Natural brewed miso made in wooden vats

Did you know that Shinshu miso accounts for more than 50% of all miso produced in Japan?
In Nagano Prefecture, the culture of preserved food has long been developed as a way to survive the long, harsh winters, but why has only Shinshu miso become so popular? One of the factors is the change in the industries that supported the prefecture.
Nagano Prefecture has an oligo-rainy climate with very little annual precipitation, and the cultivation of mulberry trees, which feed silkworms, was highly suitable for raising silkworms, and the silk industry flourished from the early Meiji period. However, the silk industry declined over time. The inland climate, with its low humidity and large daily and annual temperature range, was also suitable for growing soybeans and rice, and gradually more and more companies switched their business to miso production, which uses these crops as its main ingredient.

The snowy country has a deep-rooted culture of making miso by hand, and many of the factories had already been making miso for their own consumption by their own employees.
Later, as a national policy during the war, Nagano Prefecture was responsible for the production of miso to be shipped to the Kanto region. In doing so, it was able to meet supply demand, and its sales channels expanded dramatically. In this way, Nagano Prefecture became a major producer of miso in the postwar period, and today the top three miso producers in Japan are dominated by major miso manufacturers headquartered in the prefecture.
The company with the shaved head and the famous phrase “Omiso-nara,” both of which have made Shinshu miso their mainstay, have been carrying the weight of Japan’s dining tables. Of course, Nagano Prefecture leads the world in the number of miso breweries. Among them, the city of Suzaka, located in the north of Nagano Prefecture, is known as one of the best miso towns in the prefecture, with many small but unique miso breweries that have been around for a long time. One of them, Kojiya Hondo Jyozoppo, is a long-established miso brewery that was founded in 1869 as a specialty malt store, just as its name suggests. Koji plays an important role in miso making, as is often said, “one cook, two malt, and three preparation. Hiroshi Hondo, the fourth-generation owner, is more particular than others about the quality of malt, which is the root of the store.
Mr. Hondo uses a type of malt called “Sohaze type,” in which the entire surface of the rice is covered with haze (mycelium), for miso making.

Since the “all-haze” type malt does not scrape the surface of the rice very much, a lot of protein distributed on the surface can be left behind. The bacteria decompose them and produce amino acids. This becomes the flavor of miso and determines its taste. If we increase the amount of rice that is scraped off, the ratio of sugar produced from the starchiness of the rice will increase. The balance between amino acids and sugar is important for the malt used in miso making.

Complex flavors of miso that only wooden vats can produce

This balance varies greatly depending on the technique and environment, so adjusting it and preparing the optimum malt for the type of miso to be made is the highlight of our skills.
Currently, at Koujiya Hondo Jyozo, we carefully select and use six to seven types of bacteria. At present, Koujiya Hondo Jyousei carefully selects six to seven types of bacteria to prepare the optimum malt for its miso production. Using the techniques and experience that we have cultivated as a malt shop for generations, the carefully cultivated, meticulously selected malt hardens inside a wooden box called a morobuta, and looks like a beautiful, fine-textured cotton candy.
It is then mixed with steamed soybeans, prepared, and aged in wooden vats that have been handed down from generation to generation.
This wooden vat and aging method are the true essence of Kojiya Hondo Brewing. The greatest feature of the wooden vats that have been used for many years is that “brewer’s bacteria” live in the air bubbles of the vats. This unique and useful bacteria, literally nurtured in the vat, is what gives miso its unique flavor, aroma, and complexity during the fermentation process. When using wooden vats, all finished miso products must be manually excavated and maintained. While an increasing number of miso breweries are discontinuing the use of wooden vats due to such human resource issues, Mr. Hondo insists on using wooden vats. This has a significant impact on his other passion, natural brewing. Wooden vats are ideal for this brewing method, which encourages natural fermentation and slow maturation without the use of heat, because they conduct little heat and breathe on their own. Combined with the environment of Suzaka City, which has a wide range of temperatures and is ideal for fermentation and maturation, which is important for miso making, the local advantage is utilized to produce a mild miso with a deep sweetness and a salty flavor. This naturally brewed miso is made in wooden vats, a rarity in Japan. There are many things that can be simplified, but because it is a small family-run miso shop, Mr. Hondo says that no matter how hard the work may be, he will stick to the production method he believes in, and use only the best ingredients to make a truly high-quality product.

