Hanami Boating With Iemon

Iemon or Yemon (いえもん, イエモン) is an ancient Japanese given name for men. The name originally came from the word Uemonfu (右衛門府) which is the right guardhouse of the gates of Heian-kyō imperial palace during the Asuka period and Heian period. [It also is] a brand of green tea drink released by Suntory.

Hanami (花見, lit. “flower viewing”) is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, “flower” in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms or ume blossoms. From the end of March to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan, and around the first of February on the island of Okinawa.

Green tea (緑茶 Ryokucha) is ubiquitous in Japan and therefore is more commonly known simply as “tea” (お茶 ocha).

On July 14, 2009, Kirin announced that it is negotiating with Suntory on a merger. On February 8, 2010, it was announced that negotiations between the two were terminated.

Mamoru Fujisawa (藤澤 守, Fujisawa Mamoru, born December 6, 1950), known professionally as Joe Hisaishi (久石 譲, Hisaishi Jō), is a Japanese composer and musical director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. Hisaishi is also known for his piano scores.

As his works were becoming well known, Hisaishi formulated an alias inspired by Quincy Jones, an American musician and producer. Retranscribed in Japanese, “Quincy Jones” became “Joe Hisaishi”. (“Quincy”, pronounced “Kuinshī” in Japanese, can be written using the same kanji in “Hisaishi”; “Joe” comes from “Jones”.)

Sammy Davis, Jr. asks you to wait for Suntory White

Suntory was one of the first Asian companies to specifically employ American celebrities to market their product. One of the most notable is Sammy Davis, Jr., who appeared in a series of memorable Suntory commercials in the early 1970s.

Samuel George “Sammy” Davis, Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American entertainer. Primarily a dancer and singer, Davis was a childhood vaudevillian, and became known for his performances on Broadway and in Las Vegas, as a recording artist, television and film star, and the only black member of Frank Sinatra’s “Rat Pack”. In the 1970s, he appeared in commercials in Japan for Suntory whiskey.

A blended whisky (or whiskey) is the product of blending different types of whiskies.

Sean Connery downs a double Crest

For some time it was believed by many that whisky made in the Scotch style, but not produced in Scotland, could not possibly measure up to the standards of the traditional Scotch distilleries. Until fairly recently, the market for Japanese whiskies was almost entirely domestic.

Suntory operates two museums, the Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo and the Suntory Museum Tempozan in Osaka, in addition to a number of cultural and social programs across Japan.

[Sean] Connery has “Scotland Forever” tattooed on his arm, and used his fee from Diamonds Are Forever (1971) to establish a charity to support poor children in Edinburgh, as well as Scottish film production. He has said that he will return to Scotland when it is granted independence.