The Asturies XXI Foundation has published a Japanese edition of the outreach book What Is Asturian Cider Culture?, a new tool for presenting Asturies’ cultural heritage in Japan ahead of SISGAJapan, to be held on 30 August at Tokyo’s Akihabara UDX Gallery.
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LA SIDRA.– Asturian Cider Culture has taken another step forward in its international projection. The Asturies XXI Foundation has just published the Japanese edition of What Is Asturian Cider Culture?, an outreach book designed to introduce audiences from different backgrounds to the history, knowledge, places and social rituals built around Asturies’ most representative drink.
The Japanese edition retains the structure, photographs and layout of the original work, replacing the Asturian-language texts with a translation prepared specifically for Japanese readers. The initiative extends the international reach of a book presented by the Asturies XXI Foundation to coincide with the first anniversary of UNESCO’s recognition of Asturian Cider Culture.
The publication is built around a fundamental idea: in Asturies, cider is much more than a drink. It is a symbol of identity, community and living history, closely connected to the landscape, economy, language and social relationships. The book aims to present the values, knowledge and processes surrounding cider while highlighting its role as a cultural and social asset.
Its pages explore the historical origins of cider, apple orchards, apple harvesting, pressing, cider mills, espichas and cider houses. They also explain the role of the traditional bottle and glass, the art of cider pouring, home cider production, festivals, the Asturian language, women’s knowledge and the sustainability of the cider-producing agricultural model.
The book therefore offers a comprehensive vision of a heritage that combines tradition and innovation and is passed down from generation to generation.
A publication linked to SISGAJapan
The Japanese translation arrives at a particularly significant moment. On 30 August, Tokyo will host a new edition of SISGAJapan, the Japanese event linked to the International Hall of Gala Ciders. It will take place at the Akihabara UDX Gallery and bring together producers from different parts of Japan and other countries, alongside industry professionals and cider enthusiasts.
The programme will include tastings, food pairings, workshops, conferences, professional meeting spaces and an awards ceremony. Among the scheduled activities is the participation of a delegation from the Asturies XXI Foundation, which will lead a traditional cider-pouring workshop accompanied by an introduction to Asturian Cider Culture.
The Japanese edition of the book now provides an outreach resource capable of complementing this experience and helping visitors understand the cultural meaning of what they see and taste.
A relationship built step by step
The connection between Asturies and Japan through cider did not begin recently. In 2023, a delegation from LA SIDRA and the Asturies XXI Foundation took part in the Tokyo Cider Collection, where it delivered talks on Asturian cider, its culture and SISGA.
That presentation of Asturian cider and SISGA in Japan opened a lasting channel of cooperation with Japanese producers, establishments and industry professionals. The conferences addressed the history of Asturian cider, the distinctive features of its culture, the situation of the sector and the traditional cider-pouring technique.
The relationship was consolidated in 2025 with the first edition of SISGAJapan, which marked the first time that the International Hall of Gala Ciders had been held outside Asturies in its fifteen-year history.
The response from thousands of visitors confirmed the Japanese public’s interest in the international diversity of cider and in the cultural elements surrounding the Asturian tradition. The success of the first edition provided the basis for an expanded event in 2026.
Collaboration with Japanese producers and advocates such as Tatsuro Fuji has been especially important throughout this process. Fuji is the owner of Fukiware Cidrerie and Tokyo’s Eclipse First Sidreria and is widely known for his work promoting Asturian cider in Japan.
These contacts have made it possible to move beyond promotion focused exclusively on the product and towards a broader exchange of knowledge, production methods, rituals and different ways of understanding cider. They have also helped to raise awareness of the emerging Japanese cider culture and its producers.
Translating a book to share a culture
The Japanese edition of What Is Asturian Cider Culture? is more than a linguistic translation. It is a tool of cultural diplomacy that explains why an apple orchard is part of the Asturian landscape, what an espicha represents, why a freshly poured culín should be drunk immediately and which social values are expressed when people share a bottle and a glass.
The book presents cider mills not only as production facilities but also as places of culture, memory and community participation. It also describes the espicha as one of the liveliest popular expressions of Asturian Cider Culture, embodying the values of community, equality and hospitality while encouraging oral transmission and exchange between generations.
UNESCO recognition is a source of pride, but it also represents a commitment to safeguarding and transmitting this heritage. Publishing the book in Japanese means taking on that responsibility by creating materials capable of bringing Asturian Cider Culture closer to a society that is developing its own cider scene and showing increasing interest in products linked to territory, quality and tradition.
With this new edition and the forthcoming SISGAJapan, Asturies will present itself in Tokyo not only through its bottles, but also through its history, language, landscapes and distinctive way of producing, drinking and sharing cider.
