Suimeien Okamoto Tea Manufacturing is located in Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture, on the border with Shizuoka Prefecture, and has a beautiful, bright green tea plantation covering approximately 5 hectares. The company’s grandfather moved from Makinohara City in Shizuoka Prefecture, where the Makinohara Plateau is famous as a tea production area, to cultivate the land. The fourth generation, Hirotoshi Okamoto, is working to broaden the range of ways to enjoy tea by commercializing powdered and tea packaged products and opening the farm to the public. We will explore the tea production that Mr. Hirotoshi, who is looking to the future, is aiming for.

Toyohashi tea in Aichi Prefecture, where tea cultivation is also popular

Toyohashi City, located in southeastern Aichi Prefecture on the border with Shizuoka Prefecture, is the central city of the Higashimikawa region and has the fifth largest population in Aichi Prefecture. Bordered by Mikawa Bay in the west and the Pacific Ocean in the south, Toyohashi enjoys a relatively mild climate throughout the year.

Toyohashi is one of the leading horticultural production centers in Japan, boasting the nation’s largest shipment of cabbage and the largest production of shiso leaves in Japan. Because of this soil, Toyohashi tea is said to be “highly aromatic.

The origin of the tea is not known, but it seems that before World War II, there were several tea farmers in the Takashibara district in the center of Toyohashi City. In the 1950s, along with postwar reconstruction, the production of black tea became popular. Later, they began to produce sencha, leading to today’s Toyohashi tea. Another characteristic of Toyohashi tea is that the harvest season begins 3 to 4 days earlier than in Shizuoka because of the warmer climate.

Moved tea plantation from Makinohara City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and cultivated the land from scratch

Suimeien Okamoto Tea, run by Hirotoshi, is located in Higashi-Hosoya, one of the five major tea production areas. The tea plantation, which covers an area of about 5 hectares, surrounds his house and produces several varieties of tea, ranging from early to late harvest: Ooi Wase, Kuritawase, Yaeho, Yutaka Midori, Saemidori, Tsuyu Hikari, Yabukita, Meiryo, Sayamakaori, Yamakai, and Okumidori. The reason for this is that the harvest period is 3 to 4 days. The reason for this is to ensure the distribution of high quality tea by harvesting tea leaves at the optimum time, which is said to be 3 to 4 days.

Originally, the tea plantation was located on the Makinohara Plateau, one of the most famous tea growing areas in Shizuoka Prefecture, but due to the effects of the Pacific War, the second generation moved to the current location. The land, which was empty at the time, was cleared and cultivated into a unique undulating terrain. The land was slightly sloped to improve drainage, and a “culvert drainage system” was installed to collect water from the ground and underground and channel it into a drainage canal. The result is a tea garden with excellent drainage and soft red soil, which is said to be suitable for tea cultivation, enabling the cultivation of high quality tea leaves.

Tea making starts with soil preparation

Okamoto-san, the fourth generation of the family, grew up watching tea picking from his childhood. Tea fields spread out around his house and tea factory. The family runs the business from the management of the tea plantation to production and packing. What I make can make people happy. Also, everything from the tea plantation to manufacturing is my responsibility. It was a natural progression for him to choose to become the successor after experiencing firsthand the dreams and rewards of the business.
Okamoto-san says, “The taste and aroma of tea depends on the soil. Soft soil is necessary for the roots of tea trees to grow thicker and deeper. However, when tea is picked by machine, the soil is inevitably hardened. Therefore, after picking the second tea leaves, Okamoto-san mows and returns them to the field even after the third tea leaves have sprouted. Generally, this tea can be sold as the third tea, but Okamoto-san wants to increase soil organisms and maintain the soil’s own strength by feeding the soil with organic matter as much as possible.

Cultivate multiple varieties for staggered picking times

The family business has its own difficulties. If there are overlapping harvest times, there is not enough labor, and the best time to harvest the tea leaves may be missed. Since it is difficult to harvest 5 hectares of tea plantations at once, the farmers plant early-ripening and late-ripening varieties to ensure that all teas are harvested at the right time. The teas picked at the right time “feel completely different to the touch, so comfortable that I want to keep touching them. They are so comfortable to the touch that I want to touch them all the time.

The difference of a few seconds in the tea making process is reflected in the taste.

The harvested tea is consolidated at a tea factory located near his home. They are immediately steamed and then cooled by a cooler. Time is of the essence, as freshly picked leaves are quickly oxidized if left unattended. In addition, the green color of the leaves must be maintained while removing any foul smell, and it is said that the length of steaming time determines the taste, aroma, and color of the water. The difference of a few seconds makes a big difference in the taste, so even the slightest carelessness is not tolerated in the steaming process.

Okamoto-san, who is in charge of everything from harvesting to production, spends a month or so during the tea-picking season, with no time to sleep. Even under such circumstances, he says, “I do this work because I love it, so it’s not hard at all. I want to make tea that I am satisfied with,” Okamoto-san smiles.

Store at 7°C to prevent condensation and oxidation

Okamoto Seicha, which is also involved in tea sales, stores products after tea production in a refrigerator in the factory. The temperature is set at 7 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is too cold, condensation may form when the tea is taken out of the refrigerator and returned to room temperature. Tea is damaged when it absorbs moisture, so we want to avoid condensation as much as possible. On the other hand, if the temperature is raised, oxidation will occur. The temperature at the very edge of avoiding condensation and oxidation is 7 degrees Celsius,” he said.

Three generations of parents and children received the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award

Every year, “tea fairs” are held throughout Japan, where producers compete to see how well their teas perform that year. Experts with tea judging skills evaluate four items: the appearance of the tea leaves, the color of the tea, the aroma, and the taste. Okamoto Seicha has received the “Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award,” the highest award, from the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, for three generations of parents and children at both national and Aichi Prefecture tea fairs. The tea was especially recognized for its high aroma.

When asked what kind of tea Mr. Okamoto is aiming for, he replied, “Everyone has their own taste preferences,” and then added, “A tea that has a strong astringent taste typical of green tea, and that makes you feel a rush when you drink it. However, he said that it is not so easy to make green tea because it is a natural product. We can only try once a year, so we have to learn every year.

Working with his wife, he develops products that consumers demand.

In recent years, young people have been turning away from tea-leaf type teas. This is because brewing tea in a teapot is considered a hassle. Therefore, Mr. Okamoto has been working on the development of “powdered tea,” which can be brewed easily.

However, when powdered, it did not taste the same as tea brewed from tea leaves. Sometimes the color is not as beautiful as expected. The development of the product was a difficult process that involved changing the variety and trial and error in the process of making the powder. He actively adopted his wife’s opinion in the development process. Because she did not grow up as a tea farmer, she was able to fully reflect the viewpoint of an ordinary consumer. The result was powdered sencha, genmaicha, hojicha, and kocha teas.

The sales of the powdered teas allowed the company to discover a different customer base, and the company felt that it had a positive effect on the market. As a second step, the company began developing triangular tea bags, which are now sold through online stores and other channels. The new product is said to offer an easy way to enjoy a taste similar to that of leaf tea.

Our goal is to make teas that wholesalers nominate.

As the fourth generation, he is vigorously developing new products, but there are still many areas he would like to improve, such as efficiency and quality. As a family-run business, they plan to focus on countermeasures against delays in harvest time due to variety and weather conditions, as well as improving the quality of the tea trees themselves.

Although there are regions where the area under tea cultivation is expanding, nationwide tea production is on a downward trend. The amount of leaf tea consumed per household is also on the decline, and it must be said that the industry as a whole is shrinking. Despite the difficult situation, we would like to produce tea leaves with the utmost care so that our customers will say, “I want Okamoto Seicha’s tea. Mr. Hirotoshi, who loves tea and is dedicated to tea, continues to hold on to his aspirations.

The post The insatiable challenge to stop the trend away from Japanese tea. Mr. Hirotoshi Okamoto, the fourth generation owner of Suimeien Okamoto Tea Manufacturing Co. first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Kishimen, one of Nagoya’s gourmet foods, is a noodle characterized by its wide width. It is thinner than udon but has a firm texture and a smooth texture. However, it has been less exposed than other major noodles such as udon, soba, and ramen, which has resulted in a noticeable decrease in the number of young people eating kishimen. Recently, however, a new trend in the kishimen industry has begun to emerge, thanks to the efforts of Takahiro Horie, who runs a handmade udon store in Nagoya.

Kishimen, Aichi Prefecture’s local delicacy

Kishimen” is known as Nagoya meshi (Nagoya food). In fact, it is not limited to Nagoya City, but is eaten throughout Aichi Prefecture. It is said to have its roots in “string noodles,” a specialty of Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture, and it is believed that Kishimen is a good match for Aichi Prefecture, where many people like their noodles well seasoned and the sauce easily soaks into the noodles.

Its characteristic feature is its flat noodles. The noodles are thinner than udon noodles, but have a firm texture and a smooth texture, and the sauce that soaks through the noodles is very appealing.

What is the difference between kishimen, udon, and stewed noodles?

In addition to kishimen, there are other types of noodles that are representative of Nagoya-meshi, such as miso nikomi udon and Nagoya udon. Although they all seem to be the same type of udon, the ingredients and proportions of the noodles used in each dish vary according to the cooking method and purpose, and the textures vary accordingly.

