Amazake (sweet rice drink)

Amazake is a drink made by saccharifying rice with rice koji. It can also be made by dissolving sake lees (sake kasu) in water and adding sugar. The former is not fermented and therefore contains no alcohol, while the latter is characterized by containing alcohol. Historically, amazake has been enjoyed as a winter drink since the Heian period, but from the Edo period onward, attention turned to its effect in preventing summer fatigue, and it became a familiar summer drink. Documents from the late Edo period also record that merchants selling amazake appeared when summer arrived. In addition, amazake is rich in glucose, amino acids, and other components produced by the action of koji, making it an excellent source of nutrition, and in recent years it has gained a stronger reputation as a health drink.