoid some word repetition. Akihabara 14:43, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
This page has become an excellent resource. Still some things to add- i.e. a bit that should confirm the differences between Japanese and Korean shochu. Also, o-yuwari isn't the standard way of drinking shochu straight, it's just one way. And people will sometimes mash up an umeboshi or squeeze a lemon into o-yuwari. Regarding vending machines, ones that sell alcohol are become obsolete and other than Hai-Liki, cheap-o brand, I've never seen any other chu-hai available. But that's nitpicking...One thing I can not find information on, even in Japanese, is a nice way to describe how the different koji will affect that end taste. Not sure if it does or not, but I"m assuming so. Anyway, again, great work Akihabara.- SilverJay 03:00, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
There are still a lot of alcohol vending machines in Kansai. Chu-hai is pretty common in them, too. Just speaking from personal experience. Dekimasu 03:31, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How drink varies with season? please explain

Since someone said that you drink it differently depending on the seasons, it would be nice to explain some examples of this. Therefore, we won't look quite as foolish asking for something that is out of season. Thanks! 24.205.92.132 00:25, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Shōchū is drunk by the season as follows.

  • A warm season is locked and done in grog.
  • A cold season is made hot-water remunerative.

--219.97.68.160 15:16, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Shōchū is drunk completely as the drinker wishes. In Kagoshima (in particular Osumi) it is drunk with hot water 80% of the time year round. Method of consumption can also change with brand, some brands are made to be drunk on the rocks, while other brands are made to be drunk with hot water.Myhomeuphere 03:50, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Most recent edit

I don't think "The 1956 film The Teahouse of the August Moon portrayed an American-occupied Okinawan village rebuilding its economy with potato shōchū." under the Potato Shochu heading really adds to the article. Maybe under a new heading "Shochu in Western Culture" or something?? Myhomeuphere 07:43, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] General Discussion

"The home of shōchū in Japan is the island of Kyūshū, the only prefecture of Japan which does not produce other alcoholic beverages such as sake."

The island of Kyūshū is not a prefecture. Actually, it consists on 9 prefectures. Could someone with a better English than mine fix this? - Karawapo 05:37, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

My very limited experience from a recent three week to Japan seemed to indicate that shiso shochu is not as unusual as the article implies. At least, they had it in all the bars I ordered it from. Very tasty as well

-iwakura42

Shiso shochu has become quite popular recently on the back of a brand called "tantakatan" 鍛高譚（たんたかたん）out of Hokkaido.Myhomeuphere (talk) 08:48, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
I want to know what is shochu and how many kinds of shochu? How to drink shochu?Differences between shochu and sake.effectiveness of shochu for health.
Ok, if you want to know what shochu is, read the article.

How many kinds? That depends on how you count. The answer could be two. 1) Otsu and 2) kou. Or it could be by ingredient, 1) rice, 2) potato, 3) soba, 4) barley, 5) brown sugar. Not including the funky ones like milk, seaweed, chestnut and sesame. How is it different from sake? It is distilled, and not necessarily made from rice. Effectiveness for health? About the same as vodka or gin, I would imagine. People say it has little to no purine, which is important if you are worried about gout. Naerhu 08:41, 6 March 2006 (UTC)