The big cedar-leaves ball hanging under the eaves is a symbol of a shrine for the god of sake-making. In Japan, sake is used to purify and to celebrate. Sips from a cup signify the sealing of a ...

Perched on a wooded hillside in southern Kyoto, Fushimi Inari is a 1,300-year-old temple dedicated to Inari, the Shinto deity of rice and sake (Japanese rice wine). The shrine complex dates back ...

The Meiji Shrine is a Shinto (Japan's original religion) shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. Japanese history credits Meiji for modernizing Japan by incorporating Western ...

OSAKA, Japan—The Japanese have been drinking sake since the eighth century. Back then, it was believed the rice-based liquor warded off ghosts. Today, it has a stronger spirit to contend with ...

Japanese tipples sake and shochu -- and the knowledge and skills honed over centuries to make them -- have been added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. People take photographs of a ...

“I think sake is a beautiful beverage, and is revered in Japanese culture. They have shrines for sake in Japan. You never pour for yourself; you always pour for other people at the table," she add ...

The big cedar-leaves ball hanging under the eaves is a symbol of a shrine for the god of sake-making. In Japan, sake is used to purify and to celebrate. Sips from a cup signify the sealing of a ...