Kishimen is the most time-consuming type of noodle to make. Kishimen requires more than twice as much time as the process of ordinary udon noodles because the dough is stretched thin to make the noodles wide, which is one of the main characteristics of kishimen. In addition, the amount of dough that can be made at one time is limited because the dough spreads out and occupies the noodle-making table. If 10 servings of udon can be made in the same amount of time and under the same conditions, only 5 servings of kishimen can be made. Although it is a Nagoya specialty, the inefficiency has led an increasing number of restaurants to stop serving kishimen and switch to udon only.

From a noodle diner opened by the previous generation, the three mainstays of the restaurant are udon, kishimen, and stewed noodles.

Mr. Horie, who runs “Teuchi Udon Takasago” in Nagoya City, inherited the noodle restaurant founded by his father in 1958. A noodle diner is a general term for a diner in town that serves not only udon but also Chinese soba noodles and set meals. After his father passed away, Mr. Horie took over the restaurant and has since been running it with a focus on handmade udon, kishimen (flat noodles), and nikomi udon as the three mainstays of the menu.

After training in Tokyo, he learned the techniques by watching and imitating.

Before he started making udon in Takasago, he trained at a soba restaurant in Tokyo. Two years later, he returned to his father’s store, where he stole the skills of his brothers and sisters while watching them make udon noodles.

He aims to make noodles that are gentle but have a core, with a bit of a bite at the end. I learned the technique not only by thinking about it in my head, but also by actually doing it, and finally I was able to consistently produce the ideal noodles,” said Horie.

The handmade noodles made with this unique technique have received high praise, and the restaurant is now so famous that it is listed in the Michelin Guide.

Udon noodles in Nagoya have a high density of salt water. Reason for leaving them overnight before stretching.

Udon and kishimen are both made from wheat flour and salted water. Their production processes are almost the same, differing only in the thickness of the dough to be stretched at the beating stage. However, the salt water used to make udon in Nagoya is more concentrated than that used to make noodles in Kagawa Prefecture, which is famous as an udon prefecture.

Although it is difficult to generalize because it depends on the season and weather conditions, Nagoya uses salt water with a density of 18 to 20%, compared to 10% in other areas. The higher the concentration, the tighter the dough. Since Nagoya is a region with high temperatures, the higher salt concentration is probably used to make the dough firmer to prevent the noodles from sloughing off in the heat,” says Horie.

In addition, Nagoya’s udon noodles are made using a method known as “Nagoya-uchi. The major difference between Nagoya udon and udon from other regions is that the dough is left to rest overnight, and a process known as “navel-dashi (hon-maruke)” is used to shape the dough into a round shape by pressing the dough into a ball with fingers. The process of letting the dough rest overnight promotes the formation of gluten, making it sticky and elastic, while the process of heso-dashi removes air from the dough, making it hard to break and giving it a strong firmness. These steps are what make Nagoya udon unique.

Talking with the dough while making noodles

Mr. Horie makes udon and yakishimen noodles every day, but the process is not the same. He says, “I make the noodles while talking to the dough, like, ‘It’s soft today because of the high humidity. We call forming the dough ‘forging,’ but we don’t forge it unnecessarily, but rather let the dough rest and avoid overworking it,” says Horie. The dough is made to look its best on any given day by making fine adjustments, such as adding more salt during the summer months when the dough tends to be less firm, or reducing the amount of water used on rainy days.

Promoting Kishimen to the younger generation and making it an everyday food option

Kishimen is the soul food of the people of Aichi Prefecture, but it is actually in danger of decline. As mentioned above, Kishimen requires more time and effort to prepare than other types of noodles. In addition, miso nikomi udon, which is stewed over a long period of time, requires less preparation on the part of the restaurant and is more popular with tourists. Even for the locals, there are not many opportunities to eat kishimen, and even in Takasago, until about three years ago, only two or three servings of kishimen were served per week.

However, Mr. Horie, who wanted to preserve the kishimen culture, decided to convey the deliciousness of kishimen to the younger generation at his casual restaurant. He decided to open “Hoshigaoka Noodle Factory” in 2021, a restaurant where people can casually drop by, by introducing machine-made noodles and freezing technology.

Hoshigaoka Terrace, where “Hoshigaoka Noodle Factory” is located, is lined with apparel stores and cafes, and is a place where many young people come and go. The location and production method of the store may seem opposite to that of Takasago, which insists on handmade noodles, but Mr. Horie explains the true reason for this. The cost of preparing noodles by hand is high, and mass production is not possible. But I wanted young people to enjoy shishimen in the same way they enjoy curry or ramen. I thought that machine-made noodles, which incorporate hand-made techniques, would be comparable in taste and be easily enjoyed.

In the year since Hoshigaoka Noodle Factory opened, approximately 100,000 servings of Kishimen have been ordered. Moreover, customers who discovered the deliciousness of Kishimen began to visit Takasago as well. The customer base has also changed, with groups of high school girls coming to the store, mothers’ friends coming for lunch, and children coming to the store before going to cram school.

From the Tokai area to the rest of the country and overseas

The success of Hoshigaoka Ramen Noodle House has brought joy from other companies in the same industry. The success of Hoshigaoka Seimenjo has brought more young people to visit the traditional udon store, saying, “I want to try the kishimen from other stores. However, in order to ensure that this is not a temporary boom, Mr. Horie is continuing to vigorously promote kishimen, including the development of franchises.

Currently, Hoshigaoka Seimenjo has outlets in Aichi and Osaka prefectures, but eventually we would like to expand the culture of kishimen from Hokkaido to Okinawa. In the future, I would like to increase the number of kishimen fans overseas,” says Horie. Someday, Kishimen will become the standard noodle food in Japan like udon, soba, and ramen, and spread throughout the world. Imagining such a future, the udon store that started out as a one-stop store in Nagoya continues to introduce the appeal of kishimen from a new angle in an effort to uncover a wide range of needs.

The post Supporting the dying Kishimen culture with a new type of business. Takahiro Horie of Teuchi Udon Takasago / Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Yamazaki Limited Partnership, founded in 1903 in Hazu, Nishio City, Aichi Prefecture, is a long-established brewery known for its sake “Sonno. Since its establishment, the company has been making sake under the belief that “local sake is nurtured by the climate,” while embraced by the nature of Hazu. The sake made with rice developed in the Okumikawa region of Aichi Prefecture has timeless value.

The “Honorable Emperor” was born in a small village overlooking the ocean.

Hazu area, Nishio City, Aichi Prefecture. Yamazaki Goshi Kaisha was founded in 1903 in this rich natural setting overlooking Mikawa Bay to the south. The brewery’s philosophy from its inception was to “brew sake that cannot be found anywhere else,” and in 1920 it launched “Sonno,” which has remained one of the brewery’s most popular brands for more than 100 years.

Today, in addition to Sonoh, the brewery produces more than 10 other brands, including “Oku,” “Gennai,” and “Nengoichi. Some of the brands range from junmai daiginjo-shu to regular sake, and the total number of products handled by the brewery is said to be more than 50.

The best sake for Aichi Prefecture’s richly flavored

The brewery uses locally grown rice from Aichi Prefecture and groundwater pumped up from the foot of Mount Mikane, located north of the brewery. The idea that “sake is a gift from the climate” has remained unchanged since the brewery’s founding. In Aichi Prefecture, where sake production has flourished since the Edo period, the production of fermented seasonings such as Mikawa Mirin, a secondary processing of sake lees, also flourished. Against this backdrop, Aichi Prefecture developed its own local foods that are said to be richly seasoned, such as broiled eel sweetened with Mikawa mirin and “dote-ni” and “miso katsu” using red miso, which originated in the prefecture and has a rich flavor and aroma. Yamazaki Goushi Company’s sake, which has a robust flavor, is the best match for this “strong flavor,” according to the company’s senior managing director, Hiromasa Yamazaki.

Yumesansui, rice for sake, born in the Okumikawa region

All mainstay products, such as Sonoh and Oku, are made from sake brewing rice produced in Aichi Prefecture. Yumesansui,” which is said to be the highest quality rice among them, was bred and developed for mountainous areas by the Intermountain Agricultural Research Institute of the Aichi Prefectural Agricultural Experiment Station at the strong desire of local farmers and sake brewers in the Okumikawa region. Yamadanishiki”, a rice suitable for sake brewing, was used as the mother strain, and “Chubu 44”, a sister strain of “Chiyonishiki”, was used as the father strain, and the rice was developed and improved in 1998.
In 2014, Yume-Ginko, a sake brewing rice for flat areas, was also created. In 2019, Yamadanishiki from Aichi Prefecture will be introduced, giving sake brewers more options for locally produced sake rice.

A new brand that deepens the “depth” of sake [Oku]

One of the main brands, Oku, is made using 100% Yumesansui. Although they were the first to introduce Yumesansui, they struggled to commercialize it. After four years of trial brewing, it was finally developed. The development concept was “to make sake with a strong aroma and a strong flavor. True to this concept, the alcohol content of Oku is all higher than 18%, which is high for a sake. Mr. Yamazaki puts a lot of effort into his words, saying, “Oku cannot be made with less than 18 degrees.

Yamazaki Limited Partnership uses its own rice to polish Yumesansui to a 22% polishing ratio, achieving a finish with no cloying taste. The beer has a high alcohol content and high aroma, but has no cloying taste. The name “Oku” was derived from the strong desire of the previous president who developed the sake to “deepen the “depth” of sake.

