Oyaji-san 2
In the past we'd start work at 5 in the morning, 4 on an early day. The first thing was drawing water. The big barrel of water outside would freeze over in the night so we'd break the ice, then the boss would scoop out the water into 1-to (about 18 liters) tame-oke barrels which we would carry into the brewery.
We'd lift the tame-oke barrels up onto our backs and support them with our hands from below. The water on the outside of the barrels, except where our hands touch them, would all be ice. I think there were even icicles. It was so cold; below freezing.
We needed to bring in about 270 liters of water, so it meant 15 barrelfuls. There were songs for keeping count. "Starting out one valley, go down before fire-walking." "Nikko, kekko, Chusonji-zan. Grateful is Zenkoji, Miserable is Mother's something or other...," hahaha. On early mornings we'd be sleepy, so we'd try to sing the songs funny or sexy to make sure not to lose count. Finally it'd be like "15th, the moonlit night remains - Alright, water's done!"
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KEYWORDS
Iiyama toji
The brewers are known as kurabito, and their chief is called the toji. There is one toji per brewery. Incidentally, in Nagano prefecture, toji traditionally hail from three places - Otari, Suwa and Iiyama. Ninety percent of the nearly 100 breweries in Nagano are run by toji from one of these three areas. Formerly, kurabito came mainly from these areas as well. But nowadays kurabito are recruited mainly from the towns where breweries are located. Accordingly, breweries are starting to be run by toji from the neighborhood.
Otoji
When a toji steps down, it is usually the end of his brewing career. But toji Ryukichi Toyama is a priceless resource both for Masuichi-Ichimura Sake Brewery, as well as for other toji from the town of Iiyama. And thanks to his vast store of knowledge, he is also an invaluable asset to the industry as a whole, so he has been appointed Otoji, an advisor to toji at other breweries. His official job title at Masuichi is "oyaji-san," or "the boss," a term that expresses our affection for him.
Yori-tsuki
The yori-tsuki is a place where Masuichi kurabito (brewers) take a break, trade information, and dine. Other breweries refer to the brewers' room as "hiroshiki" and use of the term yori-tsuki is limited to the tea ceremony realm nowadays. But in the old days, the term yori-tsuki was in common vernacular. For instance, in private homes, the area near the entrance to the kitchen was also referred to as the yori-tsuki.
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