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Soy sauce is a traditional industry that has been handed down through the years. There is a man who has made it his mission to promote the appeal of soy sauce, which is indispensable to Japanese food culture, and has visited more than 400 soy sauce breweries throughout Japan. Mr. Mantaro Takahashi is the representative of Traditional Design Studio, Inc. which develops the “Shokunin Soy Sauce” brand.

A select store offering the finest selection of soy sauce

Shokunin Shoyu has its head office in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, where Mr. Takahashi was born and raised. Maebashi, also known as the prefectural capital, is located at the northernmost tip of the Kanto Plain, and is a core city where the city and nature are in harmony, nurtured by the majestic nature of Mount Akagi and the abundant water of the Tone River. On the first floor of a condominium in a quiet residential area stands a store that stands out from the crowd. The storefront is covered by a massive wooden exterior wall that resembles a soy sauce warehouse, and is marked by a graphical logo.

Once inside the store, the walls are filled with small bottles of a wide variety of soy sauces with colorful labels. Mr. Takahashi visits soy sauce breweries all over Japan to select from about 100 different brands. The store also offers food pairing suggestions and tastings from among the many varieties of soy sauce available. It is truly a soy sauce specialty store, a one-of-a-kind soy sauce boutique.

We want to shine a light on traditional and local industries.

I had a vague idea that I wanted to start some kind of business,” he said. After graduating from college, Mr. Takahashi worked for a precision optical equipment manufacturer, and after three years of sales experience, he quit the company. However, he had no specific plan in mind, but rather a passionate desire to start a business that he kept in his heart. In order to find what he wanted to do, Mr. Takahashi embarked on a journey that took him all over Japan.

As he searched for what he could do, relying on the sales skills he had cultivated as a manufacturer, he glimpsed the reality of traditional and regional industries that lacked the ability to communicate, despite their confidence and pride in their craftsmanship. Takahashi came to the realization that “this is where I should be working. He narrowed his focus to traditional industries that were more familiar to him and that he had not yet been able to “select and buy” and eventually arrived at the profound world of soy sauce.

Thus began his days of visiting soy sauce breweries all over Japan, getting in touch with the brewers, and learning more and more. The common denominator among the breweries is that they are making good products, but they are not selling well. But they don’t sell well. Even though they carefully craft their products with carefully selected ingredients, they sell them at the same price as mass-produced products, saying, “We can’t charge a high price for something we use every day. The small brewery’s small production volume also made it difficult for them to get their products into major distribution channels. We found problems in the soy sauce industry, which has not done enough to make its products known to consumers.

The idea of specializing in mini bottles

All soy sauce is standardized into small 100ml bottles and sold with the brewery’s original label. This is the original size of artisan soy sauce. The idea for this was inspired by the “difficulty” Takahashi experienced when buying soy sauce in the stores. The size of a typical one-liter bottle is quite intimidating to try out,” he says. In the end, you end up choosing the same thing as usual. Small bottles are easy to pick up, and you can buy several bottles at the same time to compare tastes. When we find a soy sauce we like, we tell them to buy it directly from the brewer,” says Takahashi.

It started with a small number of soy sauce breweries that thought it would be “fun” and willingly agreed to sell small bottles. Gradually, the number was increased, and now the company handles 100 brands from breweries all over Japan. Starting with Internet sales, Craftsman Soy Sauce has established a new sales style and is steadily expanding its sales channels, from the main store in Maebashi to a storefront at Ginza Matsuya in Tokyo, and wholesale sales to department stores, supermarkets, and general merchandise stores.

