Kuchikamizake


is a kind of rice-based alcohol produced by a process involving human saliva as a fermentation starter. Kuchikamizake was one of the earliest types of Japanese alcoholic drinks. Kuchi means "mouth", kami means "chew" and zake is the rendaku form of "sake". is a synonym.

Description

Kuchikamizake has an opaque, whitish colour and tastes quite sour. It is made when someone, traditionally a virginal girl, chews cooked rice and then spits the resulting liquid into a container. The resulting mixture is then left to ferment, with the enzymes from the chewer's saliva breaking down the carbohydrates in the rice to produce the alcohol. It can achieve roughly 7% ABV after 2 weeks of fermentation process.
Prior to the eighth century, perhaps the most widely made rice wine was hitoyozake or so-called overnight sake. This was made by allowing cooked rice or rice gruel to ferment naturally.
Some islands in Okinawa Prefecture still held religious rituals involving chewed sake until the 1930s.
Kuchikamizake is not considered the origin of nihonshu because of the differences of their times introduced to Japan, brewing methods and cultures.

In media

Kuchikamizake features as a plot point in Makoto Shinkai's Your Name.