The characteristics of the brewery can be recognized by its ingredients, and the technology of the brewery can be recognized by its aftertaste.

Mr. Yamazaki says, “I think the “hint” of sake in the mouth is a characteristic of the brewery. I believe that a brewery’s skill comes out in the aftertaste,” he says. The “aftertaste” that Mr. Yamazaki and his team are aiming for is a clear taste with no clutter. In 1993, they built a new warehouse with air conditioning and refrigeration. All products in the warehouse can now be stored at low temperatures.
The brewery also focuses on “Kare Rashi,” or drying the rice and freshly made koji after polishing. The koji is then dried and the koji is dried in a process known as “kareraki,” which takes time to remove any impurities. When Mr. Yamazaki tasted sake made through this process for the first time, he was surprised at how different it was.

Even if it is said that we are “going against the times”… we want to maintain our pride.

Since 2020, an increasing number of sake breweries have been producing low-alcohol sake with a gorgeous aroma, but Yamazaki Goshi Kaisha handles a lot of nama sake, and all of its products have a high alcohol content. Oku has a basic alcohol content of 18 degrees, and Sonoh is around 17 degrees. Mr. Yamazaki prefaces his comments with the following: “The times may be changing to lower alcohol,” he says, “but some of these dark sake products have a strong flavor, and I am sure there are core fans who like this type of sake. I am sure there are core fans who like it, and I want to protect it for them.

Considering the Next Step in the Diversifying Alcohol Industry

Mr. Yamazaki says, “I think there are all kinds of sake qualities in the world. When I think about my next move, it is difficult to come up with what to make. For this reason, he is tireless in his research and development of new products.

In 2013, they launched the completely alcohol-free amazake “Ichikouji. a completely alcohol-free amazake. From koji making to bottling, the sake brewing techniques that have been cultivated over a long period of time were fully incorporated into the product. Of course, the rice is grown in Aichi Prefecture and the rice polishing ratio is 60%. Although no sugar is used, the sweetness of the rice can be felt. Flavors using Nishio City’s specialties, such as powdered green tea and ancient rice, are also available, offering a different taste of this long-established brewery.

Local sake is nurtured by the climate.

Seventy percent of the sake produced at the brewery is consumed in Aichi Prefecture, and the rest is sold through distributors nationwide. The brewery plans to focus on expanding sales channels and building brand awareness. We would like to make it known that our brewery brews locally produced sake with locally grown rice,” he said. I think this will lead to the promotion of Aichi’s food culture,” says Yamazaki.

Local sake is nurtured by the climate, and the people who live here also eat from this climate. I would like to develop sake that goes exceptionally well with the environment surrounding this brewery. The philosophy that has continued since the brewery’s founding, “Sake, like everything else, is a product of the climate,” has not changed over the past 120 years and will continue to be passed down to the next generation.

The post Brewing sake with locally produced rice. Yamazaki Limited Partnership, the brewer of “Sonno”. first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Have you ever heard of “Nama-Takiki-Shirasu,” a product of Minamichita-cho, Aichi Prefecture, a major producer of shirasu (baby sardines)? It is a tsukudani (food boiled in soy sauce) made with the original flavor of shirasu, which is difficult to handle in its raw state, and sweetened with sauce, and has won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award. The taste is different from both kama-age shirasu and dried shirasu. Shiro Sakashita, president of Marui-Shouten, the company that developed the product, told us the secret.

What You Need to Know about Mikawa Bay Shirasu

Minamichita Town is located in Chita County, Aichi Prefecture. Located in the southern part of the Chita Peninsula, the town consists of the tip of the peninsula and the islands of Shinojima and Himakajima, which lie offshore from the tip of the peninsula. Marui-Shouten, a seafood processing and wholesale company, is located in this region surrounded on three sides by the sea, where the fishing industry is thriving. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries’ 2021 statistics on fisheries and aquaculture production, Aichi indeed accounts for about 14% of the total share, which is the second largest in Japan. Furthermore, on a municipal basis, Minamichita boasts the largest catch of shirasu (baby sardines) in Japan.

How did Minami-Chita become a major catch center for shirasu? The reason is the spawning season of sardines, the parents of young sardines. Ise Bay and Mikawa Bay intersect here on the inner side of the bay, and the Pacific Ocean lies on the outer side of the Atsumi Peninsula. Because the water temperature and other growing conditions differ between the inner bay and the open ocean, the sardines spawn at different times of the year. This is why the fishing season for sardines is longer than in other areas.

Every minute counts. Freshness is the lifeblood of Shirasu.

The shirasu (baby sardines) that Marui-Shouten now mainly handles are brought to the company’s factory as soon as they are landed at the local Morozaki Fishing Port. Shirasu are quick to catch, and those landed in the morning are not very fresh by the evening, and they start to smell bad. In Minamichita, where the catch is large, it is difficult to consume all the fresh shirasu on the same day, so it was necessary to process them into dried shirasu, tsukudani, and other products that would last for a long time before shipping. The company, too, only handled fresh shirasu to the extent that it could sell it immediately, and manufactured processed products such as kama-age shirasu, dried shirasu, and chirimen-jako (dried young sardines) for distribution to supermarkets throughout the country.

Nama-Suikki Shirasu” is a tsukudani (food boiled in soy sauce) that brings out the texture and umami of the shirasu.

Marui Shoten is a marine products processing company established in 1908. The company processes and sells marine products caught in the local Mikawa Bay, nearby Ise Bay, and the Pacific Ocean, and opened a direct sales office in 1991. Since then, the company has also focused on developing its own brand products. One of its signature products is “Nama-Takiki-Shirasu” (fresh-cooked baby sardines), which is not a familiar name. The name may be unfamiliar, but it refers to the tsukudani (boiled and seasoned young sardines) made by cooking them raw, and in 2009 it won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Award.

Generally, shirasu tsukudani is made by boiling down cooked shirasu with sauce, as in the case of kama-age shirasu. However, in the case of nama-kaki shirasu, the shirasu is not cooked, but literally “raw,” and is boiled down with the sauce. This allows the original flavor of the shirasu to be preserved. Once boiled, the fish will inevitably release its flavor,” he says. By cooking it from raw, the original flavor of the fish remains. It doesn’t have an odor, and its soft texture is well received,” Sakashita says proudly.

Learn about the process of making tsukudani, which is different from “common tsukudani”

It is said that it is difficult to cook small fish such as shirasu from raw. The reason is that in its raw state, the fish contains a lot of water and tends to lose its shape. When we first tried making tsukudani from raw fish using ikanago, which is larger and fresher than shirasu and is available in abundance in Minamichita, we succeeded without incident. However, the fishing season for ikanago was short and not suitable for mass production. So, they decided to make a tsukudani using shirasu, which is caught in large quantities and has a long fishing season.

However, the initial development of the product was a series of failures. They started with a small household pot and made trial and error until they were satisfied that the shirasu would not collapse and that the flavor of the tsukudani sauce would be retained. He says that while proper heat is necessary to cook the shirasu without losing its shape, the most important factor is freshness. Freshness is the most important factor, he says, because fish that loses its freshness quickly loses its shape. That is why he has to process fresh shirasu caught right in front of his eyes as quickly as possible, even if it is only a minute or a second.

A gem born from trial and error

The result of this trial-and-error process is the fresh-cooked shirasu. The sauce is made from soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar, and only the amount used that day is added. No thickening agents commonly used in tsukudani (food boiled down in soy sauce) or syrup are used. This is to preserve the natural taste and texture of the fish. They also insist on using no additives, and do not use any coloring agents or preservatives. The sugar in the sauce acts as a preservative, so the fish can be refrigerated for up to two months.

When you put it in your mouth, you will be surprised at its tenderness. The softness of the fish in the mouth is surprising, and the sweetness of the sauce preserves the original flavor of the fish, and each piece retains its shape and firmness. The ease of eating and the sweetness of the seasoning have made it popular with a wide range of people, from children to adults.

Climate change, rising fuel prices. Fisheries Entering a Transitional Period

Marui Shoten not only processes and sells fish landed locally in Minamichita, but also exports fish using freezing technology. Since Mr. Sakashita took over the business as the fourth generation, the company has been purchasing fish from outside Minamichita. This is due to the effects of recent climate change. Mr. Sakashita says, “Some of the fish we used to be able to catch are no longer being caught, and there are fish mixed in that we could not catch before. I think this will change further in the next 10 years,” he said, describing the current situation in which fish are gradually moving. The fish move, but the fishermen cannot move from their fishing grounds. For processors, too, they cannot immediately renew large equipment that they once put in place.

Considering the future of fisheries-related businesses

Climate change is an unavoidable problem for the fishing industry, which deals with nature, and the fish processing industry, which does business with the fish it lands. At the same time, the rising cost of fuel due to soaring energy prices is also putting pressure on business. Against this backdrop, Mr. Sakashita believes that “aquaculture” will be one of the keywords for the future of fisheries-related businesses.

Mr. Sakashita says, “More and more large, well-financed companies are entering the aquaculture business. Even companies that were not involved in the fishery industry are now entering the business,” he says. Although the amount of fish caught is decreasing, Mr. Sakashita’s analysis suggests that they may be anticipating an increase in demand for fish as the world’s population continues to grow. From a fishery that catches what is available to a fishery that makes its own fish. Such a future may be just around the corner.

