Hadn’t heard of this before, but as you enter the Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo, there is a row of barrels of Burgundy that were donated in honor of the emperor’s memory. This first photo is just one fifth of it, but you can see they didn’t hold back on going after top notch producers. If only they were for drinking by mortals rather than left for the spirits! Here’s a bit more about the delightful discourse between Burgundy and Tokyo: Meiji Shrine wine - Green Shinto
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Drunken up years ago, unfortunately. The Japanese counsel in Beaune was instrumental in getting the donations.
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The sake’s still there, too! And I’m pretty sure the sake gets changed out every single year. Sounds like they get additional bottles (not barrels) of a wide range of Burgundy wines each year, too.
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Sake is a traditional offering to shrines. There’s a place in the inner shrine were other offerings (mainly agricultural products) are on display. They are rotated out after a certain time to make room for others.
My son and DIL are moving into their new house outside Tokyo this week. They visited the shrine yesterday. Cool history.
Just another excuse to go hang out with them.
And the plethora of great food. Some really inexpensive.