KAGOSHIMA -- More than 600 bottles of shochu Japanese-style distilled spirits are being exhibited in the entry hall of the Kagoshima prefectural government building, aimed at promoting the prefecture as a "home of shochu" to visitors.
The prefectural government planned the exhibition for the first time, collecting a total of 632 empty bottles from 503 brands of shochu from all 113 distilleries in the prefecture with the help of a local makers association.
The local government has utilized two out-of-service escalators in the hall as a "display cabinet" for the 1.8-liter bottles.
On the second floor, they placed an illustration panel of a man who looks like famous samurai and politician Takamori Saigo, giving visitors an impression that he is drinking the bottles on the escalators. A number of the bottles are also displayed around the fountain at the hall.
The prefecture used to enjoy the No. 1 position in terms of the amount of honkaku (authentic) shochu shipped. But for the past four years, its neighbor Miyazaki Prefecture has taken the top place, even though the number of shochu makers and brands in Kagoshima Prefecture is still the most in the country.
Gov. Satoshi Mitazono said, "We will promote [the attractiveness of shochu] by staking our prestige as the shochu kingdom. We want to widen its sales."
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