Breaking through difficult situations is the best part of running a business.

Although the fishing industry seems to be in a constant state of distress, Mr. Sakashita is proud of his work. The catch changes every year, with some years having good catches and some years having poor catches. Even so, he believes that the best part of running a business is figuring out how to make the best use of the product in front of him and meet the demand. Sakashita laughs, “The fun part is figuring out what kind of fish to use and what kind of business to do with them when the local fish market stops producing them.

And the fresh-cooked shirasu supports his mindset. Our products are not something that anyone else can produce,” he says. It is because we are the only ones who can make them that we feel a strong sense of satisfaction when we see the reaction of our customers when they try our products. It is precisely because we are in difficult times that we shine. We would like to see what kind of ideas Mr. Sakashita has in store for us.

The post Marui-Shouten, the creator of “fresh-cooked shirasu” that locks in the flavor of shirasu. first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Aoyagi Uiro” by Aoyagi Sohonke is one of the most popular Nagoya souvenirs, but it is said to have its roots in China. How did Uiro originate and how did it become popular as a standard Nagoya souvenir? We will look at its roots, the people behind the expansion of the brand, and the Aoyagi Sohonke’s new challenges.

Uiro, introduced from China over 600 years ago

What do you think of when you hear the word “Uiro”? Many people may think of a Japanese confectionery with a smooth appearance, but not a few younger generations have no idea what it is.

Uiro is a Japanese confectionery that has long been loved as a souvenir from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. It is made by steaming rice flour, bracken flour, wheat flour, and other ingredients mixed with sugar, water, and starch. Since it is one of the first souvenirs from Nagoya, locals tend to think that it originated in Nagoya, but in fact, it is said to have its roots in China.

It was brought to Japan in the Muromachi period (1336-1573) by a man named Chen Yan-yu, who was well versed in Chinese medicine (at the time, the Yuan dynasty) and was in charge of procuring medicines. After Yuan was destroyed by the Ming Dynasty, Chen went into exile in Japan. When he became a naturalized Japanese citizen, he took the name Chen Uiro, based on his position in the Yuan dynasty, and the name Sotoro family became firmly established. The medicine that Chen, a skilled physician, began to sell in Japan became well known for its efficacy, and at the invitation of then shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, his son, Chen Gairo Dainen Zongqi, moved to Kyoto. It is said that the name “Uiru” is derived from a confectionery that was served as a tea set to entertain the Imperial Court, or from a confectionery made to soften the bitterness of the medicine.

Later, the Sotoiro family was invited by Soun Hojo, who built a castle in Odawara, and moved to the Odawara castle area. Since then, they have continued to make medicine and sweets in Odawara, and today, Uiro is still passed down in Odawara Castle Town as “Uiro Corporation” and Uiro is also made in other parts of Japan.

After being sold standing in Nagoya Station and on train platforms, it has become a standard souvenir.

The first such place in Japan was Odawara City in Kanagawa Prefecture, but why did UIRO become known as a standard Nagoya souvenir? The Aoyagi Sohonke’s efforts are hidden there. Aoyagi Sohonke was originally founded in 1879 as a steamed yokan (sweet bean jelly) business. Later, the second generation learned how to make UIRO in Tokyo, and began to produce UIRO as well.

The turning point came when Tamehiko Goto, the third generation of the company, decided that he wanted more people to enjoy UIRO, which until then had been packaged in simple wrappings and had an expiration date of the next day or the same day, and established production and packaging techniques to make it last longer. As a result, Tamehiko began to sell Uiro at JR Nagoya Station (then Japan National Railways) and on platforms for the first time. This was the beginning of Uiro becoming a Nagoya specialty.

The effort also brought opportunities. Two years later, in 1964, the Tokaido Shinkansen began service. In addition to sales inside the stations and on platforms, only one store, Aoyanagi Uiro, obtained permission to sell Uiro on board the train, thus accelerating its presence as a Nagoya souvenir.

Rice flour is the main ingredient of Uiro in Nagoya

Uiro is actually a specialty not only in Odawara and Nagoya, but also in Ise City, Mie Prefecture, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Tokushima Prefecture, and other areas, with ingredients and characteristics varying from region to region. In other words, if it is made by adding sugar or water to starch and hardening it, it belongs to the Uiro category. Uiro in Nagoya is made by kneading rice flour with sugar, starch and water, and steaming it. In Yamaguchi Prefecture, bracken flour is added, and in Mie Prefecture, a higher percentage of wheat flour is used. Yokan is sometimes mistaken for yokan, but yokan is a Japanese confectionery made by pouring red bean paste (mainly made from azuki beans) into a mold and hardening it with agar (agar). They are very similar, but not the same.

Because of the simplicity of the ingredients, the experience of the craftsman comes into play. Aoyanagi Uiro uses domestically produced rice flour, but the taste and texture of the Uiro varies depending on the weather and temperature of the year when the rice is harvested. The artisans carefully assess these differences and prepare the dough to achieve the ideal taste and texture. After one hour of steaming in the steamy air, the Uiro is characterized by its soft, chewy texture and elegant sweetness with a hint of rice flavor.

Aoyagi Sohonke’s best-selling product is the orthodox Uiro, made with white sugar, but there are many variations, such as using brown sugar or Wasanbon instead of sugar, or adding Shiraoi Daiginjo, a famous Japanese sake made in Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture.

Frog buns” featuring the logo

The “Frog Manju,” now one of the company’s signature products, was created in 1989 to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the company’s founding. The frog jumping on a willow tree in the Aoyagi Sohonke logo represents the company’s indomitable spirit of challenge, and the frog in the logo is the motif of this product. The inside is filled with a sweet bean paste, and the frog’s eyes are branded by hand by a craftsman. Although the product did not sell well when it was first sold, sales have been increasing every year. The cute expression on the frog’s face is what keeps consumers coming back for more.

Aoyagi Sohonke had established its position as a representative of Nagoya souvenirs, but when the Corona disaster discouraged people from going out, sales were severely damaged. Brainstorming within the company to see if the company could expand its business beyond souvenirs, the company came up with “travel, business trip, safe frog,” and “happiness, great fortune, lucky frog,” a combination of auspicious words. The added value succeeded in expanding needs. We also wondered if we could send a message to students preparing for entrance examinations as “take on the challenge without giving up. The company thought, “Why not send a message to students preparing for entrance examinations as well? The spirit of fortitude has been passed down from generation to generation.

At the KITTE Nagoya store, directly connected to Nagoya Station, the gateway to Nagoya, a dessert called “Frog Milk Bath,” which looks like a frog bun in a cup of milkshake, has captured the hearts of women.

A variation of this frog manju that gained popularity was the “kerototozzo,” which was released in 2021. It is a confectionary that blends the Japanese and Western styles by combining maritotozzo, which was popular that year, and frog buns. Since Maritozzo was already a hot trend, the development of the product proceeded at a rapid pace under the leadership of Toshitaka.

The initial idea was to commercialize the product within a month and sell it only for a limited period of about three months,” but it became a huge hit, selling more than 10,000 units in the first month of sales. Kerotso became a standard product, and in addition to the standard product mixed with cream and cream cheese, variations of “Strawberry,” “Rum Raisin & Walnut,” and “Cream Cheese & Lemon” were also introduced. It will continue to be one of Aoyagi Sohonke’s signature products in the future.

Before the store opened, people lined up day after day for the “Slime Uiro”.

Toshitaka’s new challenges are endless. In his main business, UIRO, he wants “people who have never heard of UIRO before to recognize and try it. In 2022, the “Slime Uirou” Uirou, a limited-time-only item, was developed that blends the world of the “Dragon Quest” video game. In addition to the standard Uiro, the set includes three collaboration-only flavors: mikan (mandarin orange) and kiwi (kiwi). In addition to the flavors, the pop appearance of the Uirou, which looks as if it came out of the world of Dragon Quest, attracted a lot of attention, and people lined up in front of the store even before the store opened.

Looking overseas in the future

If rice cakes and rice are acceptable in a country, there may be opportunities overseas. In Japan, there may be a new way of eating Uiro that overturns the conventional image of Uiro. Toshitaka’s challenge is likely to gain momentum as he says, “I would like to think about it without being stuck to the traditional taste and appearance. Perhaps the opportunity for change that Tamehiko III was able to bring about is now at hand.

The post The first Nagoya souvenir. Aoyagi Uiro: “To be loved more,” a new challenge for the fifth eldest son. first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Shiro-dashi is a clear, amber-colored soup stock that enhances the flavor of ingredients. The product is now widely used throughout Japan, but Shichifuku Brewery in Hekinan City, Aichi Prefecture, was the first company to produce this white dashi. The company’s president, Motohiro Inuzuka, is well respected in the brewing industry as a pioneer in popularizing white dashi, which was born from the voices of chefs, in ordinary households.

Hekinan City (Hekinan) is a brewing town blessed with abundant water and land

Hekinan City is located about 40 km southeast of Nagoya, the center of Aichi Prefecture. Surrounded by water, with Aburagafuchi to the north, the Yahagigawa River to the east, and Kinuura Port to the west and south, the city is blessed with a warm climate and climate. The population is about 75,000. In this small town, there are more than 10 companies involved in brewing soy sauce, sake, mirin (sweet sake), miso, and other products, which shows how well suited the area is for brewing.