Soy sauce, which is used every day but surprisingly unknown

By the way, every Japanese household is sure to have soy sauce. It is a familiar seasoning that everyone uses for cooking and eating as a matter of course. It is easily available at the supermarket, and when a bottle of soy sauce is about to run out, people buy another bottle of the same one they have been using without hesitation. Many households are probably like that.

When asked again, “What exactly is soy sauce?” we realize that we know surprisingly little about soy sauce, even though we use it every day. Although soy sauce is a seasoning that supports Japan’s food culture, the general public’s knowledge of soy sauce is unfortunately limited. Soy sauce is just soy sauce, and they probably use it without much awareness. They may not even think about using different types of soy sauce for different ingredients,” says Takahashi.

Chiba Prefecture is the largest producer of soy sauce in Japan

First of all, do you know where soy sauce comes from? There are approximately 1,100 soy sauce manufacturers in Japan. A comparison of shipments by prefecture shows that Chiba Prefecture, home to three major soy sauce makers (Kikkoman, Yamasa Soy Sauce, and Higeta Soy Sauce), is by far the largest producer. Hyogo Prefecture is in second place. These two prefectures alone account for more than 50% of the market share. Gunma Prefecture, where Shokunin Soy Sauce is based, comes in a close third, followed by Aichi Prefecture in fourth, and Kagawa Prefecture in fifth.

What are the main ingredients of soy sauce?

Soy sauce is made from three basic ingredients: soybeans, wheat, and salt. Microorganisms such as koji mold, lactic acid bacteria, and yeast play an important but invisible role. Fermentation by microorganisms is the key to the mellow aroma and umami characteristic of soy sauce, which is a fermented seasoning that takes from six months to two or three years to make. Even if the same ingredients are used to make soy sauce, the microbial ecosystem differs from one soy sauce maker to another. The interesting thing about making soy sauce is that it never tastes the same.

Soy sauce is divided into five types, and regional characteristics are deeply involved

According to JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standards), soy sauce is classified into five types: dark, light, re-finish, tamari, and white. The most common type is koikuchi soy sauce. This type accounts for about 80% of the total distribution volume.

Soy sauce also has regional characteristics. The presence of dashi, an essential ingredient in Japanese food culture, seems to have had no small influence on the production of soy sauce in each region. In western Japan, where kelp broth is the base, light soy sauce is used for cooking, while in eastern Japan, where bonito broth is the base, all-purpose dark soy sauce is the norm.

The saltiness of soy sauce is also a regional characteristic. In regions by the sea, such as Kyushu and the Sea of Japan, sweet soy sauce made with amino acid solution and sweetener is preferred, and fresh fish is served with sweet, thick soy sauce. On the other hand, inland areas tend to favor salty soy sauce.

Furthermore, the Chubu region is home to a variety of fermented foods such as sake, mirin, vinegar, and miso. The two extremes of soy sauce coexist in the Chubu region: thick tame shoyu, which has a long maturation period and concentrated umami flavor, and light shiro shoyu, which has a short maturation period and is lighter in color.

Using different types of soy sauce expands the world of food

According to Mr. Takahashi, “It is a waste to use only the same soy sauce. If you use different types of soy sauce for different dishes and ingredients, it will taste better and be more enjoyable. In addition to the five JAS-standard types of soy sauce, Craftsman Soy Sauce also offers a unique classification of six types of soy sauce, including sweet soy sauce. In order of shortest maturity, they are: white, light, sweet, dark, re-fermented, and tame. He says it is easy to understand the characteristics of these three types by dividing them into three broad categories.

First, the short maturation periods, from six months to a year, are for light-colored, high-salted, and full of the flavors of the ingredients. Next, sweet and dark types can be easily matched with ingredients, and can be used in cooking or poured over food.

The remaining two types, re-finishing and tamari, have a longer maturation period of two to three years and are unique. The other is tame, which contains more soybeans and less water, and has a richer color and flavor. It can be used like a sauce, and you can enjoy the sense of unity with the ingredients.

