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HISTORY PEOPLE FIVE FACTS ABOUT Rita Cowan ... Taketsuru
1 It is a long way from north Glasgow to the Far East, but love ( and whisky) can bridge the gap. Former Lenzie Academy pupil Jessie “Rita” Cowan left her native Kirkintilloch for Japan when she fell in love with student Masataka Taketsuru 100 years ago. He was studying organic chemistry at Glasgow University when he became fascinated with the secrets of making whisky.
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Rita was born in Kirkintilloch in 1896. Her fiancee had been killed in World War One and after her father died in 1918, her mother took in a lodger to help make ends meet. That lodger was Masataka. The couple met and fell in love in 1919 and married in 1920, despite the staunch disapproval of both their families.
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They crossed the globe to set up Nikka Whisky, one of Japan’s most successful whisky- making companies. Masataka was the first Japanese person to study and master the art of distilling whisky. Rita became known as the “Mother of Japanese Whisky” and she remains a legend in her adopted homeland.
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Rita faced difficult times as a Westerner in Japan during the Second World War, where she worked as a teacher. But she became well- liked and admired. The firm was based in Yoichi, where the main street is now named Rita Road.
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There is a museum in Yoichi which honours the couple’s memory – including a recreation of their living room – and their story was featured in a popular Japanese TV drama entitled Massan ( Rita’s nickname for Masataka). It ran for an incredible 150 episodes. There are even reports of a Rita Taketsuru Fan Club. Rita died in 1961.