Chinese consumers have been buying up a certain brand of sake in staggering numbers due to an unexpected link with hit basketball anime Slam Dunk.
Mii no Kotobuki (三井の寿) is a brand of Japanese sake originating in the Mii District of Fukuoka Prefecture.
The character in question is Hisashi Mitsui (三井寿), a junior high school basketball champion and expert three-pointer shooter. Slam Dunk author Takehiko Inoue revealed in a written dialogue that he derived the kanji characters in Mitsui’s name from the Mii no Kotobuki brand of sake, which he personally enjoys.