The Cloudy Origins of Sake and Other Sips of History

Frank and Eric C Rath, Professor at University of Kansas and author of multiple books on Japanese food culture , dive deep into his new book, Kanpai: The History of Sake. We talk about samurai drinking games, the origins of sake as a beverage, sake’s effects on the Japanese economy, and many other topics. We’d love to hear what you thought about the episode! Let us know at questions@sakeonair.com or send us a message on our  Instagram ,  Facebook,  or  Substack ! We’ll be back very soon with plenty more Sake On Air. Until then, kampai ! Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo . Sake on Air was created by Potts K Productions and is produced by Export Japan. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air. 

You can listen to The Cloudy Origins of Sake and Other Sips of History online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Cloudy Origins of Sake and Other Sips of History is an episode from Sake On Air by Sake On Air.

This episode is 1:20:09 long.

This episode was published on Dec 30, 2025.

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