Haruka Takaku

With a daily round-trip commute of more than two hours, Haruka Takaku worked in Shinjuku City, Japan, one of the busiest places in the world. The special ward in Tokyo is known for it’s neon-lit skyscrapers and bustling throngs of humanity heading for some of the world’s best shopping, upscale hotels, bars and restaurants to meet friends, sing karaoke and eat fine cuisine. Many fads and fashions come and go in the chic business district. Yet, one tradition has lasted for those with Japanese heritage for thousands of years; a drink often called rice wine but better known as sake.

In August, Takaku arrived in Park County — amazed by the mountainous terrain and rural setting — with a much shorter commute from Cody and some new goals on her wish list.

“I would like to drive a truck or maybe be a tractor,” she said. “It seems like such a Wyoming thing.”

She’d also like to ride a horse, but had never heard of a mule before arriving in the Cowboy State. Haruka wants to fully immerse herself in the northwest Wyoming culture while sharing her story with all she meets.

Takaku is part of an initiative aiming to build goodwill and partnerships between Japan and the U.S. at the grassroots level. As the Japan Outreach Initiative (JOI) coordinator, she is officially at the center to introduce her culture to the local community through workshops and activities, deepening understanding of Japan and the heritage of Japanese Americans.

The gregarious employee with a steadfast smile brought with her an inquisitive nature and intimate knowledge of most things Japanese, including sake. She shared several bottles of the acquired-taste adult beverage — some of the best available — Friday at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center’s Mineta-Simpson Institute, which is in its inaugural year.

The crowd of local supporters progressively became animated as shots were poured, sampled three types of the alcohol and learned of its brewing process and history. But they weren’t the first to drink rice wine at the World War II concentration camp.

Former incarcerees’ stories, substantiated by 1940s press reports and published book passages, tell how the Japanese Americans imprisoned in the camp refused to let their tradition die. Instead, they made their own bootleg sake from area resources like rice, raisins, a special mold known as koji and large crocks and gallon jugs from “God knows where” said Robert Saito, son of a famous Heart Mountain sake brewer.

A few incarcerees were even arrested for having the traditional spirits. However, sake is more than just a drink to the Japanese, including expatriates wanting to hold on to their best memories from their homeland.

The brew is a tradition with more than 2,500 years of history, served at special occasions like weddings and seasonal celebrations, like the spring bloom of cherry blossoms and the autumnal full moon, according to Eat-Japan Magazine. Sake is a symbol of Japanese culture, including tying together relationships, removing social differences, acting as a medium between humans and divine beings and a means of purification. It can also be a modest family dinner beverage served in tiny cups known as ochoko and poured from a small vessel known as a tokkuri, all of which are still made from pottery or lacquered wood. Sake can also be part of cultural ceremonies with the importance more indicative of communion wine in Christian churches rather than having a beer or bourbon while watching the game.

The event was the first of many while Takaku works at the center for the next two years, according to the center’s Executive Director, Aura Sunada Newlin.

“Her role, which is funded entirely by the Japanese government, is to help share Japanese cultural traditions with the local community, particularly in places that don’t have a very large Japanese community,” Newlin said, adding that the sake was served in small amounts prior to the event. “We’ll just emphasize tastings. Nobody’s going to be getting drunk tonight.”

The Mineta-Simpson Institute was full of VIPs, including Al and Ann Simpson, and Pete and Lynne Simpson, and Buffalo Bill Center of the West CEO Rebecca West with her husband, Chuck. Both institutions are Smithsonian affiliated.

There were two dignitaries at the interpretive center for the first time: The Japan Foundation Director General Kojima Hiroyuki and the Laurasian Institute Japan Programs Manager Gabriel Rebeck. They made the long journeys from New York and Seattle, respectively, to the event to familiarize themselves with the interpretive center.

“The JOI program usually dispatches people to universities, nonprofit groups or Japan America Societies. We’ve sent [program participants] to museums before, but we’ve never had anything like this ... sending someone to a former concentration camp,” Rebeck said.

Hiroyuki said he was immensely pleased with the interpretive center, and feels their investment in Takaku will pay off in large dividends of understanding between the two countries.

“This space here at Heart Mountain, I was just so impressed. There’s so many great things that Haruka Takaku could do here,” he said. “This is her first big event. I’m really looking forward to seeing what she’s going to be capable of doing with the resources of the museum here, but also with her own skills.”

Takaku will have a series of cultural events through the next two years. A Japanese cooking seminar could be in the future. Takaku made pickles from locally sourced daikon radishes for the premiere event.

“I would say tasting sake paired with pickles is very, very Japanese. I am planning on cooking class in the future. So stay tuned,” she said.

For more information: heartmountain.org.