Bartender
Tatsuro Yamazaki TEXT/KAGEHIRO WATANABE, PHOTO/NAOKO TAKAHASHI[At 12:47 AM on November 4, 2016, Mr. Yamazaki passed away peacefully at home due to malignant lymphoma, at the age of 96. We honor his more than half a century of contributions supporting Sapporo’s bar industry, and offer our heartfelt condolences.]
Tatsuro Yamazaki, owner of BAR Yamazaki, age 94. A towering figure in the cocktail world, the driving force behind bringing authentic bars to Sapporo, and, in his time, the oldest active bartender in Japan. Born in Tokyo in 1920, Yamazaki lived through the turbulence of wartime and postwar Japan before entering a profession that was still unfamiliar in Japan at the time: bartending. He came to Hokkaido in 1953, back when Sapporo’s population had only just surpassed 300,000, and Susukino was nothing more than about four blocks of clustered wooden buildings. For more than half a century since, Yamazaki has watched over Susukino, Sapporo, and the bartending industry itself. In this interview, we spoke with this legendary bartender — a living witness to that history — about his work, about Sapporo, and about the changing times.
Yamazaki loved to draw as a child and once dreamed of becoming a painter. During the war, after serving as a medic, he even considered a path toward becoming a doctor. But after the war, he ended up in a profession quite different from either: bartending. Perhaps a sign of the times, there are plenty of legendary stories from that era of bartenders getting into physical altercations with unruly customers. But Yamazaki himself says, "Bartending is a service industry — that kind of thing wouldn't be tolerated today." A bartender's job, he says, is to make sure customers don't drink too much, and don't embarrass themselves. That conviction has been passed down to the many bartenders who trained under him.
Bringing recognition to the skill of Japanese bartenders on the world stage is one of Yamazaki's great achievements. He led the effort to have Japan join the International Bartenders Association, and at the 1975 IBA competition, competing as Japan's representative, he overcame difficult odds to place second. Yet despite such remarkable accomplishments, when asked about the proudest moment of his life, he spoke instead about his children going on to university. Perhaps it's precisely that unpretentious character that has made him so loved and respected for so many years, by celebrities and ordinary people alike.
Tatsuro Yamazaki
Bartender, owner of BAR Yamazaki. Born in 1920 in Koishikawa, Tokyo. In 1946, began working as a bartender at the Tokyo Kaikan. In 1953, moved to Sapporo, working as chief bartender at the imported-goods izakaya Montana. In 1958, opened BAR Yamazaki. In 1975, won the All Japan Bartenders Association National Competition. In 1976, placed second at the International Bartenders Association competition in Milan. In 1987, became Honorary Chairman of the Hokkaido chapter of the Nippon Bartenders Association. In 2010, received the Nippon Bartenders Association's top honor, the Mr. Bartender Award.
BAR Yamazaki
4F Katsumi Building, Minami 3-jo Nishi 3-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo
TEL.011-221-7363
Hours: 6:00 PM–12:30 AM (next day)
Closed: Sundays
www.bar-yamazaki.com
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