Midsummer Comments

It is said that Ryōkan loved to attend the midsummer Bon Festivals. Because he was a monk, he would normally be unable to attend, but sneaked in disguised as a woman.

Ryōkan was fond of rice wine (Sake) and would sometimes drink it to excess [ '' I send one of the children to buy some country wine / And after I'm drunk, toss off a few lines of calligraphy ''

he loved sake! Rice wine, like Sake, typically has a higher alcohol content,18%–25%, than grape wine (9%–16%)