Mizubune (sake pressing stage)

Mizubune (水槽) refers to the equipment, and the work carried out with it, used in sake brewing to press the moromi (fermentation mash) and separate it into refined sake and sake lees (sake kasu). It is also called agefune. To press the moromi, the mash is first packed into sake bags (sakabukuro), which are lined up and stacked inside the press (fune). The cloudy white sake that comes out first at this stage is called Arabashiri. When the press is filled with sake bags, a lid frame called a kasawaku is placed on top and more bags are stacked above it. For about three hours after stacking is finished, sake flows out naturally under the weight of the bags alone. This period is also called mizubune. The sake that comes out during this time is an important part of sake production and affects the quality of the sake. Once the stack of bags has sunk lower, the kasawaku is removed, a pressing lid (oshibuta) and wooden beams (makuragi) are set on top, and the pressing step begins. This is called oshibune. The next day, the bags are restacked and pressed again; this process is called semebune. The sake that comes out of semebune is known as "seme." The sake that comes out after Arabashiri and before seme is called "nakadare."