Soy sauce is much like wine.

I am often asked by customers, ‘Which soy sauce goes best with sashimi? We often get questions from customers about which soy sauce goes best with which sashimi,” says Takahashi, ”but there are different types of soy sauce that go well with red and white fish. It’s easier to understand if you think of shiro shoyu and awakuchi shoyu as white wine-based, while re-finished shoyu and tame shoyu are red wine-based,” says Takahashi. Just as there are wine pairings, such as a crisp white wine for white fish and a rich red wine for red meat, so too there are food pairings for soy sauce. By using different soy sauces for different dishes and ingredients, the range of enjoyment will expand even further.

You can find a bottle that complements your food.

In order to make the soy sauce selection process more intuitive, we have devised something like this. It is called “Daikoubutsu Soy Sauce”(favorite soy sauce), which suggests combinations of soy sauces selected by Mr. Takahashi from all over Japan and foods that go well with them. The food illustrations on the package are placed over the bottle label, making them easy to spot. The lineup includes 24 varieties, including sashimi, egg over rice, pork cutlet, fried egg, toast, and more. The familiar illustrations and the interest in favorite foods make casualness and ease a priority, and succeed in lowering the hurdle for choosing soy sauce.

What is the vision of the future of soy sauce that Artisan Soy Sauce aims for?

When Mr. Takahashi first entered the soy sauce industry, there were approximately 1,600 soy sauce makers, but today there are fewer than 1,100, and soy sauce production is on a downward trend. Only about 1% of all soy sauce is made in wooden vats. Even so, about 60% of the soy sauce handled at Shokunin Soy Sauce is made in wooden vats.

Mr. Takahashi insists on using wooden vats because the microorganisms that live in the vats bring a unique flavor to the soy sauce during the fermentation process. The result is a unique soy sauce that reflects the characteristics of the brewery. In other words, the brewery’s attitude toward soy sauce production is directly reflected in the soy sauce. Wooden bucket brewing, which tends to produce a blurred finished product, can lead to a drop in soy sauce quality if it is not properly managed.

I believe that both the products mass-produced in factories by large manufacturers and the handmade soy sauce produced by small soy sauce breweries have their advantages and disadvantages. The great thing about the big companies is that the quality is always stable. On the other hand, small breweries have a large swing in quality. But I find that interesting. Mr. Takahashi also finds value in the stories of hardships experienced by brewers who repeatedly go through trial and error.

Recently, he says, the number of young brewers who view soy sauce made in wooden vats, which has its own unique flavor and aroma, in a positive light is gradually beginning to increase. It’s very similar to the craft beer movement,” says Takahashi. There is a glimmer of hope for the future of soy sauce breweries, which have been shrinking.

There is sure to be overseas demand for unique and particular “craft soy sauce,”” says Takahashi, who is also considering exporting soy sauce to other countries to expand Japan’s deep soy sauce culture to the rest of the world. Mr. Takahashi’s challenge to connect the brewer and the user has only just begun.

The post Mr. Mantaro Takahashi, a “soy sauce craftsman” evangelist who connects small soy sauce breweries across Japan with consumers. first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Love at first sight for Wasabi to the producer.

Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, has an abundance of subsoil water from the abundant melting snow of the Northern Alps. This town boasts the nation’s largest production of one of its specialties. It is wasabi, a spice that is inseparable from the Japanese diet.
Although Shizuoka Prefecture may come to mind when one thinks of wasabi production, Nagano Prefecture is actually number one in terms of production, boasting a share of over 40%. More than 90% of wasabi is produced in Azumino City, which means that nearly half of the nation’s wasabi is actually produced in Azumino.
There are two types of wasabi grown in different ways: “Sawasabi,” the root of which is grated and served with sashimi at restaurants, and “Hata Wasabi,” the stems and leaves of which are used to make commercially available tubs of wasabi paste. In Azumino City, the “Azumino Wasabi Field Springs” that gush forth in the city are one of the best water sources in the prefecture, selected as one of the 100 best water sources by the Ministry of the Environment. The city boasts a daily water flow of approximately 700,000 tons, and the water temperature does not exceed 15°C even in mid-summer, making it a perfect environment for wasabi cultivation, where a constant low water temperature of around 15°C is said to determine the quality of the wasabi.

