Etiquette plays a prominent role in Japanese culture. Whether you’re paying for a meal in a Japanese restaurant, entering someone’s home, or receiving a gift, there are specific guidelines surrounding demonstrations of respect and politeness. This also applies to consuming sake — and with good reason. A fermented rice drink that dates back thousands of years, it used to be enjoyed only by elite members of society and offered at shrines. While anyone may enjoy this beverage today, ordering sake in Japan is an act steeped in tradition.
Though usually served in tiny cups that resemble shot glasses (called ochoko), sake should be savored, especially when served warm. The flavor of sake is sweet and light, with lots of complexity, and people strongly associate it with relaxing. Sake is also a symbol of abundance and generosity when enjoyed spillover-style, with an ochoko nestled in a small wooden box called a masu.
When served this way, your host will fill the ochoko well past the brim, allowing some of the sake to spill over into the masu. Your role is to then repay this demonstration of kindness by wasting as little of the overflow as possible. This is done by carefully sipping sake from the ochoko until it’s safe to lift it from the masu without splashing. You may then lift the cup to your lips, drying the bottom of it before enjoying.
Knowing the nuances of spillover-style sake
If you’re wondering about the logistics of sipping from your cup without lifting it, note that it’s both okay and expected for you to lean down and lightly slurp directly from the edge of the ochoko. This not only demonstrates your appreciation of the host’s generosity, it saves you the embarrassment of spilling sake on your clothes. Once the sake level dips below the edge of the cup, you can lift it with your right hand while using a napkin in your left to dab any droplets from the bottom.
Part of enjoying spillover-style sake properly is knowing how to handle the excess that ends up in the masu. These beautiful little boxes are typically made of cedar or hinoki wood. Both of these materials contain essential oils that help keep bacteria at bay, so it’s safe and expected to enjoy the box’s contents. After making enough room in your ochoko, you can simply tip the sake from the masu into the cup. This way, you’re not wasting any, and you won’t wet the bottom of the ochoko when you set it down.
Sake can also be served spillover-style in the masu boxes themselves. In this case, the host may stack them pyramid-style and pour sake into the top box, allowing it to flow into the masu below. When enjoying sake in this way, you get to drink directly from the boxes. This can enhance the sake’s flavor, as the scent of the cedar wood mingles with alcohol’s astringent sweetness.
