Tokuga What could have been the cause?
Yamamoto Our system had not been one that responded to motivated workers with rewarding jobs.
Novice brewers are not allowed to handle malting, which is the key process to sake brewing. That being the case, it requires master brewers or other experienced brewers. Sake brewing is a craftsman's world, where the ethos of "self-teaching through observation" continues to be practiced. However, this ethos does not seem to appeal to today's younger generation. Especially those who grew up in today's world of IT quickly decide to quit when told to expect at least five years of training.
Tokuga How did you deal with that situation?
Yamamoto I convinced our master brewers of the need to produce a manual so that specific practices can be shared as data by us all.
Sake brewing largely relies on craftsmanship and intuition. Therefore, producing this manual helped us define our goal by clarifying the types of know-how our master brewers could teach novice brewers.
Tokuga In other words, you transformed tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge.
Yamamoto Yes. The word "manual" makes it sound like employees are part of some machine, but manuals only describe the standard way in which employees are expected to operate.
When air temperature drops, so does water temperature, slowing the rate at which rice absorbs water; accordingly, master brewers let the rice soak longer. Brewers who still lack such knowledge would have to follow their master brewer's instructions.
But what if standard operation instructions and other data were shared by all workers? Either way, the instructions given by master brewers and work performed by the brewers would remain the same. Nevertheless, it would give more meaning to the work performed by the brewers. Visualizing the meaning of their work changed our brewers' attitudes toward it.
Tokuga I see. That strategy could be applied to various other occupations. On the other hand, although I assume many steps of a manufacturing process could be standardized, some parts must still require an expert's judgement.
Yamamoto We annually submit five to six sake varieties to contests, of which only two are produced by master brewers. The rest are brewed by our regular brewers without any help from master brewers. Such opportunities to brew their own sake by cooperating with one another give our brewers practice in making their own decisions. In other words, we encourage them to undergo trial and error experiences to find their own solutions to issues.
Tokuga May I ask how Heiwa Shuzo's sake has done in contests over the years?
Yamamoto Based on blind tastings that compared our trainee and master brewers, we won gold medals in the first and second annual contests we entered thanks to those varieties brewed by our trainees. Inspired by these results, our master brewers brushed up their skills and also won medals in the following two years.

Tokuga Next, let me interview our student participants. What sorts of Omoro Challenges did each of you take on?
Isogai I was interested in why tea is so popular in China because I am currently studying for a Chinese tea certificate. So I visited six Chinese tea meccas, including Taipei, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.
Tokuga Were you able to figure out the reason behind its popularity?
Isogai Yes. The primary reason was that their governments had developed systems for promoting tea, such as by managing sales methods. In addition, while listening to what Mr. Yamamoto said about standardizing operation practices, I realized that since standardizing practices is also one of the aims of certificates, making certification systems internationally intelligible, as does the Chinese tea certification system, naturally helps popularize the practices they certify, such as Chinese tea.
On another note, I was surprised by the diversity of flavors a single variety of tea has, which far surpassed my knowledge. What I found interesting is that standardization makes taking up practices easier, which can then subsequently guide us deeper into their worlds.
Tokuga Were there any differences between our culture of drinking tea and that of the Chinese?
Isogai I noticed that while Japan tends to emphasize passing on tradition, China has switched from using earthenware to glassware.
Tokuga I see. In the Records of the Three Kingdoms, immediately before two forces of tens of thousands of soldiers enter battle, the generals talk over a cup of tea, facing one another, which I consider interesting because it illustrates an instance of how China's way of attaching meaning and weight to drinking tea differs from ours.
Mr. Kawasaki, what did you do?
Kawasaki I visited a whiskey distillery called Laphroaig, located on Islay Island in Scotland, the UK. Being a student in the Faculty of Engineering, I have the opportunity of attending many lectures on the manufacturing industry, and one time, I noticed that Japanese manufacturers have become uncompetitive, while international products increased their status, which I believe could be due to Japan's poor brand strategy. Therefore, I decided to investigate global examples of successful branding of whiskey because that is my favorite alcoholic beverage. Laphroaig is one of the world's most famous whiskeys.
Tokuga Did you find out anything about their manufacturing techniques?
Kawasaki Yes. Laphroaig clearly distinguishes between practices to maintain and those to change, based on whether they help increase added value. While it uses some of the latest technologies to control the fermenting and bottling processes, the peat it needs to smoke the barley is dug manually with shovels. They told me that peat works well with smoking barley because barley absorbs its vaporized oil.
In addition, Laphroaig employs original strategies aimed at inspiring their customers' loyalty, such as by providing their core fans with comprehensive services. I learned that an important prerequisite for any high-quality product manufacturer was knowing how to formulate sales strategies tailored to its target.