Abstract
The purpose of this study is to review the previous studies of brewing/distilling and drinking of traditional alcoholic beverages with a focus on Asia which is widely using molds of the genus Aspergillus for alcohol brewing. Traditional alcoholic beverages of Asia can be roughly divided into Sake type（Japanese refined alcohol）, Doburoku type（unrefined alcohol） and distilled alcohol type. As a result, in terms of brewing and distilling, research trends varied from type to type. Whereas molds of the genus Aspergillus and these regional differences are actively discussed in Doburoku type, many studies on factors of brewery location and movements of seasonal brewing workers are accumulated in Sake type. Regarding distilled alcohol type, formation of the main distilling area and the geographical indication from the industrial geographical point of view are major research topics. The studies of Sake type and distilled alcohol type are mainly conducted in Japan as a research area. As for the study of drinking behavior, there was no systematic framework. The authors, therefore, classified the purpose of drinking into three categories: ritual, hospitality and daily life. In East Asia, some studies refer that the origin of drinking traditional alcohol beverage was closely related to agricultural rite which have communication with the gods. An another role of drinking is to give hospitality to guests. In any cases, Asian regions had norms that people drink traditional alcohol beverage together in groups, and solitary drinker cases were seldom to find. However, people can get alcohol anywhere and anytime, and expand opportunities to drink alone. Accordingly, problematic behavior is increased by the modernization. At present drinking norms are greatly changing. Through the discussion so far, this study presented the three research perspectives to grasp traditional alcoholic beverages in Asia: firstly, the elucidation of the regionality which has not been established research methods; secondly, re-thinking cultural significance of traditional alcoholic beverages in the region, thirdly, adopting a multilateral research approach from a geographical comprehensive point of view for elucidating the regionality of traditional alcoholic beverages.
