This page aims to clarify a couple of terms that you may come across on a label. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but it can serve as a quick guide. The Japanese characters are included as well for those who want to try their luck at Pictionary!
Daiginjo – 大吟醸 – sake with a polishing ratio of at least 50%
Futsushu – 普通酒 – ‘ordinary’ sake, sake that is not bound by the rules of only four ingredients, with the possibility to use additives
Genshu – 原酒 – sake to which no water has been added to bring down the alcohol percentage
Ginjo – 吟醸 – sake with a polishing ratio of at least 70%
Honjozo – 本醸造 – sake to which a bit of neutral alcohol has been added, usually done to round out the flavor, not to significantly increase the alcohol percentage
Junmai – 純米– ‘pure’ sake, made with only four ingredients: rice, water, yeast and kojikin
Kijoshu – 貴醸酒– sweet sake, made by adding sake instead of water during the fermentation stage
Kimoto – 生酛 – The most traditional fermentation method, where the mixture of rice, koji and water was mashed to a paste, exposed to the air, in order to produce lactic acid from stray bacteria
Koshu – 古酒 – aged sake
Muroka – 無濾過 – Sake that has not been filtered
Namazake – 生酒 – Unpasteurized sake
Nihonshu – 日本酒 – The Japanese term used for sake
Seimaibuai – 精米歩合– The degree of polishing
Seishu – 清酒 – A legal term used for sake
Sokujo moto – 速醸酛 – The most common product method where lactic acid bacteria as well as yeasts are added before the fermentation
Taruzake – 樽酒 – sake that has been aged shortly in cedar wood
Yamahai – 山廃 – an ‘intermediary’ fermentation method, were the use of a bit more water as well as playing with temperature would help in triggering a natural fermentation