Karashi: Rice, Koji and Moto Conditioning

Karashi (枯らし) is a conditioning period in sake brewing, and it happens three separate times. Rice rests after polishing, koji rests after leaving the koji room, and the finished starter rests before it enters the main mash. Japanese brewers use the same word for all three pauses, even though the three do quite different things. English writing usually renders it as drying, which is not quite wrong yet rarely right either. The National Research Institute of Brewing, Japan’s national brewing research body, translates karashi three different ways depending on what is resting. Rice gets a conditioning period. Koji gets cooling and drying. The starter gets storage. So this guide treats karashi as three related ideas rather than one process. We will follow the same order the brewery does: rice first, then koji, then moto. Along the way, you will see why the brewer waits at all, and why a single translation keeps failing. TOCQuick Facts About Karashi Here is a snapshot before the detail begins. Definitions below follow the NRIB terminology list, cited at the end. Japanese枯らし, and 枯らし期間 for polished riceRomanizationKarashi, karashi-kikanLiteral senseTo let something dry or witherWorking me...