Before World War II, however, young people who lived in poor farming or fishing villages vied with each other to gain a position of toji, because toji people were respected for their work, and their income was so large that people said, 'once becoming a toji, you can build a mansion.'
しかしその仕事の内容にふさわしい敬意を払われ、収入面でも恵まれ、「杜氏になれば御殿が建つ」などと言われたものだから、戦前の貧しい農漁村では青少年たちは競って杜氏を志した。