In this town, there is a man who has attracted the attention of many wasabi farmers. He is the representative of Wasabi-ya Yu, the city’s newest agricultural corporation specializing in wasabi. Originally from Nara Prefecture, Matsumoto moved to Hakuba Village in Nagano Prefecture at the age of 20 to pursue a life centered on snowboarding. Since then, she spent her days snowboarding, working as a cook at an accommodation facility near the slopes in the winter and seasonal labor at a farm at the foot of the mountain in the summer. One year, however, while working at a large-scale wasabi farm in Azumino City, Matsumoto began to be attracted to the fascinating and profound nature of wasabi. At the time, one of the wasabi farmers was considering retirement due to old age, which led him to turn around his life of snowboarding and take over the wasabi fields in Azumino City that he owned.
A few years after he started planting, he also re-cultivated the devastated farmland in the surrounding area, gradually expanding his farmland. In 2008, he incorporated the company. Although he is still a young farmer, he has won the Nagano Prefecture Governor’s Award, the highest award at a Nagano Prefecture product fair, and is highly regarded both inside and outside of the prefecture.

Unique “Wasabi” that brings out the best in food

Mr. Matsumoto mainly grows green-stemmed wasabi, commonly known as “green-stemmed” wasabi. He has tried growing all kinds of wasabi, including “Mazuma,” which is said to be the best wasabi, but he is now growing eight varieties of green-stemmed wasabi, after daily research to find the one that best suits the climate of Azumino. Although often lumped together as “wasabi,” each variety has its own unique pungency and consistency, and in recent years, perhaps due to the influence of diversifying diets and boredom with food, more and more cooks are daring to use different wasabi for different occasions.
For example, “Masamidori” is dark green and has a strong pungency and sweetness, while “Ishidaru,” which is of the green stem type, is lighter in color and has a delicate pungency and refined sweetness.
These characteristics vary greatly depending on the growing environment, which makes them even more interesting, says Matsumoto.
Even in Izu City and Azumino City in Shizuoka Prefecture, both famous for their hydroponically cultivated wasabi, the wasabi fields are completely different.
In Shizuoka Prefecture, the wasabi fields are terraced using a stream flowing from upstream to downstream, whereas in Azumino City, the ground is dug down until spring water flows out, then slightly sloped and ridged to create a flow of spring water.
The wasabi grown in Azumino, which takes advantage of the low-temperature spring water from melting snow, grows slower than wasabi grown in warmer climates, but because it grows slowly over time, it is denser and has a more concentrated flavor. Mr. Matsumoto’s wasabi fields are located in an area of Azumino with particularly low water temperatures and sandy soil, known as “sand making,” which allows the wasabi to grow densely rooted and take even more time to develop, which further increases the concentration of flavor. In addition, the unique climate, with temperatures that change dramatically throughout the year, gives wasabi the stress that gives it its pungent taste, and this is a factor that gives it its complex flavor.
Mr. Matsumoto aims to produce wasabi that makes the most of these regional characteristics.

In the meantime, the original “Azumidori” variety has finally been completed, and the first shipments are scheduled for 2023.
Azumidori, which took five years to develop, is a vigorous variety that grows well in the cold weather of Azumino City. It is characterized by its fresh green color, deep pungency, and moderate stickiness. Mr. Matsumoto is also involved in wasabi production with unconventional ideas, such as developing cream cheese and craft beer using wasabi, etc. As an I-turn farmer, he has seen and experienced wasabi production from various perspectives, and because of this, he actively adopts new things without considering them bad, fusing cutting-edge technology with traditional farming methods. As a result, he has been able to improve the quality of his products.

