Project Overview: "Drinking Sake While Enjoying Ponlai Rice (tentative title)"

— A record of fermentation culture in Yamaguchi and Taiwan —

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2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the naming of "Ponlai Mai" in Taiwan. This project aims to use "Ponlai Mai" as a starting point to document the connections between Japan and Taiwan in terms of rice cultivation, sake, fermentation culture, and memory, and to compile them into a video work.

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The starting point of this project lies with Mr. Otoichi Ito, a farmer from Yamaguchi City. Mr. Ito cultivated a rice variety called "Kokuryo Miyako." During the time of the Governor-General of Taiwan, Iso Eikichi, who would later be called the "father of Taiwanese agriculture," and Suenaga Megumu, who would be called the "mother of Ponlai Rice," crossbred Taiwanese native rice with Japanese rice to develop "Ponlai Rice," a high-quality rice suited to Taiwan's climate, which became widely popular in modern Taiwan. The Kokuryo Miyako cultivated by Mr. Otoichi Ito can be traced back through history to one of the origins of that Ponlai Rice lineage.

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Around the 1990s, agricultural research centers in Yamaguchi Prefecture and other locations began efforts to revive and preserve this "Kokuryo-Miyako." In this project, I will also conduct interviews about the background and significance of these efforts, and trace the exchanges and memories centered around rice that have remained in the region across time.

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I also want to focus on the history of rice cultivation and sake. Sake is not merely a luxury item; it has been deeply intertwined with Shinto rituals and festivals since ancient times. It has a history of being offered to the gods as sacred sake and treated as a link between people, nature, and the gods. While visiting Hofu Tenmangu Shrine, Sakatari Shrine, and the Sabagawa River basin, I will also consider the relationship between water, rice, and fermentation culture. Furthermore, at Okazaki Hachimangu Shrine, which is said to have one of only four sake breweries operated within the Shrines' territory in the entire country, I will touch upon the history related to Empress Jingu and sake brewing, and I will also look at the history of rice cultivation, which is believed to have been introduced by ancient people from the continent, as seen at the Doigahama ruins on the western edge of Yamaguchi Prefecture, and the meaning of sacred sake in Shinto.

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Furthermore, through interviews with farmers who cultivate rice in Yamaguchi Prefecture and sake breweries involved in sake production, I also hope to document the continuation of rice farming and fermentation culture in the modern era.

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This project is not confined to Japan alone. In Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture, sake is being brewed using the aforementioned "Taichung 65" variety of Ponlai Rice from Taiwan. This creates a cycle where rice that was once sent to Taiwan returns to Japan across time and is brewed into new sake.

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In addition, I plan to interact with people in Taiwan who received Japanese language education during the Japanese colonial era. I hope to create a space where we can watch videos together, share drinks made from Kokuryo Miyako and Ponlai Rice Taichung No. 65, and share our memories and experiences.

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This project is not simply about verifying history. It is an attempt to re-examine people's lives, migration, technology, memories, and the relationships that connect to the present through rice and sake. I want to carefully record the stories of travel between Japan and Taiwan through rice and sake, along with the landscapes, sounds, and words of the people.