Sake Celebration with Dassai: Japan Society’s Birthday Bash

On May 19, 1907, Japan Society was founded in New York City. A forward-looking group of civic and business leaders created the organization to grow the bonds between the U.S. and Japan, furthering mutual understanding and cultural, political and economic ties. 118 years later, the U.S. and Japan are close allies and interest in Japan’s people, business and arts has never been greater. To celebrate Japan Society’s birthday this year, we are honored to gaze into the future with a forward-looking conversation between Dassai Chairman Hiroshi Sakurai and Japan Society President & CEO Joshua W. Walker, followed by a reception featuring New York sake brewery Dassai Blue, its sake itself a statement to the power and potential of U.S.-Japan collaboration.

During the reception, guests are invited to enjoy an open-bar sake tasting featuring four varieties from Dassai Blue, along with light bites of Japanese cuisine.

Must be 21 years of age, or older.

About the Lecture:
Join Dassai Chairman Hiroshi Sakurai and Japan Society President & CEO Joshua W. Walker for a talk about the past, present and future of both organizations. Both leaders will engage in a dialogue around the themes of “Challenge” and “Innovation,” discussing how they blend yesterday and tomorrow with the goal of rising to the modern world. 

Beginning as a rural sake maker in the 1700s in the mountains of Yamaguchi, Japan, the Asahi Shuzo brewery shed over 200 years of tradition when it launched the Dassai brand in 1990 with a focus on data-driven, technology-based sake production. Its success disrupted the sake market and achieved international recognition, and Dassai continues to make further disruptions with the recent creation of the Dassai Blue state-of-the-art sake brewery in Hyde Park, NY and Dassai Moon, an upcoming new sake that will be brewed in orbit. Dassai Chairman Hiroshi Sakurai will speak about the challenges, risks and rewards of his focus on revolution.

Japan Society was founded in 1907 with the goal of bringing the U.S. and Japan closer together, and it is responsible for a great many firsts in U.S.-Japan business, policy, art and culture. But the U.S.-Japan world looks much different now than it did 118 years ago, and while Japan Society was the first organization of its kind, it is now one of many, and Japan Society is asking itself about its place and purpose in a new world of peak Japan. Japan Society President & CEO Joshua W. Walker will speak on Japan Society’s mission and his own mission to revolutionize Japan Society.

How are we defined by our history and what is our obligation to it? What are the realities of the U.S.-Japan world today and new dangers and opportunities within it? Is there a future without innovation? How can one create change within a historic organization? And what are the needs to create real revolution? We invite you to spend tonight with Dassai Chairman Hiroshi Sakurai and Japan Society President & CEO Joshua W. Walker to hear their answers. Rather than focus Japan Society’s birthday on commemorating our past, we encourage all gathered to look to tomorrow and what new meaning and mission awaits us in the future.

About Hiroshi Sakurai:
Hiroshi Sakurai was born in 1950 in Yamaguchi, Japan. He graduated from Matsuyama University in 1973 and joined sake company Asahi Shuzo in 1976, overseen by his father. After his father’s passing in 1984, he rebuilt the business and developed the flagship Junmai Daiginjo sake Dassai. He is an internationally acclaimed business owner, winner of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021 in Japan and a respected innovator in the sake industry. 

About Joshua W. Walker, Ph.D.:
Joshua W. Walker, Ph.D. became President & CEO of Japan Society in December 2019. Previously, he worked at Eurasia Group, the world’s leading political risk analysis firm, where he served as Global Head of Strategic Initiatives and Japan. Before joining the private sector, he worked at various U.S. government agencies, including the State Department and Defense Department. Dr. Walker grew up in Japan where his parents still serve as missionaries, came to the United States when he was 18, and is bicultural and bilingual.

About the Reception:
Following tonight’s discussion, all attendees are invited to join in a sake tasting featuring four different types of sake from Dassai Blue. All are brewed in New York State with Yamada Nishiki rice from Japan and Arkansas and water from the Hudson Valley. 

Reception will feature:

• Dassai Blue Type 23 – Tasting Notes: Complex aromatic of anise, pear and marshmallow develop into bright lemon chiffon, honeysuckle and stone fruit with a touch of minerality.


• Dassai Blue Type 35 – Tasting Notes: White peaches and ripe papayas with a soft, sweet fragrance. The taste is characterized by a subtle sweetness and refreshing acidity.


• Dassai Blue Type 50 – Tasting Notes: Licorice and cantaloupe give way to pineapple candy, lemon curd and vanilla with a hint of brine on the finish.


• Dassai Blue Nigori Sparkling 50 – Tasting Notes: A fruity aroma reminiscent of green apples and Japanese wagashi treats. Some sweetness, moderate fizziness, and a refreshing crisp finish.

About Dassai:
Dassai’s aim is to craft great sake. Blending tradition and innovation, Dassai is the #1 in sales of Junmai Daiginjo sake in the world.

A haiku poet named Masaoka Shiki took “Dassai” (literally “otter festival”) as his pen name because he would often scatter his writing materials in much the same way otters spread out their fish. Shiki is known for revolutionizing Japanese literature during the Meiji era, and Dassai sake takes its name and inspiration from him. Rather than being composed around preserving tradition, Dassai’s focus is on crafting sake through revolution. 

One of Dassai’s most recent revolutions was the launch of Dassai Blue, a modern sake brewery just north of New York City. Combining Yamada Nishiki rice (the king of sake rice) from Japan and Arkansas with water from New York’s Hudson Valley, the goal for Dassai Blue is to brew a sake that supasses Dassai’s sake in Japan. Named “Blue” in honor of the proverb of the indigo plant, in which its dye possesses a deeper blue than the very plant from which it originates, Dassai Blue is inspired to craft sake superior to any Dassai before it.

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Header, left image © Daphne Youree. Right image © Dassai.

Bottom image © Dassai

This event is co-presented by Dassai Blue.

Japan Society’s 120th anniversary initiatives and related programs are generously supported by Champion Sponsor, MUFG Bank, Ltd.; Advocate Sponsor, Mizuho Americas; and Friend Sponsor, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas).

Japan Society programs are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Additional support for cultural programs is provided by an anonymous donor and the Sandy Heck Lecture Fund and Anime NYC.