Connecting the Dots by Chance: Thoughts Sparked by a Japanese Wine History Exhibition Encountered While Traveling (2025/5/18 #133)

Last time, based on my visit to the "Chi: On the Movements of the Earth" exhibition, I arrived at the realization that "in the AI era, it is important to connect things that don't seem related, and to go to various places to find the raw material for those connections."

In a recent Voicy conversation between Hitoshi Kinoshita and Rieko Komiyama, head of the Recruit Study Sapuri Education AI Research Institute, they also touched upon the importance of "going to various places and placing dots."

So, where should one go? My answer is: whether it's in town, online, or through word of mouth, if you find something that piques your interest via any route, you should just go and see it.

With that mindset, I'd like to write about an event I encountered while traveling where, by chance, "the dots connected within me."

Finding a "Japanese Wine History Exhibition" on a family trip!

I stopped by the Fuefukigawa Fruit Park during a recent trip to Yamanashi Prefecture.

Although it is close to the city, the park is located on a small hill, so it offers a very beautiful view. It was a park that could be enjoyed with children, featuring playground equipment, indoor events, and a rest house, but I unexpectedly learned a lot at the "Japanese Wine History Exhibition" being held at the adjacent "Fruit Museum."

According to the exhibition, it is believed that Koshu grapes were brought to Japan in the early 16th century.
Later, in the early Meiji period, a Shingon Buddhist monk named Yokyo Yamada, after seeing foreigners drinking wine in Yokohama, began repeatedly experimenting with making wine from wild grapes, even before the Meiji era.It feels quite unconventional for a Buddhist monk to be making alcohol, haha. It goes to show that change really does come from outsiders.

Yamada approached Norihisa Takuma, who ran a sake brewery in Kofu, to start making wine, and they began production in the 7th year of Meiji (1874).
Unfortunately, their wine-making venture hit a wall due to a lack of funds, but the wine they produced was exhibited at the "First National Industrial Exhibition" held in the 10th year of Meiji (1877) and won a silver medal.

What was the National Industrial Exhibition?

By the way, what was the purpose of this National Industrial Exhibition?

You have surely seen the "Iwakura Mission" in your history textbooks.
They toured Europe and the United States from December of the 4th year of Meiji to September of the 6th year of Meiji.
During this time, Toshimichi Okubo, who saw the Vienna World's Fair, held the conviction that "Japan also needs an exhibition to foster new industries," and despite opposition from the Ministry of Finance, he managed to make the National Industrial Exhibition a reality.

This first National Industrial Exhibition was held at Ueno Park in Tokyo from August to November of the 10th year of Meiji.

The exhibition was held repeatedly thereafter, and at the third one, Sakichi Toyoda, whom I mentioned in a recent article, visited for 15 consecutive days to experience the latest technology of the time, an event that eventually led to the Toyota of today.

Japanese wine, born at an exhibition and back in the spotlight at another

Thus, Japanese wine set sail. The Yamanashi Prefectural Wine Brewery, which took over the wine-making of Yamada and Takuma, began full-scale operations and was also exhibited at the Paris World's Fair in the 11th year of Meiji (1878).

However, after that, Denbei Kamiya (founder of Asakusa Kamiya Bar) introduced wine blended with honey and herbal medicines, and Shinjiro Torii released "Akadama Port Wine" (which initially added flavorings and sweeteners to Spanish wine) in 1907, ushering in an era where wine meant "sweetened grape wine."

By the 7th year of Taisho (1918), sweetened grape wine accounted for 80% of the wine market.
During this era, domestic wine was used primarily as an ingredient for these sweetened grape wines.

It wasn't until 1975, nearly 70 years after the birth of Akadama Port Wine, that wine consumption surpassed that of sweetened grape wine again.
This is said to have been triggered by the spread of Western-style food following the 1970 Osaka Expo.

It is fascinating to see how the consumption of Japanese wine, which was born out of expositions, is being revived by them once again; there is an interesting sense of coincidence there.

However, since 1994, the consumption of imported wine has surpassed that of domestic wine, and that trend continues to this day.

That said, the number of Japanese wine producers is currently on the rise, and I get the impression that opportunities to see locally produced wine while traveling are increasing, making tasting such things a new pleasure of travel.

A brief aside: An interesting episode from the exhibition

An interesting episode I found while looking at this exhibition was that at the time, there was a promotional slogan stating that 'it is sweet, so women and children can drink it too'.

Nowadays, it is taken for granted that 'alcohol is for those 20 and older,' and unfortunately, the theory that 'alcohol is the best of all medicines' is also considered questionable.
However, the fact that whether or not children could drink it was considered a matter of taste back then made me feel that the way various things are handled becomes refined (?) over time.

Unexpectedly connecting the dots!

With that, I have looked back on the 'Japanese Wine History Exhibition' that I stumbled upon unexpectedly.

Here, in my mind, the 'origins of Japanese wine' and the 'origins of Toyota' were connected by the keyword 'National Industrial Exhibition.'
And that the person considered the origin of Japanese wine was also an outsider (running a brewery while being a member of the clergy).

In this way, when unexpected dots connect, it increases my own unique repertoire that AI wouldn't pull out, which is great.
And it shows that this can happen through unintended events.

Even so, I felt that expositions in Japan have served as turning points for the times in various fields.
I would like to try visiting the Osaka Expo currently being held to see what it is like (although I don't have any plans to go yet, I do want to go).