It is believed that the brewing culture developed in the Mikawa area, where Hekinan City is located, because of the stable availability of wheat, soybeans, and rice, the raw materials for brewed products, during the postwar food shortage and the abundance of water sources used for brewing. Another factor that is said to have contributed to the great leap forward in the brewing industry was its proximity to ports and well-developed shipping routes, which made it easy to ship products.

Why is soy sauce white? Wheat ratio and fermentation period are key

Under the Japanese Agricultural Standards Law (commonly known as the JAS Law), soy sauce is classified into five types: dark, light, re-finish, tamari, and white soy sauce. The origin of soy sauce is said to date back more than 1,000 years, but according to literature, white soy sauce has a shorter history than other soy sauces, having been on the market for less than 80 years.

Soy sauce is made differently depending on the ratio of soybeans, wheat, salt, and water used as ingredients, as well as the length of the brewing period. Shiro shoyu is made with more wheat and requires a shorter fermentation period, so it is characterized by the natural sweetness and aroma of the ingredients. It is also light in color and does not easily color dishes, which makes it very useful in restaurants that are particular about the appearance of their food.

However, dark soy sauce is still not widely used at home. While dark soy sauce accounts for 80% of the market share, white soy sauce accounts for less than 1%.

White dashi was created at the request of a chef.

Nanafuku Brewery started in 1951 as a brewing and sales company specializing in white soy sauce. Even today, Shichifuku Brewery is the only soy sauce maker in Japan that specializes in white soy sauce.

Compared to dark soy sauce and other so-called “black soy sauces,” white soy sauce is in lower demand in the average household. Of course, this is proportional to its share of the market, but why did the company decide to specialize in producing this type of soy sauce?

The main reason is that Hekinan City is the birthplace of white soy sauce, and Inuzuka’s grandfather Akemoto, the founder of the company, learned to brew white soy sauce there before founding the company. The ratio of wheat and soybeans used in black soy sauce and white soy sauce is different. Each soy sauce is made from wheat and soybean malt, but in the case of black soy sauce, the ratio is almost 50-50. In the case of black soy sauce, the ratio is about 50-50, but in the case of white soy sauce, the ratio is 9 to 1, with most of the koji being made from wheat. The brewing period is also different: black soy sauce takes one to three years to brew, while white soy sauce takes only two to three months. Wheat koji and short brewing time are the two factors that affect the lightness of the color of the liquid. To brew both types of soy sauce would simply require twice as much equipment, so although he understood that the market share for white soy sauce was low, he chose to brew white soy sauce in the spirit of “I’ve learned a lot and it’s from my hometown,” and started a brewing company specializing in white soy sauce.

Unintentionally, however, this matched Shichifuku Brewing’s commitment.

The company has been particular about ingredients since its establishment and now uses organically grown wheat and soybeans as the raw materials for all of its castle soy sauce. And white soy sauce itself is mostly in demand from kappo (Japanese-style cooking) and ryotei (Japanese-style restaurants), which are particular about beautiful appearance. As a result, the two sides of the business have enhanced each other’s product value, and inquiries from professional chefs seeking authentic taste have increased.

However, “white soy sauce” is a seasoning for professional use, and when it came to sales, it was not all smooth sailing. However, the company continued to improve its brewing techniques, earnestly pursuing its motto of “pursuing the best taste.

It was around 1970 that the company reached a turning point. A chef at a hotel in Gifu asked the company for advice. Normally, they made chawan-mushi (steamed rice in a bowl) by mixing dashi broth with white soy sauce and allowing it to cool, but when they had to cook for more than 100 people at a banquet, they felt it was a bit time-consuming. He then asked Atsunori Inuzuka, Inuzuka’s father (now chairman), who was an old acquaintance of his, “When there are group guests at banquets, etc., if you run out of the mixture, you have to make more each time, which takes up time. But if there is too much left over, it has to be thrown away, so it cannot be left over, which is not very efficient. He asked us if it would be possible to make a preparation that combines the dashi and white soy sauce in advance.

After three to four years of trial and error, he completed the product, which became the “ancestor” of today’s white dashi.

Because of its ease of use, white dashi spread throughout the restaurant industry and began to be used. When it was first sold, it was often used in ryotei (Japanese-style restaurants) that served Japanese cuisine, but it gradually came to be used in Chinese, Italian, and other genres of cuisine.

Real flavor comes from real ingredients.

The white soy sauce that forms the base of the white dashi is made mainly from organic JAS-certified wheat and soybeans. The soup stock added to it is mainly bonito flakes produced in Makurazaki, Kagoshima, and the use of honkare flakes has remained unchanged since its development. Dashi broth is said to be difficult to find the right balance between the tastes of the Kanto and Kansai regions, but we aimed to create a flavor and aroma that would be easily accepted anywhere in Japan by using our own unique blend. The white dashi is completed by adding kombu and shiitake mushroom broth, salt, and Mikawa-produced hon mirin (Japanese sweet cooking rice wine).

Based on the flavor of wheat and soybeans slowly drawn out at a low temperature

As with the raw materials, we are particular about the manufacturing process. The longer soy sauce is aged, the darker the color becomes. On the other hand, if the aging period is too short, the flavor of the wheat and soybeans is not fully expressed. Therefore, Nanafuku Brewery uses refrigerated tanks during the brewing process to slowly and deliberately bring out the flavor at a low temperature. Mr. Inuzuka explains, “Cooling the tanks makes production less efficient. I’ve heard of places warming up the tanks, but we may be the only company that cools them down.

In fact, if you pour the soy sauce from the tank into a cup before filtering or flame broiling, you can directly taste the umami and flavor, but in this state, the saltiness is too low and the umami component too strong to be called JAS-standard soy sauce. However, in this state, the soy sauce is not salty enough to be called JAS-standard soy sauce because it has too much umami.

Professional taste is why we want you to use it for home cooking.

At the time of its launch, white dashi was created in response to requests from professional chefs, so it was sold in commercial-use bottles for restaurants.

When the company began selling it in small quantities for home use, it became a hot topic because it could be used to make restaurant-like dishes at home, and the popularity of the product spread rapidly. On the other hand, many people were puzzled at the time because they did not know how to use the new seasonings, which were unfamiliar to them.

Even today, compared to dark soy sauce, Inuzuka feels that many people still do not understand its uses. In such cases, he suggests, “I think most people use salt when cooking, but if you could use white dashi in place of salt,” he says.

With the tradition and pride of being “the originator of white dashi

Brewers generally make more than one product, such as soy sauce or miso,” Inuzuka says proudly. However, we are the only company in Japan that makes only white soy sauce,” Inuzuka proudly states. The reason why they do not produce black soy sauce, even though the company has grown in size, is because they are proud to be the only “white soy sauce organic JAS certified factory” and “the originator of white dashi” in Japan.

Mr. Inuzuka is eager to spread the white soy sauce, which has an elegant aroma and sweetness and does not add unnecessary color to ingredients, and the white dashi produced at this brewery to ordinary households. The white soy sauce is the cornerstone of this authentic seasoning, which was born from the voices of chefs. Hekinan City, the kingdom of brewing, delivers professional taste.

The post The taste of an Aichi-born ryotei (Japanese-style restaurant). Shichifuku Brewery, which popularized white dashi to home cooking. first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Ceramic artist Masato Yamaguchi of Seto City, Aichi Prefecture, is gaining popularity for his Rimpa Oribe, a unique technique that incorporates traditional Japanese designs into his work. Rimpa-Oribe is a new expression that combines the bold and flamboyant “Rimpa” and the vivid “Oribe-yaki.

Seto City, a town that has lived with pottery for 1,000 years

Seto City is located in the northeastern part of Owari, Aichi Prefecture. Seto ware, one of the six oldest kilns in Japan, is said to have a history of more than 1,000 years. The clay from Seto contains almost no iron and does not turn red when fired. The beautiful white glaze allows for a wide range of expression, such as vivid painting using various glazes, engraving patterns on the pottery itself, and reproducing complex patterns by transfer. In addition to the freedom of design, a wide range of ceramics came to be fired because of their high resistance to light and fire. In this way, Seto ware spread throughout Japan.
In the peaceful forests of Seto City, the home of pottery, lies the workshop of Mr. Masato Yamaguchi.

Rimpa Oribe” expressing Yamaguchi’s unique world view

Oribe ware with a bright green glaze is produced at this studio. Rimpa Oribe,” one of his representative works, is a combination of “Rimpa” and “Oribe-yaki,” which flourished in the late Momoyama period with its bold, grand, and flamboyant style using gold and silver. Of course, the name “Rimpa-Oribe” was also coined by Mr. Yamaguchi.

Mr. Yamaguchi says that he has always loved to draw pictures. In order to express his individuality in Oribe ware, he decided to “do something that no one else does” and “create a piece that incorporates patterns from
Japanese history,” and through repeated production, he arrived at his current style.

I thought about becoming an architect, but… I decided to pursue ceramics.

