Japanese sake and tea as place-based products: a comparison of regional certifications of globally important agricultural heritage systems, geopark, biosphere reserves, and geographical indication at product level certification

Abstract

BackgroundThis study analyzed certifications at the regional/landscape level and at product level. We focused on Japanese sake and tea as local place-based luxury items related to ethnic foods and socio-ecological landscape. MethodsSpecifically, this research analyzed two materials: the minutes of local assemblies (both sake and tea) and sales-promotion pamphlet (of a sake brewery). The quantitative approach of text mining was experimentally applied to the two materials. The cases of both sake (Hakusan City) and tea (Kakegawa City) were selected from areas designated with three certifications; Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Biosphere Reserves (BR) under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), and Geopark. The sake of Hakusan City is the product with geographical indication (GI), of the Hakusan Kikusake. ResultsAs the product level certification, the GI of sake is used in the context of a promotional tool both at the municipality assembly and sake brewery dimension. Alternatively, regional certifications (Geopark and BR) are utilized with limited extent for sake promotion in Hakusan City. The regional certification of the GIAHS is utilized in context of promoting Japanese tea in Kakegawa City. The product is not registered as the GI, and this may have influenced the use of the GI. ConclusionThese results imply that the place-based character remains at product level certification and is rather limited at landscape level. The product level certificate or the GI are used more frequently in the promotion of the place-based products than regional certifications. In order to further establish the placeness of the regions, certifications of landscape level need to be harmonized with the products that are produced in the landscape, using methods of place branding or story-telling.