At the times of famine due to poor harvests, no rice was available for sake brewing, while on the contrary, during times of excess of rice due to good harvests and the subsequent reduced price of rice, there were no such advantages as processing rice into sake.
不作で飢饉が続くときには酒造りへ回す米はないし、逆に豊作が続いて米が余り米価が下がり始めると酒に加工させておくほど好都合な使い道はない。