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“Mirin” has remained unchanged since the Edo period, supporting Japanese cuisine

Mirin” is an indispensable seasoning for Japanese people. Mirin is made only from glutinous rice, rice koji, and rice shochu. Steamed glutinous rice and rice koji are placed in rice shochu with an alcohol content of 41.5 degrees Celsius, and allowed to saccharify and mature for about 2 to 3 months. During the maturation process, the enzymes in the rice koji break down the starch and protein in the glutinous rice. Amino acids and other flavor components are produced, resulting in a mildly sweet moromi. The moromi is then pressed by hand to remove the mirin lees and matured in tanks for about three years, resulting in the mirin produced by Hakusen Shuzo, which has been around since the late Edo period (1603-1868). Even today, no food additives or chemical seasonings are used.
We have never changed the way we make mirin,” said Hakusen Shuzo. So when people ask us what mirin from the Edo period is like, we can say with confidence that this is it,” says Takaaki Kato, president of Hakusen Shuzo, with a laugh. There is a reason why they have not changed the traditional manufacturing method. The reason is that cooks would be troubled if the taste of seasonings were to change. This is especially true in the world of Japanese cuisine, where delicate flavors are very important. Mirin, which adds mellow richness and soft sweetness to the foundation of flavor, has captivated famous chefs, who say that once they use it, they cannot live without it.

To get a taste of the difference in taste due to aging, we tasted freshly pressed, 3-year aged, and 10-year aged mirin.
The freshly pressed syochu liqueur has a cloudy color and a sweet aftertaste with little depth and breadth, while the 3-year aged syochu liqueur has a brandy-like color and a restrained but broadening range of flavor. It has a rich sweetness, reminiscent of Shaoxing wine. The freshly squeezed version is not marketed by Hakusen Shuzo because its light taste is not enough to enhance the flavor of food. In contrast, the 3-year aged version has just the right amount of sweetness and luster, making it perfect for cooking. The 10-year-old version is also a good aperitif and after-dinner drink, and is recommended to be drunk straight or on the rocks, or used as a sauce for desserts.

“Mirin” was a drink.

Mirin, originally a kind of alcoholic beverage, has somehow come to be recognized by many people as a seasoning. Such an example is rare in the world. Mirin used to be recognized as a soft sweet-tasting alcohol until around 1965, and was loved by many people as a summer drink during rice planting season. However, sales of mirin (sweet cooking rice wine) from Hakusen Shuzo declined sharply for a time, as “mirin-like seasonings” overtook mirin as a “drink” and its status as a beverage was lost. The fact that mirin has been reevaluated by gourmets and the media as “mirin that can be drunk” over the years can be said to be a return to the origins of mirin. The fact that mirin has not followed trends and has not changed its production methods over the years has led to a change in public perception and a reevaluation of its original value.

Currently, there are about 90 mirin breweries in Japan. Compared to sake, for which there are about 1,000 breweries in Japan, this is a small number. However, despite changes in the market and the tastes of its customers, Hakusen Shuzo’s mirin production will remain unchanged in the future.
The company will not increase the size of its factories or production lots so as not to change its production methods. Even though we put a lot of time and effort into the aging process, we do not intend to put a premium on it like we do with vintage wine. What he hopes for is that Mirin will continue to be used by many people as an everyday product. A small producer in a rural area that once prospered as a river port quietly continues to brew Japanese food culture today.

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Hatcho miso, which originated in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, is a type of soybean miso made from only soybeans and salt. It is an indispensable seasoning for Nagoya dishes such as miso nikomi udon. Hatcho miso has a strong umami taste and does not lose its flavor when heated. Maruya Hatcho Miso, one of the manufacturers of Hatcho miso, is making efforts to preserve Hatcho miso for future generations by maintaining the production process that has been handed down since the Edo period, and by vigorously promoting it overseas.

