FEATURE REVIEWS

The uka Sake Story of Family, Heritage, and Conservation 

How Uka fuses Elegant Elegance in the California - Japan Art of Sake-Making   

Uka is a story about gratitude that starts as far back as the 1600s Japan. At that time, it is recorded that an ancestor, Zenzaemon Koda, was Director of Construction for his lord. As the Koda family name contains the Japanese character for rice field, it is believed that he was involved in planning rice fields. In the following centuries, my line of the Koda family has been tied to rice in some manner.

More recently, Keisaburo Koda, my grandfather, emigrated from Fukushima to California in the 1910s. Although he was a school principal in Japan, he started his American Dream as a laborer picking peaches. With ambition, steadfastness, and a knack for business, he founded Koda Farms in 1928 and built a successful vertically integrated rice farm and mill that sold rice under his own brands. My father’s generation created the unique Japonica medium grain rice variety, KR55, in the 1950s which is still packaged today under the brand name, Koda Farms Heirloom Kokuho Rose® (the Japanese translation of “Kokuho” is “country’s treasure”).

Omurasaki Beverage Company was founded in 2019 to start a new chapter by taking the KR55 rice variety in a completely different direction by having it brewed into Uka sake. While sake is an ancient beverage, brewing it with a unique California rice variety to create a conceptual product representing the culmination of centuries of family heritage was new. One of the meanings of the Japanese word, Uka, is “emergence,” as in a butterfly emerging from it’s chrysalis. This echoes what happens to the rice when it is transformed from a table staple into something that is elegant and refined. The Uka butterfly is symbolic of the tie between the USA and Japan with the lower wings representing stylized maps of California and Fukushima. This carries on my grandfather’s commitment to foster better relations between his adopted country and his birth country. 

Uka is a collaboration with a Japanese sake brewery, and it was important that the brewery selected to transform the rice into sake be located near where my grandfather originated in Fukushima. Working with renown brewery, Ninki Inc, achieves this and adds the depth and dimension of a brewery family with three hundred years and nineteen generations of excellence. The final piece of the Uka concept is supporting butterfly conservation via the San Bruno Mountain Watch in Northern California that protects and enhances habitat for endangered and threatened butterfly species like the Mission Blue Butterfly.

Currently, the Uka sake line is comprised of three organic junmai daiginjos polished to 40% (60% of the whole grain brown rice kernel has been milled away). Uka Black Label is a traditional, full bodied, super smooth, slightly sweet, and slightly floral sake. Uka Dry is a counterpoint being drier, less sweet, and brighter with more subtle nuances. Uka Sparkling Sake is a naturally effervescent, bubbly, and fun sake. In the latter part of 2025, a new product, “Uka Moment” will be introduced to the USA as a champenoise-style sake. It will be similar to champagne with around five bars of pressure and without the sweetness of Uka Sparkling Sake. My hope is that Uka resonates at some level with all people whether or not they drink Uka. We all have reasons to be grateful for those who came before us, those around us now, and those who will follow after us. I can never be as large in life as my grandfather, but if he is happy with Uka, then I’ve done something right. Although he died in the same year I was born, I was told that he liked to drink sake, and I can’t help but imagine what it would be like to drink Uka with him. 

Follow us at “ukasake” on Instagram to see where to drink and where to buy Uka in your area.

Hashino’s unique and innovative designs are crafted from a rare hardwood tree whose wood has a very beautiful grain and texture.  In Japanese this tree, a member of the Birch family, is called “Onoore Kanba,” which means “breaking the hatchet birch.”  Hashino's products are made with careful consideration for their materials, shape and function produce a more beautiful and timeless result.  Hashino often travels to the United States to introduce his products internationally.  In 2012, he featured his products at Cherry Blossom Festival at Sakura Park in New York City, and also exhibited at American Craft Show in New York.  In 2013, he received the Good Design Award.  In 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, Hashino received the Gold Award Omotenashi Selection.

More than 30 years ago, Hashino produced his first wooden shoehorn and has been making these beautiful wooden tools with long, smooth carves ever since.  In 2005, The Imperial Household Agency of Japan brought one of this signature pieces for the Emperor of Japan.  Since then, three more sets of Hashino's shoehorns have also been stocked at the prestigious Nara Hotel, where the Emperor regularly stays.  For his twisted combs, Hashino received more than 10 awards in Japan including Good Design Awards.  

Hashino's shoehorn introduced by the Imperial Household Agency to the Emperor and his twisted combs that he received the Gold Award Omotenashi Selection will be exhibited at the venue. In 2019, Hashino started to partner with Brooklyn Brewery Japan and produced Wooden Brooklyn Brewery Cups.  Hashino's products have been recognized internationally. He takes 1-3 years to finish each artwork, depending on artworks. 

Kurimori is an artisan with 46 years of experience and an 18 times winner of the Good Design Award, and an officially recognized Contemporary Master Craftsman.  Committed to using traditional craftsmanship to meet the needs of today, Kurimori has come up with several groundbreaking mage-wappa designs, including tapered cups and nesting food containers.  A true innovator, he is driving the evolution of his craft sing straight grain Akita Cedar, Mage-wappa art craft was first developed in the beginning of the 17th Century. Its first form took the shape of a lunch box made by a woodcutter in the Odate area of Northern Japan.  The Lord of Odate Castle then encouraged the technique in a samurai's work and it grew in popularity.  In recent years the craft has been used as a base for the development of new techniques and modern design.  Popular for its straight grain and light weight, the Akita Cedar used in these products is more than 250 years old.

Kurimoti’s main artworks are wine coolers, which has been made out of Akita cedar with the mage-wappa techniques.  He spends three months to complete the artworks and received a Good Design Award with the artwork. ACCA presents this collection for Art Lovers at www.accaart.com/shop-art-of-wood

Immerse yourself in the enchanting world  of Chen Xia's Ikebana artistry, where  East meets West in a harmonious blend of creativity and beauty.

Chen Xia is a highly acclaimed Ikebana artis. Her remarkable journey has been recognized by NHK Television in Japan, and she has been featured in esteemed international media outlets like City Weekend China and Yi Ju Magazine in the UK. With over a decade dedicated to the study and exploration of both Eastern and Western Ikebana, Chen Xia has attained the esteemed professor-level certificate from Ikenobo, the world's oldest Ikebana school based in Japan. In 2016, she established her own studio in Shanghai, where she passionately imparts her expertise in Ikebana teaching and creates captivating commercial flower arrangements. Noteworthy financial institutions such as HSBC, Bank of Communications, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Ping An Bank, Shanghai Bank, Jack Ma's Alibaba Group and Luxury Villas have all sought her artistic services. Chen Xia captivated audiences with her mesmerizing personal flower exhibition in Shanghai, leaving a lasting impression on all who attended. Excitingly, she has plans to enchant the city of Los Angeles with her individual flower exhibitions in 2023.