Development and Practice of Elementary School Education Teaching Materials to Teach about Conservation of Groundwater Use in Sake Brewing:

The Japanese government aims to register the traditional culture of “Sake and Shochu” brewing as an intangible cultural heritage. As such, it is important to teach environmental conservation, such as the use of groundwater in the brewing process, as the next generation of children will be interested in Sake culture, as well as the forest conservation of the water source in the Sake brewing area. The town of Saijo in Hiroshima Prefecture is located in one of the ‘big three’ Sake brewing areas in Japan. Saijo Elementary School is a local school that uses teaching materials on the use of groundwater for brewing in its environmental education program. However, there are only a few teaching materials or educational programs on the relationship between the characteristics of water in the brewing area and fermentation. The authors investigated the quality of the underground water used for brewing Sake and a delicious water called “Meisui of Saijo.” Scientific data, such as the water quality of Meisui and the brewing water, along with the growth characteristics of Sake yeasts, showed that the groundwater is a valuable environmental resource in the Sake brewing area. Based on these data, experimental teaching materials were developed that allow even elementary school students to recognize the differences in yeast fermentation depending on the type of water. Then, when a lesson on water was taught at Saijo Elementary School using these experimental teaching materials, it was possible for the students to learn about groundwater and environmental conservation in an area where Sake brewing is a traditional culture.