Wine Order from Japan’s Early Edo Period Found

KUMAMOTO, JAPAN—According to a statement released by Kumamoto University, researchers have found a document in the Eisei Bunko Library that indicates supplies for a batch of wine were ordered by Taroemon Ueda, a Hosokawa clan vassal with ties to Westerners, in September 1632, after the beverage was prohibited by the shogunate in 1631 because of its association with Christianity. The Hosokawa clan ruled the Kokura Domain, which was located on the northern end of the island of Kyushu. The  wine is thought to have been completed by mid-October, based upon other records of wine-making from wild grapes and black soybeans for medicinal use by Tadatoshi Hosokawa, the lord of the clan, from 1627 to 1630. A few months later, the shogunate ordered the Hosokawa clan to move south to the Higo Domain. No records have been found to suggest that the Hosokawa clan continued to produce the forbidden beverage in their new territory. To read about another recent discovery in Japan, go to "Around the World: Japan."