Mr. Yamaguchi’s father was also a potter from Seto City. However, Mr. Yamaguchi was not a potter, but was trying to become an architect. I went to architecture school because I liked Tadao Ando, but I failed there and decided that this was not the path for me. I made up my mind and decided to do ceramics when I graduated,” said Yamaguchi. However, his first apprenticeship was neither at a pottery school nor at his parents’ home, but at a pottery called “Kasumisen Toen,” also in Seto City. At Kasumisen Toen, he learned pottery making techniques, and after four years, he became independent. He says that he chose to work at a kiln that was not his family’s because of his father’s teachings. I guess he taught me to eat other people’s food first,” he said.

His father taught him something else, too. He told me to study clay and glaze (glaze) because anyone can make pottery on a potter’s wheel,” says Yamaguchi, giving us a glimpse into the foundation of his obsession.

Clay and ash that define Yamaguchi’s work

Yamaguchi says that most of his works are flower vases and tea utensils. He uses a mixture of clay used in Mino ware, which flourishes in Gifu Prefecture, and clay from Seto, and does not use stones, which are the source of porcelain. The Mino clay contains a lot of silicic acid, which increases the luster of the glaze. On the other hand, Seto clay has a matte finish. Yamaguchi uses 70% Mino clay as a base, and adjusts the clay mixture according to the piece.

Mr. Yamaguchi is also particular about the ashes that form the basis of his glazes. The choice of ash is an essential element for expressing the unique color and roughness of the glaze. Even if the original trees are 10 meters apart, the composition of the ash can be different. Ash is extremely delicate. That’s why it’s so interesting,” says Yamaguchi.

Intuition” that generates boldness

We were shown the production process of a flower vase. The bold undulations often seen in Mr. Yamaguchi’s work were created by roughly dropping the clay with a piano wire. Mr. Yamaguchi said, “If it is straight, it is boring. I don’t like to think too much, so I just go with my instincts,” he said as he chipped away at the clay. In the studio, there are many other tools for creating works, such as a large spatula and a planer.

Once the shape is determined to a certain extent, the next step is to sprinkle the surface with clay powder. This process is said to give the surface a rough texture.

Coolness that leaves no trace of human touch.

Yamaguchi also tears off a large piece of clay from the base of the vase to create a large movement, and then he directly scorches the area with a burner. Yamaguchi says that burning with a burner gives the vase a natural cracking effect. It doesn’t feel like it has been torn off,” he says, “and it looks more natural, like the ground has cracked. It’s cooler if it doesn’t look like it was touched by a human being,” he says.

According to Mr. Yamaguchi, it is difficult to make mouths for vases and other items. This is because he often works by hand instead of using tools. He laughs, “It’s the way a person touches it that comes out the best.

Oribe Furuta, the creator of Oribe ware, and Mr. Yamaguchi have something in common.

Oribe ware is said to have been named after Furuta Oribe, a famous warlord and tea master from the Warring States period to the Edo period, who favored it. The vivid colors of Oribe ware seem to be the opposite of what is called “wabi and sabi,” but it is said that Furuta Oribe, the founder of Oribe ware, was taught by his master, Sen no Rikyu, to “do something different from others,” and that he liked flashy and new things. Oribe was also said to have liked to make things that were new and fancy.

Perhaps there are similarities between Mr. Yamaguchi and Oribe Furuta, who established Rimpa Oribe by deciding to do what no one else was doing.

Enhancing the value of “craft as art.”

Yamaguchi is currently holding solo exhibitions at department stores and galleries in Japan. In addition to Oribe ware, his “Ofukaiyaki” series, which is arranged in an eye-catching bright blue color, is also gaining popularity. I am happy to see my creations being evaluated and moving up to the next stage,” says Yamaguchi, who says his next goal is to reach the world stage. I would like to improve my techniques for making large pieces,” Yamaguchi said with a twinkle in his eye, “and I would like to somehow pave the way for craftwork as an art form.

Born in Seto, a city with a history of 1,000 years, Mr. Yamaguchi is a cloud in the world of ceramic art. We cannot take our eyes off the new world view that Mr. Yamaguchi is creating.

The post Ceramic artist Masato Yamaguchi opens up a new world through a fusion of tradition and individuality. first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Kakutani Bunjiro Shoten, a mirin brewer, was founded in 1910 in Hekinan City in southeastern Aichi Prefecture. Sanshu Mikawa Mirin, carefully brewed with a focus on bringing out the original flavor of rice, was used for appetizers and takitomi at the 2016 Ise-Shima Summit, helping to enhance the flavor of dishes served to the heads of countries, and is highly regarded by culinary professionals. The brewer is Toshio Kakutani, the third president of Kakutani Bunjiro Shoten. After many years of involvement in mirin brewing, Mr. Kakutani’s next step is to further expand the possibilities of mirin, with an eye to overseas markets as well.

Kakutani Bunjiro Shoten’s commitment to “Mastering Mirin” in Aichi Prefecture

Hekinan City is a small town with a population of 70,000 facing Mikawa Bay in southeastern Aichi Prefecture. Blessed with an abundance of water and mild weather, the town has been dealing with mirin (sweet sake) for over 100 years. Sanshu Mikawa Mirin, the signature product of Kakutani Bunjiro Shoten, is a mirin made by brewing glutinous rice to bring out the best flavor of glutinous rice. This seasoning has a refined sweetness, umami flavor, and a brightness and luster that makes ingredients shine. Mr. Kakutani says, “At my age, I want to convey the deliciousness of mirin to people more than just selling a lot of mirin. That is the goal I am aiming for now: to master mirin.

Why Mirin is the best seasoning for the Japanese diet

Mirin is said to have been created as a beverage sake during the Warring States period. It was around the Edo period that it came to be used as a seasoning. People began to demand sweetness in their cooking, but sugar was still a luxury item at that time. Mirin, which is cheaper than sugar and has a sweetness derived from rice, which is familiar to Japanese people, came into use. Mirin not only adds sweetness and shine to food, but also has an “azeotrope” effect, in which the alcohol in mirin evaporates together with the odor component when heated, and a “masking” effect, in which the aroma produced by the brewing process removes the fishy smell of meat and fish. Mirin, therefore, became widely used in Japan, where fish was widely consumed, as it not only added flavor but also reduced the fishy smell of fish.

Mirin also has a high water retention property, preventing excessive water loss from foodstuffs. In recent years, some bakeries have begun to incorporate mirin into their baking processes, focusing on its water retention properties. In fact, the water retention after baking keeps the bread moist without reducing the loaf.

Mirin making is a byproduct of the brewing culture

Surrounded by abundant water sources, the Mikawa region had easy access to rice, wheat, and soybeans, and the brewing industry flourished for more than 200 years. With the construction of a port that served as a logistics hub, a variety of traders came in and out of the region from all over the country, and the brewing industry further developed as brewed products made in the region were transported to other parts of the country.

From the end of the Edo period to the Meiji period (1868-1912), the city became as famous for sake as Nada (Kobe) and Fushimi (Kyoto), both famous sake-producing areas in Japan. The sake lees produced during the sake brewing process became easily available, and shochu made from the sake lees was used to brew mirin (sweet cooking sake) in the Mikawa region.

As can be seen from this, mirin is made by preparing shochu, glutinous rice, and rice malt. The process also produces lees, just like sake production. According to Mr. Kakutani, in his predecessor’s time, he sold the lees to pickle shops in Nagoya instead of discarding them. The proceeds were used to purchase rice for the following year. Mr. Kakutani says, “I think we were able to make luxurious, high-quality mirin because we had a company that was willing to buy the sake lees at a high price, rather than just throwing them away. At first, the company only dealt in sake lees, but it gradually built relationships with pickle stores, and some of them began to consider manufacturing products using the mirin produced by the company. One such shop is a long-established pickles store in Nagoya. Mirin (sweet sake) lees produced by Kakutani Bunjiro Shoten are also used in the store’s Nara-zuke pickles, and have become an important factor in supporting the popularity of this local specialty product that represents Aichi Prefecture.

Allow it to brew long enough so that the flavor is cohesive.

The long process of brewing and maturing the unrefined rice (moromi) together with rice malt and shochu (distilled spirit) is an important step in the production of mirin. The rice starch is broken down into glucose and protein into amino acids by the rice malt, resulting in sweet and tasty mirin. The flavor of mirin is enriched by shochu (distilled spirit), which is distilled in house. It is then aged in the brewing tank for about three months before being pressed and further aged. After more than a year of maturation, the flavor is matured and the mirin is finally complete.

There is a reason why mirin is matured further after three months have already been spent at the stage of pressing the matured unrefined sake. Mirin immediately after pressing is a mixture of the sweetness of glucose, the umami of amino acids, and the spiciness of the shochu used to make it, and the taste is uneven. Mirin is then matured to remove the bitterness, and the flavor is combined to make it mellower and more rounded.

Difference between Hon Mirin and Mirin-like Seasonings

Hon Mirin is made by taking the time to mature the rice to maximize its flavor. Shochu (distilled spirit) with an alcohol content of over 40% is used in the brewing process, resulting in a finished product with an alcohol content of around 14%. Under the Liquor Tax Law, it is classified as a “liquor” and is subject to liquor tax when sold.

On the other hand, mirin-like seasonings, which are inexpensive and widely sold in supermarkets, are a blend of rice malt, glucose, syrup and other sugars, umami seasoning, flavoring, etc., and have an alcohol content of less than 1%. It requires less time and effort to brew, and can be obtained cheaply because it does not incur liquor tax. If you are not familiar with the difference between mirin-like seasonings and hon mirin, it is difficult to tell the difference, but there is a big difference in the taste of dishes made with both.

