Porcelain Makers x Sake Brewers x Local = “Ji no Sakazuki”

2020年12月10日

OPINION

In the summer of 2014, I was invited to help out with the “Sake Cup Project” in Saga Prefecture that was created in order to celebrate the 400th year anniversary of Arita-yaki. The “Sake Cup Project” was one of 17 projects in total that ran from 2013 to 2016 as part of a public-private partnership for the anniversary celebration.

This was my first opportunity to work with the Saga Prefectural Government and so I was very honored. This chance came partly because of my work with Kihara, as well as because of my connection with Takaharu Hamano of Promoduction, who was the Special Research Fellow at the Saga Ceramic Research Center. I’ve known him since my time at STYLE STORE, while I was at my previous company.

In the beginning, I was just supposed to be a lecturer speaking on market research and promotion, as part of a workshop that was for people developing new products as part of the 400th anniversary celebration. As time went by, I was asked by Saga Prefecture to consult with them again, right around when they were finally ready to start product development. My recollection is a bit fuzzy, but I recall telling them something like:

“Even though this is a government-subsidized project, the private sector should be able to continue the project after the funding period ends.

In order to make this happen, we should find people who can work on the same level with the local ceramic kilns and breweries to form the core of this project.”

There are many opinions and debates on how to best invest public funds. I personally believe that it is worthwhile for the government to strategically invest money in projects that have potential or that they are committed to, but are too risky to start with private capital alone or have a high public profile. However, since tax money is being invested, the benefits must be returned to the people who live there – the taxpayers.

It is unlikely that a project will be up and running smoothly in just a few years. I think one of the indicators of success is how the private sector can operate independently after the government’s support period is over, and whether or not the project can generate synergy that would not be possible with private capital alone.

Now, back to the story, Tsubasa Takasu of Kurokami Planning Office was appointed as the brand director for the Sake Cup Project, and Hamano-san and I supported him with the product development, brand launch, and sales promotion. Despite the many twists and turns, I finally felt that there was a clear path forward for the project when Mr. Takanosu first proposed “Ji No Sakazuki” as the brand name and concept for the Sake Cup Project.*

It seemed like the time spent in the workshop in 2014 had properly distilled into the concept, which was fresh and novel enough to justify developing new products. Growing the brand would lead to benefits for the community in the long run as well. For those of us not from Saga Prefecture, even we were a bit envious of this brand concept for this was something only able to be made here – a place blessed with Arita-yaki and delicious Saga sake.

As part of the 400th anniversary celebrations in 2016, we did a lot of promotion in Tokyo, with many people enjoying the Ji no Sakazuki cups paired with sake from Saga Prefecture. When the project came to an end on the government side, the report on the Ji no Sakazuki sales came out and they turned out to be quite good. I think this is also the result of Takasu-san taking the lead in working with the project participants to build a solid distribution system based on the background of the production area.Thanks to his efforts, even now, Ji no Sakazuki is still active as an independent project four years after public funding officially came to an end.

Recently, I had a chance to talk with Takasu-san, and he told me that he is working on a new project for Ji no Sakazuki. I’m looking forward to possibly working with him again…

* The Japanese for “Ji no Sakazuki” is “地の盃” which literally translates to “Sake cup from the earth/local area.