What's that green ball?

Every year in winter, you can see spheres of green cedar twigs being set up at sake breweries throughout Japan. These are called sugi-dama [杉玉] , which literally means “cedar ball”. A less common term is sakabata [酒旗].

It’s a sign for customers that freshly pressed sake from the new brewing season is available.

As the sake matures over the course of the year and becomes more mellow and rounded, the cedar dries out and turns from vibrant green to deep brown.

Can you spot the suigdama in this picture?

The origins of this custom are probably religious, as a kind of offering to the gods to pray for a safe and successful brewing season. From the Edo period it is known that bunches of cedar were used as a sign to mark breweries.

Today, sugidama are not only put up by breweries, but are also a popular decoration for izakaya restaurants and sake shops. If you see one in the streets of Tokyo, you can be sure that the establishment cares about sake!

A sugidama outside a sake bar.