Hatcho miso was born because of the high temperature and humidity of Aichi Prefecture.

Okazaki City is located in the center of Aichi Prefecture. The Yahagigawa River runs north-south and the Otogawa River runs east-west in the city, providing abundant water sources, and rice paddies are spread out in the city. Because of the hot and humid climate, soybeans have long been grown in the rice paddies along with rice.
Hatcho miso is a product of this region’s ability to grow soybeans. It is matured for a long period of time using only soybeans and salt. The production method has not changed since ancient times,” said Shintaro Asai, president of Maruya Hatcho Miso. He is one of the people who are making efforts to preserve the taste of Maruya Hatcho Miso, which was founded in 1337 (Engen 2), for future generations.

Started organic with experience from study abroad in Germany.

While studying abroad in Germany in his 20s, Mr. Asai became interested in organic food. This was because he met people there who were trying to popularize Japanese food and who were studying macrobiotics, and was impressed by their discussions and sympathized with their content. At the time, there was little awareness of organic farming in Japan, and no one was interested in it.
At the age of 34, he joined Maruya Hatcho Miso Co. Using his knowledge from Germany, he poured his heart and soul into making Hatcho miso using organically grown soybeans, despite opposition from within the company. Exporting only to overseas, where interest in organic products was already growing, the company obtained certification from the U.S. organic food certification organization OCIA in 1987. The company was also certified by ECOCERT, the European Organic Certification Organization, and Kosher, a Jewish organization with strict food regulations, and already had a great track record when the organic JAS system was established in Japan.

Popularized in Europe along with macrobiotics

Maruya Hatcho Miso began exporting Hatcho miso to the United States in 1968. The following year, the company began exporting to the United Kingdom and other European countries, and in 1971 to Australia and New Zealand. Along with the spread of macrobiotics, Hatcho miso has been accepted by local people, including those who care about their health and those who recognize it as a traditional Japanese food, and is now exported to more than 20 countries around the world, where it is sold mainly at natural food stores. Mr. Asai himself also visits restaurants overseas to propose Hatcho miso. He is looking forward to seeing how they make the most of Hatcho miso as an ingredient.

The taste that only two companies in Okazaki have kept alive.

The name “Hatcho Miso” comes from the village of Hatcho (now Hatcho-cho), located 870 meters west of Okazaki Castle, the birthplace of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Facing each other across the old Tokaido Highway, only two companies, Maruya Hatcho Miso and Kakkyu Miso, have been manufacturing the product while maintaining the traditional manufacturing method. They have been good rivals, emphasizing and improving the quality of Hatcho miso through friendly competition.

Maruya Hatcho Miso has been around since 1337

Maruya Hatcho Miso was born when the first generation head of the family, Yajemon Ota, started a brewing business. It is said that the name “Hatcho Miso” was first coined during the Edo period (1603-1868), but the production method has remained virtually unchanged for more than 600 years. We still have a recipe book from the 1700s, and the method described in it has been passed down from generation to generation. I am sure there are more rational methods, but our priority is to continue the process,” says Asai.

Made only with soybeans and salt, characterized by its strong umami taste

Those who use Hatcho miso for the first time may be surprised by its firmness. This means that the water content in the miso is extremely low, which means that the flavor of the soybeans is concentrated. The soybeans are “Fukuyutaka” produced in Nishi Mikawa, Aichi Prefecture, and the miso is brewed with sun-dried salt and soy koji. The maturation period is “two summers and two winters,” or more than two years.
Incidentally, “rice miso,” the most widely used miso in Japan, is made with soybeans and rice koji, while “barley miso,” produced mainly in the Kyushu, Shikoku, and Chugoku regions, is made with soybeans and barley koji. Considering that the standard maturation period for miso made with these koji is six months, and even naturally brewed miso that is not heated is said to mature for about one year, the length of maturation for Hatcho miso is surprising. Basically, ripening is a period during which the sugars in rice, barley, and other ingredients are broken down and converted into flavor and sweetness, but because the soy koji used in Hatcho miso contains less sugar than rice koji, it takes longer for the microorganisms to break down the sugar. The reason for continuing to use soybean koji, however, is its high preservability and rich flavor. The preservation property is enhanced by slow and careful preparation, and the umami component derived from soybeans is also strengthened.

