The sake brewing season is drawing to a close. Except for the handful of large breweries that brew year-round in climate-controlled factories, most sakagura (breweries) will be finishing up their brewing sometime this month. Naturally, there will be ceremonies connected with significant activities within the breweries.
One such activity and ceremony is known as koshiki taoshi.
The large vat used to steam the rice in sake brewing is called a koshiki. In traditional breweries, the koshiki is made of wood (sugi) and sits on top of a large iron pot of water called a kama that tapers at the top. (If you have ever had kama-meshi, the kama for this is very similar in shape.) Beneath the floor, this kama is heated by wood or coal to produce the steam for steaming the rice.