Mirin and hon mirin both have the same effect of adding sweetness to dishes, but the alcohol in hon mirin also has the effect of preventing cooking from falling apart and of allowing the flavor of other seasonings to permeate and soak into the ingredients. This explains why it is often said that “the mere use of hon mirin raises the quality of a dish. It is precisely because inexpensive mirin-like seasonings are widely available today, Kakutani Bunjiro Shoten insists on hon mirin, which “makes a difference in cooking,” and continues to preserve its traditional flavor.

For seasonings used all over the world

Mr. Kakutani repeats this phrase, “Master mirin. Mr. Kakutani repeats this phrase repeatedly, but he also says, “If our business gets thin after we have mastered mirin, it will not be possible to run it. He is actively visiting overseas business meetings to promote the use of mirin in Western cuisine. He believes that by dispelling the image of mirin as a seasoning for Japanese cuisine, he can open up the future of mirin in a big way. Mr. Kakutani is determined to spread the world’s use of mirin, which is produced through the art of brewing, before mirin-like seasonings become the mainstream.

Efforts to enhance the value of “glutinous rice liqueur

Mr. Kakutani calls mirin “glutinous rice liqueur. This is only because he is proud of the brewing method that brings out the sweetness and flavor of rice in shochu. And because he wants to change the image of shochu as a seasoning only for Japanese cuisine.

Also, by calling it a liqueur, we aim to make it easy to incorporate into various genres of cuisine. Kakutani has been exploring the possibilities of mirin by asking famous chefs to use it in French cuisine and other dishes.

Mr. Kakutani is proud that the world is gradually recognizing mirin’s rice-derived umami and the flavors added by aging. However, when a French pastry chef used mirin in his chocolate, he was a bit surprised. When I heard about it, I thought it was surprising,” he says. But it is a liqueur made from rice. If you think of it as a liqueur, it should work well in sweets as well.

Using safe raw materials is the future of the producer.

Kakutani Bunjiro Shoten also produces “Organic Sanshu Mirin” made from domestic organic rice. This product, made using only domestically produced organic rice in a traditional process, was the first organic mirin in Japan. Although Mirin has been produced long before the word “organic” became popular, there are almost no other makers producing Mirin with organic rice even today. Compared to Sanshu Mikawa Mirin, which has a strong sweet taste, organic Mirin has a gentle, soft flavor and a fruity aroma that is unique to rice. Because of its mildness, the presence of alcohol on the tongue is felt more strongly than in other products, which is also unique to this product.

In 2000, they obtained organic certification. In the beginning, they had to work hard to secure the large amount of organic rice needed to make mirin, but they have continued their efforts with persistence. He says, “Eating and using products harvested in the fields and rice paddies that have been handed down through the generations in Japan is also a way of preserving the local environment. If there is no one to eat what is harvested there, the farmers would be worried. By expressing our willingness to “eat the produce because it was harvested in the area,” the farmers can grow vegetables and rice with peace of mind. I believe that this will also nurture their successors,” says Kakutani.

The Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture is blessed with water and climate, and the richness of the land has led to the development of a brewing culture, and mirin production began as a byproduct of that culture. Mr. Kakutani continues to take on the challenge of passing on this heritage.

The post The Challenge of Kakutani Bunjiro Shoten, a Long-established Mikawa Mirin Producer first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Maruishi Brewery is located in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture. The brewery was founded in 1690 and has a history of more than 330 years as a sake brewery, brewing brands that have been around since the Edo period, including “Mikawa Bushi,” “Tokugawa Ieyasu,” and “Chohyo. Why did a long-established sake brewery with a history of over 300 years launch a new brand of sake?

Brewing sake in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, birthplace of Tokugawa Ieyasu

Okazaki City, located in the center of Aichi Prefecture, has prospered as the castle town of Okazaki Castle, famous as the birthplace of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The approximately 20 rivers that flow through the city are tributaries of the Yahagigawa River, which originates in the Central Alps, and have provided water resources to various regions. Maruishi Brewery also uses the subsoil water of the Yahagigawa River in its sake brewing.

Maruishi Brewery was founded in 1690. During the reign of Tsunayoshi Tokugawa, the fifth shogun, the founder of the company built a sake brewery after seeing sake made in the west being transported to Edo (present-day Tokyo). In the Meiji era (1868-1912), the company expanded its business to include miso and soy sauce brewing, spinning, and banking, while also establishing a sake brewery in the Nada region of Hyogo Prefecture. At that time, sake made in Nada was sold as “Chohyo” and sake made in Okazaki was sold as “Mikawa Bushi.
However, during the Pacific War, most of the brewery was destroyed by fire in an air raid on Okazaki. In order to keep the business alive, the company decided to consolidate its operations in Okazaki and renovate the only remaining miso warehouse to focus on sake production.

Five years of trial and error to achieve sake that sells in Tokyo

Eiki Fukada, the 18th generation of the brewery’s current president, joined Maruishi Brewery in 2005, traveling throughout Japan to sell sake to specialty stores.
At the time, the brewery produced three brands of sake, including “Mikawa Bushi. Mikawa Bushi” is made with 100% rice grown in Mikawa, Aichi Prefecture, and 99% of the rice is consumed in Aichi Prefecture, making it a locally produced and locally consumed sake. It is the oldest sake produced by Maruishi Brewery, and has a distinctive sweet and sour flavor that goes well with Okazaki’s Hatcho miso. Daiginjo-shu “Tokugawa Ieyasu” is a sake that has won the gold medal 14 times at the National New Sake Competition. Chohomare” is a brand that has long been popular as an everyday sake in Okazaki. It has been served at many festivals, and is also loved as heated sake at local restaurants.

Although widely known locally in Okazaki as a long-established sake brewery, it did not have the recognition necessary to outpace other well-known breweries in Japan when looking to expand nationwide, and the number of stores handling it did not increase as expected.
When we asked sake retailers why this was the case, their comments were mixed. One after another, they voiced harsh opinions, ranging from the name itself, such as “A sake called Tokugawa Ieyasu would not be accepted in Osaka, the town of Toyotomi Hideyoshi,” and “The name Mikawa Samurai makes it difficult for women to buy it,” to the taste, such as “Sake with a strong sweetness is difficult to accept in this day and age. Hearing this, Mr. Fukada’s impatience was not good.
Hearing this, Mr. Fukada’s impatience grew. Based on the dry advice he received from sake retailers, he narrowed his target to the three prefectures of Tokyo, where the population is large and consumption is high, and proceeded to develop a new brand that would be well-liked in the area.

Aim to increase recognition with easy-to-understand labels and names

To launch the new sake brand, Mr. Fukada first came up with the idea from a sales perspective.
In order to raise awareness, it was essential to have a name and impressive label design that would be remembered after just one glance. He then thought, “If it is an animal name, it will have an impact and will be memorable even when drunk,” and suggested animals as candidates for the new brand name. Among the many candidates, Mr. Fukada was struck by the name “Rabbit.
If you turn your thinking around, you can only get two hares if you chase two hares, which means that you cannot find what you really want unless you pursue it. This is exactly what we are trying to do with our sake, which has an excellent taste and aroma,” he thought, and named the new brand “Nito” and decorated the label with two rabbits.

The concept is “sake with sweetness, acidity, and a good aftertaste”.

While Fukada-san was in charge of the hardware of the new brand, the person in charge of the “taste,” or “software,” was Shuzumitsu Katabe, who served as the toji (chief brewer). Since the development of the new brand began, Mr. Katabe ordered sake rice from several rice farmers and repeated trial runs using about five different types of yeast. The goal was to create a sake with sweetness, acidity, and a good aftertaste.
At the time the brand was launched, the sake industry was in the midst of a dry boom, but because the brewery was founded in Okazaki, they did not want to give up on making sake that was unique to Okazaki, which has long produced sweet sake to go with dishes using hatcho miso, a type of miso native to the area.
He went through a series of trial-and-error experiments to determine the taste, texture, and throat feel, asking questions such as, “Even if the sake is sweet, if it is finished with a sour note, it will have a crisp aftertaste.
Another improvement over the previous brand was the more stringent temperature control to maintain freshness. After a thorough consideration of how to eliminate the factors that promote aging, namely high temperature and air, the brewery adopted a brewing method that uses thermal tanks, fine-tuning the temperature in 0.1°C increments and fermenting at low temperatures. In addition, the brewery challenged a new style of sake brewing that it had never tried before, such as pressing and bottling while the gas is still dissolved in the liquid to maintain the slightly carbonated state and freshness of the sake even at room temperature.

Not a unique bite, but one that makes dining a pleasure.

Nitoshi accepted the weak points of its own product that were once pointed out by sake retailers, and tried to create a name and design that women would also like, and created a taste that was distinctly different from the old one, while still focusing on Okazaki’s unique sake.
After its release, consumers who liked the label design posted it on SNS, and demand for the sake as a gift for women increased, and awareness of the brand spread steadily among the target group.
With Ni-Rabbit as a starting point, Mr. Fukada was also looking to expand overseas. He wanted to make this brand of sake a wine-like sake that could be opened one bottle per meal. Ideally, a bottle of sake would be opened after a meal,” he said. I wanted to create a sake whose taste changes depending on the temperature and pairing, and whose flavor stands out when paired with a meal,” says Fukada. Sake that is not strong in character, but rather one that can be enjoyed over a meal. He believes that this is the element that will allow the sake to survive.

