Know Your Hosts: Shuso Imada & Chris Hughes

This week

it’s time once again to take a moment to get to know the team here at Sake On

Air. We first aired one of these episodes back in October (Episode 27), where you got to know Sebastie Lemoine and Christopher Pellegrini; aka, “little Chris”.

This week

you’ll be hearing from Christopher’s sake-inspired counterpart, Chris Hughes

(aka, “big Chris”) along with our quiet champion behind the scenes, Shuso Imada.

Despite his

relatively short amount of time based in Japan, Chris’s personal and

professional history with sake extends back to the days when he still called

the U.K. home, which has led him to now becoming one of the most active and

prolific non-Japanese sake educators in Japan. In his endless pursuit of truth,

as well as new questions in the world of sake, his passion and dedication are

both palpable and highly contagious.

Currently

the general manager of the Japan Sake and Shochu Information

Center (where we

broadcast from almost exclusively), Imada-san’s ties to the sake industry reach

deep, and are long and storied. From his family ties to world-renowned

breweries in Hiroshima

to deeply rooted sake distributors in Tokyo, then extending to his own private

ventures in sake-centric marketing and brand development, Imada-san has

arguably one of the broadest perspectives on the industry out of anyone, along

with the experience to match. In his interview, Rebekah takes him down a journey of his

own personal past, but also explores the major turning points of the industry

and its evolution over the past several decades. We let this one run a bit

long, because it we thought it was all important.

As always,

if you’re willing to take a moment to review and rate us on Apple

Podcasts (or

whatever service you listen on) it would mean the world to us.

We also

welcome all of your questions and comments about the show, which you can send

to questions@sakeonair.staba.jp, or track us down at @sakeonair on

Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also listen on our official YouTube

channel, if that’s

your thing.

Time

stamps:

Chris

Hughes interview

• 01:46 Start of the interview

• 05:12 Chris discovers sake for the first time

• 10:50 Working in sake

• 26:15 Comics and sake

Shuso

Imada interview

• 33:44 Start of the interview

• 37:36 About the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association

• 43:30 Sake in the 1960s and 1970s

• 50:30 Why Imada-san’s English is so good

• 59:40 What does the Sake world mean to Imada-san now?

We’ll be

back in two weeks.

Kampai!

Sake On Air is made possible with the generous

support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers

Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. The show is a co-production

between Export Japan and Potts.K Productions, with audio

production by Frank Walter.

Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” is

composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.