In Ancient Japan, rice malt was believed to be of divine origin. As if by some magic alchemy, plain rice porridge was transformed into a translucent, sweet amber liquid, simply by adding a few sprouts of barley. Rice was the gift of the gods and its mysterious change into ambrosial malt was permitted only in shrines and sacred places. The manufacture of these unique natural rice malts are a complex craft requiring a great deal of labor, knowledge and fine-tuned intuition.