No change in yeast, but a change in rice to make it different.

Currently, there are 10 different types of Ni-Utto. The yeast is not changed, but the type of sake rice and milling ratio are changed to express the differences in taste. Changing the yeast can change the aroma so much that it can even seem like a completely different sake. Therefore, by changing the type of sake rice, the flavor is changed without changing the aroma. The sake rice used is Omachi, Yamadanishiki, Dewa Sanbai, Aiyama, and Manzai.
Of these, “Manzai” is the sake rice that Okazaki City offered to Emperor Taisho, and is currently used only by Maruishi Brewery. Even though other sake breweries do not use this sake rice, Nisato believed that the unique Mikawa element was a necessary part of the branding of Nisato.

Aiming to create a sake brewery that will last for 400 or 500 years

Five years after the birth of Nisato, Maruishi Brewery celebrates 330 years in business in 2020, but the company is still aiming for a brewery that will last for 400 or 500 years. Before I joined Maruishi Brewery, I was a beer and wine drinker, and I wasn’t really interested in sake itself. That’s why I was able to look at the sake industry from a bird’s eye view, both where it is good and where it is lagging behind,” Fukada said. As with anything, it can only remain because there are consumers. In order to do so, he believes it is necessary to respond to changing tastes, fads, and times as they change. Mr. Fukada’s challenge continues, not from the sake brewery’s perspective, but from the consumer’s perspective.

The post Why Maruishi Brewery, a long-established sake brewer, created a new sake brand “Nito” first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Hekien Tea Junpei, located in Toyota City in the northern part of Aichi Prefecture, runs an integrated tea business from growing tea leaves to tea production and sales under the company motto, “Providing good tea to customers at a reasonable price. He won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award at the 2003 National Tea Fair (Shizuoka) and the following year at the National Tea Fair (Aichi). Mr. Yamauchi, who is dedicated to the cultivation of high-quality tea, is now striving to reestablish a coffee culture in which green tea is enjoyed in daily life in this age of diversifying beverage options.

Tea plantation that has been passed down since 1872

Toyota City in Aichi Prefecture is a corporate castle town where a major automobile manufacturer is located. Although the impression is that the manufacturing industry is thriving in the city, it is in fact surrounded by mountains and rich in nature. One of the thriving industries in Toyota City is the tea industry. The origin of this industry is said to date back to the Edo period (1603-1867), but it was not until the Meiji and Taisho periods (1868-1912) that the number of tea plantations increased and the industry flourished.

Originally, the area surrounding Toyota City had a mild climate, fertile soil, and abundant water, making it an ideal environment for tea production. In addition, the population of the area grew as modern industry flourished, a characteristic unique to the area. These two factors were major factors in the development of the tea industry.

The second generation’s greatness, which is also attached to the store name

Established in 1870, Hekien Tea Junpei handles all aspects of tea production from cultivation to tea making and sales. The seemingly unique trade name is named after the company’s second generation owner, Mr. Junpei Yamauchi. Mr. Junpei Yamauchi is well known in the industry as the creator of the “Mikawa-style tencha machine,” which is said to be the prototype of the “tencha machine” used in Japan today to produce “tencha,” the raw material for powdered green tea.

Tencha, as mentioned above, is the raw material for matcha, and refers to the state of the leaves before they are powdered. Like gyokuro, which is classified as one of the highest-grade Japanese green teas, the characteristic feature of this tea is that it is grown slowly and painstakingly under a shading material. Covered cultivation has the advantage of reducing the amount of light to suppress photosynthesis in the tea leaves, thereby reducing tannin, which is the source of the tea’s astringency, and mellowing the taste, while also allowing the leaves to spread wide and grow bright, dark green as they receive the maximum amount of sunlight. One major difference between gyokuro and gyokuro is that gyokuro does not go through the “rubbing” process in the manufacturing stage. In gyokuro, the tea leaves are rubbed to break down the cells so that the flavor can seep out easily, but in tencha, the tea leaves are not rubbed so that they can be ground easily and the cells are not broken because they are supposed to be ground into powder using a millstone.

Until around the Meiji era (1868-1912), the production of tencha was done by hand, but there was an urgent need to develop a tencha machine to cover the labor shortage caused by World War I, which occurred in the middle of the Taisho era (1912-1926). At that time, tea production areas such as Kyoto and Shizuoka also invented tencha machines, but the Mikawa-style machine invented by Junpei is said to be one of the earliest tencha machines. This device had a simple structure: a drying room about 7 meters long, 1 meter wide, and 2 meters high was built of bricks, a boiler was placed at the bottom, and steamed tea leaves were spread out on a rail attached at a height of about 50 cm from the bottom and pushed forward to dry by hand. In the handmade era, however, tea leaves were dried by hand on a workbench called a hoiro (roasting furnace), and the temperature of the furnace could only rise to about 120°C. With the advent of this equipment, however, the temperature of the furnace has risen to 180 to 200°C, and the quality of tencha has improved dramatically compared to the handmade days. In addition, the quality of the tea was stabilized due to the improved efficiency of the production process and the uniformity of the technology made possible by the mechanization. Junpei’s contribution to the development of the Tencha industry in Toyota City is said to have been significant, as he spread the word to other tea growers in the area.

Since then, improvements have been made in many areas of the country, and today, the process of steaming, cooling, drying, and separating the leaves from the stems can be done in a single process.

The company has inherited the spirit of such a great second generation. Mr. Shomasa Yamauchi, great-grandson of Mr. Junpei, currently serves as the fifth generation.

What does Shomasa consider “good tea”?

After the second generation, Mr. Junpei Yamauchi, made a great contribution to the modernization of the tencha industry, the third generation, Mr. Takeyoshi Yamauchi, expanded the cultivation area and laid the foundation for tea sales. The fourth generation, Kimio Yamauchi, expanded the sales channels nationwide, and the fifth generation, Shomasa Yamauchi, received the “Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award” and the “Prime Minister’s Award” at tea fairs. The company is the first tea producer in Aichi Prefecture to receive the “Prime Minister’s Award” in recognition of its honest tea production, as well as its community contribution activities, such as offering tea-picking experiences and lectures on tea culture, and serving tea to local residents.

Mr. Shomasa, who has devoted himself to the development of tea in a wide range of fields, has arrived at the definition of “good tea” as tea that has 100% of the power of the “tree” itself that sprouts the tea leaves. If the sprout of a tea plant has 100 points, our skill is to make tea without reducing the number of points from the top. For example, it is sweeter to eat the morning harvest right away compared to corn that has been harvested for a long time. In the same way, tea leaves have freshness. In our tea garden, tea is basically made within two hours of being picked,” Shozheng said, revealing his company’s commitment.

The company’s tea plantations grow different varieties of tea leaves from mountainous areas to flatlands. In the mountainous areas, where temperatures are cooler, they plant late harvesting varieties such as “Okumidori,” while in the plains, they plant early harvesting varieties to shift the harvest time as much as possible. By shifting the timing of sprouting, it is possible for limited staff to pick tea at the right time.

The tea produced in Toyota City is characterized by the fact that it is not heated as much as possible so that the original fresh aroma of the tea leaves can be enjoyed as it is. Therefore, the growing environment directly affects the flavor of the tea. That is why the company is thorough in creating an environment in which the roots are firmly rooted in the soil and the tea leaves absorb all the fertilizers given to them to grow strong tasting tea leaves.

The company manages its tea fields separately for hand-picked tea and machine-picked tea. In the case of hand-picked tea, the “one core, two leaves” method is basically used, where the “core,” which is the bud that has not yet opened, and the two tender leaves below it are picked from the tip of a single branch. This method is more cost-effective than mechanical picking, but it is not possible to pick all the leaves by hand. Is taste more important or is cost more important? The company makes different types of products to meet the needs of both types of consumers.

Delicious tea comes from the sense of touch.

Once plucked, the tea leaves are steamed and then dried while being rubbed. Currently, the company uses machines for the rubbing process for productivity reasons, but it is the experience of skilled craftsmen that makes important decisions when switching from one process to another. They grasp the tea and check with their hands to see how much moisture is left in the tea and how the tea is twisted before proceeding with the process. The “hands” of the craftsman are involved in the process. This is what makes a good tea.

The mindset of being a first-year student every year

Shomasa says that every year he works with the mindset of a “first-year tea maker. Although he has inherited the logbooks that have recorded machine settings and temperatures for generations, no two teas are ever the same, even if they are made at the same time in the same tea plantation. Because nature is the partner of tea production, it is difficult to quantify the process, and that is why it is so gratifying when the tea is produced exactly as intended.

The reason why he is so happy is not because he is satisfied with the quality of the product, but because he is able to deliver a product to the market that he is confident is delicious. At the core of the company’s business is always the desire to make consumers truly happy when they drink the tea they produce.

Their son Masahiro, now the sixth generation, is also involved in the tea business. His passion and effort for tea production, which is second to none, has transcended the ages and is being passed on to the next generation.

The post “Hekien Tea Junpei” pursues good tea and handles everything from tea cultivation to sales. first appeared on NIHONMONO.