[Akita Prefecture] What is monkey sake? Masumi Sugae explains in detail the medicinal sake introduced in “Yukidewado”

Masumi Sugae, a Japanese scholar and travelogue in the late Edo period , ``Yukidewado'' , and said that it was effective for abdominal pain. It is written down.

we will explain in detail Saruzake, a mysterious alcoholic beverage

Reference: National Diet Library Digital Collection “Akita Series Volume 7 Yukidewado”

make monkey sake ?

Saru-zake is an alcoholic beverage that was produced during the period of Kiyohara Takenori, who was active as the commander-in-chief of the Kiyohara clan during the Mae-Kunen era, which occurred between 1051 and 1062

In ``Yukidewado,'' the method for making monkey sake is described as follows.

  • Catch three monkeys and remove their skin and muscles.
  • Soak liver and back meat in cold water for 30 days
  • Dry in the sun, soak in fine sake, and dry again under the hot June sun.
  • Soak it in salt water, put it in a jar, cover it, and seal it for three years.

Once Saruzake is completed, it is said that if you drink one spoonful and replenish it with equal amounts of water and salt, it will be able to cure illnesses for 1000 years without changing.

About the jar for saruzake

The instructions for making monkey sake include placing it in a jar and sealing it tightly, but what kind of jar is this?

On ``Yukidewado'', there is a picture of a jar for monkey sake drawn by Masumi Sugae with the title ``Saru-sake brewing jar.''

The dimensions are 1 shaku 8 sun 5 minutes (70.1 cm) in height, 7 sun (26.5 cm) in diameter, and 3 shaku 8 sun 5 minutes (145.8 cm) in circumference, so you can see that it is a fairly large jar.

In the picture, you can see that the surface of the jar is a little dirty, and the rope that ties the mouth is a little frayed, so we can assume that the jar was quite old even when Masumi Sugae saw it.

Monkey sake published in Akita Kai Shimpo

In the Akita Kai Shimpo dated May 30, 1933, an article about monkey sake was published under the heading ` `Saru sake from the Sugae Masumi era still exists.''

The article states that monkey sake, which Masumi Sugae wrote about as an elixir in Yukidewa-michi, is carefully kept as an heirloom in a farmhouse where Gensuke Shimada's descendants live in Tashiro Village, Hiraka District.

The saruzake jar was carefully kept by Gensuke Shimada's descendants, and was carefully placed in a wooden box along with four bowls for pumping out the saruzake, but the jar's dimensions were 1. The article states that it was exactly the same as described in ``Yukidewado'', measuring 8 sun 5 minutes in length, 7 sun in diameter, and 3 shaku 8 sun 5 minutes in circumference.

There is also an explanation about the four wooden bowls that are attached, and the largest of the four large and small wooden bowls is 5 sun (18.9 cm) in diameter and contains 2 go (0.45 liters), and the other is 7 sun in diameter. It is written that in order to draw monkey sake out of the jar, one had to grasp the edge of the wooden bowl with the thumb, middle finger, and ring finger and lift it up, which was quite a difficult task.

Towards the end of the article, it is written that when the monkey sake is drawn from the jar, it makes an eerie metallic sound even though it is supposed to be a liquid, and that women are afraid of the jar as if it were some kind of monster. I am.

No matter how carefully Gensuke Shimada's descendants have kept the items from their ancestors, they still have an old jar in their house that is said to have been made using the meat of three monkeys. , must have been quite scary.

However, because generations of people have poured their hands into the saruzake and refilled it by adding water and salt, the article conveys the true nature of saruzake, making it a valuable record of Masumi Sugae. We were also able to confirm that the dimensions matched.

I don't know if the saruzake jar still exists, but I'm sure there are many people who wish it was cherished somewhere in Akita Prefecture.

summary

Saruzake is a medicinal sake that had the power to cure illnesses, and was created during the Mae-Kunen Era, which took place between 1051 and 1062, during the era of Kiyohara Takenori, who was active as the commander-in-chief of the Kiyohara clan.

When you read Masumi Sugae's Yukidewado, be sure to read the article about Saruzake as well.

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