<figure id="attachment_359638" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-359638" style="width: 642px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="246f21d0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/7901d8270eef9224d47b922e9f5c422d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-359638" class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Ito&#8217;s design for the &#8220;Recovery Bottle</figcaption></figure>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1"> A tiger painted in deep blue tones and a lion staring at you with a sharp gaze.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1"> Both of these unique designs were created for sake labels. Kaede Ito, 30, a former announcer for TBS and a painter, devised these designs. The sake designed on the labels are from 18 breweries of the Toyama Prefecture Sake Brewers Association, which was hit by the Noto Peninsula earthquake. Ms. Ito shared her special feelings about the sake bottles from the disaster area (comments below by Ms. Ito).</span></p>
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<p class="p3"><span class="s1"> Ms. Ito, who joined TBS in April 2004 as a female announcer after graduating from Rikkyo University&#8217;s Faculty of Letters, left the company in February 2009.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="strongInContent"><span class="s1"> I have been interested in drawing pictures since I was a child,&#8221; she said. When I was in college, I took a correspondence test and qualified as a portrait artist. The turning point came in the fall of 2006. I worked as an assistant on Masahiro Nakai&#8217;s variety show and was asked to improvise portraits of celebrities and ordinary people who consulted with me. I decided that if I was going to do it, I would do it right, so I started studying sketching at home every day. From then on, I became more and more addicted to the joy of drawing.</span></span></p>
<h2> An American taught him the charm of sake</h2>
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<p class="p3"><span class="s1"> After leaving TBS, he moved to Germany, where he had many opportunities to come into contact with classical paintings on a daily basis. In Germany, he had an unexpected encounter with sake.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="strongInContent"><span class="s1"> An American woman who had become a good friend of mine was running a sake boutique in Berlin. She had studied sake in great detail, from its history to how it is made. She understood it much better than I did as a Japanese. I was so embarrassed by that, and it was the beginning of my discovery of the appeal of sake.</span></span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1"> Ms. Ito will return to Japan temporarily at the end of last year to hold a solo exhibition in Ginza, Tokyo.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="strongInContent"><span class="s1"> I have always wished there was a space where I could appreciate art while drinking sake. I enjoy art in my own private time. I consulted with the Masuda Sake Brewery in my hometown of Toyama Prefecture, which is run by a relative of senior TBS announcer Erina Masuda. It was shortly after that. A major earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula &#8230;&#8230;&#8221;</span></span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1"> Mr. Ito himself experienced a major quake at his home in Toyama Prefecture. The walls of his parents&#8217; house cracked and he spent anxious days. When he called the Masuda Sake Brewery, which had been a great help to him, he was told that the brewery and other facilities had been damaged.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Why did they draw a &quot;ferocious beast&quot; on the label?"></div>
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<p class="p3"><span class="strongInContent"><span class="s1">I had been thinking about what I could do to help the affected areas. After talking with the Masuda Sake Brewery, we came up with the Toyama Sake Brewers Association&#8217;s &#8220;Reconstruction Bottle&#8221; label production project.</span></span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1"> Mr. Ito thought of colors and themes to match the taste and worldview of the sake. Many of the sake labels she designed depict tigers, lions, and other &#8220;beasts of prey,&#8221; as mentioned at the beginning of this article. Ito had her own special feelings about the design.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="strongInContent"><span class="s1"> I had a lot of troubles in Germany, such as fictitious bills,&#8221; she said. I painted animals such as tigers when I was in such a tough situation. I created this picture with the thoughts of &#8216;I don&#8217;t want to be defeated&#8217; and &#8216;I want to be strong. I hope that people in the affected areas, who are still suffering, will find hope and be able to drink sake again with laughter. We also hope that more people will learn about the appeal of sake from &#8230;&#8230;. The label is designed with this wish for recovery in mind.</span></span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1"> The &#8220;Recovery 2024 Bottle,&#8221; designed by Mr. Ito, will go on sale on March 1. All proceeds from the sale of the 22,000 yen per bottle will be donated to the affected areas.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Cute images from her days as a TBS female announcer"></div>
<figure id="attachment_359643" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-359643" style="width: 2418px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f64a4dc9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/d0a8be29dc4a0544a8cb8b08e2d13657.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-359643" class="wp-caption-text">Sake from Toyama, her hometown, was on display at her private exhibition held in Ginza, Tokyo in January this year.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_359644" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-359644" style="width: 958px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="23b58a6e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/9f9d5de9839bafc31bcbfbfc11a5a543.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-359644" class="wp-caption-text"> Ms. Ito when she was a female announcer at TBS</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_359658" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-359658" style="width: 1238px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="df73a14c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/a89a8abc3ffeaf22c964b9dba97ae2cc.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-359658" class="wp-caption-text"> Sake party in Germany</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_359645" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-359645" style="width: 1280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="95f1d812"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/0ddd897c4130c0be9eeadc27f8c5e2e2.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-359645" class="wp-caption-text"> Ms. Ito even had blonde hair in Germany, where she moved after leaving TBS.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_359646" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-359646" style="width: 3600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e73de994"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/067b362e44e30f39a90e1213417d5da6.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-359646" class="wp-caption-text"> Ms. Ito spoke about her passion for sake in the disaster-stricken area and Toyama Prefecture.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_359647" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-359647" style="width: 2016px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="511cbf19"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/90026b9db1284da0b496cf4dc18beff3.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-359647" class="wp-caption-text"> Mr. Ito with his sake design and people from the Toyama Sake Brewers Association</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_359648" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-359648" style="width: 2016px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="96a6a753"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/d0bab38518ff0330f74e2dff51fd27d6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-359648" class="wp-caption-text"> A novel design for sake</figcaption></figure>


 Courtesy of Aida Sono Ito

 Kaede Ito, a former TBS female announcer, designed a sake label for a sake brewery that was hit by the Noto Peninsula earthquake. She herself was affected by the disaster in her hometown in Toyama Prefecture. Now an independent painter, what special feelings did she put into the sake bottle?

Former TBS female announcer, who herself was affected by the Noto Earthquake, has special feelings about the &#8220;Sake &#8216;Recovery Bottle'&#8221; designed by her.

Former TBS female announcer, who herself was affected by the Noto Earthquake, has special feelings about the “Sake ‘Recovery Bottle'” designed by her.

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