From Green to Brown: Sugitama and its Journey Through Sake

Have you seen a sphere made of cedar branches at the entrances of some buildings, such as restaurants or shops in Japan? Some people mistake it for a beehive, but it is actually the Sugitama , a traditional symbol for sake makers as it serves as a notification to future buyers that new sake has been produced.

The fresh green color of sugitama gradually changes to dark brown or brown over the course of about a year, a very easy way to see the maturing process of sake.

This object probably originated from the Shinto shrine of Miwa in Nara, whose deity is the god of sake. The monks at the shrine collected the branches of cedar, the sacred tree of Mount Miwa, and made a ball by combining and trimming them, then hanging it on the eaves or in front of the building.

Traditionally, a sake pitcher was called a ” miwa “, and the cedars on Mount Miwa that had the god of sake as their deity were worshiped as sacred in Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture). Being soft and workable, cedar has long been used to make buckets, barrels, and vessels for measuring sake.