Zaku Naguwashi Series Japanese Sake by Yasushi Uemura is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Golden A' Design Award in Packaging Design Competition Category.
GoldPackaging· 2025
Zaku Naguwashi Series Japanese Sake
Client: Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten Ltd.
Golden A' Design Award Winner in Packaging Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #164565The Design
About Zaku Naguwashi Series Japanese Sake
This is a premium sake developed specifically for luxury restaurants, aiming to be included on wine lists as one of the options for food pairing. The design challenge was to convey a distinctive sense of Japanese identity. The design draws inspiration from traditional Japanese motifs such as shide, the sacred paper streamers used in shrines to mark the boundaries of the divine, and origata, the ceremonial art of folding paper. These elements successfully convey not only their physical forms but also the deeper spirituality and essence of the Japanese people.
The Recognition
About the Golden A' Design Award
Zaku Naguwashi Series Japanese Sake is a Golden A' Design Award winner, an immensely prestigious recognition granted to first-rate, marvelous, and outstanding designs. Golden winners are exceedingly innovative, visionary, and glamorously dazzling creations that reflect the prodigy, wisdom, and prowess of their designers. Zaku Naguwashi Series Japanese Sake is expected to be a highly praised, trendsetting, and monumental invention that delivers unprecedented value. This Golden A' Design Award-winning design is a spectacular, respected project that highly benefits and advances the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Zaku Naguwashi Series Japanese Sake creates intense feelings of desire, evokes passion, encourages creativity, and fascinates us.
Where to Get It
Award-Winning Package Design Studio
We create distinctive package designs that elevate brands and connect with global audiences. Recognized internationally for excellence in Japanese-inspired design, we deliver comprehensive creative solutions including branding, photography, and strategic direction.
Request QuoteBehind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- A premium Japanese sake designed for luxury restaurants primarily in Europe and America. It was created with the goal of being featured on wine lists as one of the basic options for food pairing, alongside wines.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Grass Bottle 750ml:
Height 335mm, Diameter 80mm - Tags
- Sake, Japanese sake, Zaku, Drink Package, Japan, UemuraDesign, Traditional
- Production Technology
- In this label design, small cut-out holes were made to express the folded shapes of paper. Since the holes are extremely small, they are manually cut. As sake labels need to be durable when placed in coolers, synthetic paper was used to give the appearance of traditional paper while providing the necessary durability.
- Design Challenge
- Sake in wine bottles can easily be mistaken for wine, making it challenging to create a design that immediately conveys 'Japan.' To express sake through traditional Japanese imagery, we drew inspiration from elements such as 'shide' (white paper streamers used in Shinto rituals) and 'origata' (envelopes folded to convey respect), incorporating these symbols into the design to represent Japanese spirituality.
- Research
- In recent years, sake has become popular in the Western market. Usually, sake bottles are written in Japanese and are often difficult to understand. So, I expressed it using traditional Japanese imagery in a way that a sommelier at a Western restaurant could intuitively understand.
- Inspiration
- The design emphasizes Japanese spirituality to highlight the unique characteristics of sake. It draws inspiration from traditional motifs, such as "shide," the paper streamers used in Japanese shrines to mark sacred boundaries, and the art of "origata," the traditional method of folding paper in ceremonial practices.
- Project Duration
- This project started in Mie Prefecture, Japan, in 2020, and by April 2023, three varieties of the series were completed. Sales began in Tokyo and other parts of Japan, and the product is also available in Europe and the United States. The sales continue.
- Operation Flow
- It is mainly served in restaurants in Europe and the United States that serve sake.
By adding sake to the menu, which has previously offered a wide variety of wines, the restaurant can provide a broader selection. This gives guests the opportunity to explore new flavors and experience choices they haven't had before, while also sparking an interest in Japanese culture.
Sponsored
Explore Beyond Designers.org
Discover products, services and opportunities from our advertising partners.
More to Explore
Related Designs
Explore more award-winning designs from the same category, selected by merit.