Masonry for long-term aging and quality retention

The long aging process is made possible by “masonry” and large-sized “miso balls” made by stone masonry workers.
The stones are stacked one by one by skilled craftsmen, taking into account the size and shape of the stones. Once the miso is matured, it is never moved, so if the load is not evenly distributed throughout the miso, there will be uneven maturation within the miso barrels. It is said that it takes 10 years to become a full-fledged craftsman, as each stone must be supported and balanced on each other, and the stones must not fall apart.
A miso ball is made by rounding steamed soybeans into a ball shape. In Hatcho miso production, koji mold is grown directly on the surface of the miso ball. The larger the ball, the smaller the amount of koji per soybean, which slows down the ripening process. During the long ripening period, the various yeasts and lactic acid bacteria that live in the brewery penetrate into the miso ball, giving it a unique flavor called “kura-habit.

How to make the most of miso that does not lose its flavor when heated

Hatcho miso is noted for its ability to retain its flavor even when heated. This is the reason why many of Aichi Prefecture’s gourmet specialties, such as miso nikomi udon and dote-ni, are stewed dishes. Normally, people say that once miso is added, it should not be boiled, but in the case of Hatcho miso, the miso soup is boiled as well,” says Asai. The heat brings to life the richness of the miso, as well as its unique flavor with a hint of sourness, astringency, and bitterness.

Not to boom is to leave.

When we asked Mr. Asai, who has been preserving the traditional manufacturing method, about his future goals, he said, “To preserve the miso brewery and Hatcho miso, which takes more than two years to complete, cannot be produced in increasing or decreasing quantities just because of a temporary boom. In order to preserve the traditional method of miso production, in 2010, the company purchased new wooden vats for the first time in 78 years. It is a “Rokushaku Oke” that can hold approximately 6,000 kg of miso. The company has asked Japan’s only wooden vat craftsman to make the vats ahead of schedule. Hatcho miso is made in wooden vats, as our ancestors told us to make miso in wooden vats. In order to preserve the traditional method of making Hatcho miso, we need people to support us, such as the wooden vat craftsmen and the farmers who produce the soybeans. I want to take good care of those people and keep the tradition alive,” Asai says emphatically.

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Taste nurtured by the climate of Okinawa

”Brown sugar” has been an important industry for Okinawa since old ages. Compared to white sugar which goes through a refining and bleaching process during manufacturing, brown sugar contains much minerals and vitamins. It is an alkaline food and regarded as health food. And it is known as the secret to the long life of Okinawa people.

We were actually able to experience the process of squeezing sugar juice from a sugar cane.
When the sugar cane is put into the machine, it is squeezed and divided into sugar juice and strained lees. Scum is removed from sugar juice, and will be concentrated. In the process of solidifying sugar juice in the container, sugar juice which has been boiled down for a long time, is cooled and hardened with a lot of care.
Anybody can experience the solidifying procedure, so why not give it a try?

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Salt rich in minerals

Salt factory making salt with the blessing of the rich nature in Miyakojima.
Miyakojima is said to be made from an upheaval of corals, and there is a layer called Ryukyu Limestone underneath the island. When seawater passes through the layer, it goes through numerous holes in it which acts as a natural ”filtering device”. The filter removes impurities, and at the same time makes the seawater rich in calcium from corals. As a result, salt rich in marine component can be produced.

Their original method of salt production suppresses bitterness, so when it is dissolved in water it becomes just like seawater, pure enough for fish to live in.
The Yukishio, produced with a strong commitment to quality, contains 18 types of minerals, and was certified by the Guinness in 2008.

The post Miyakojima – Salt-making in Okinawa “Yukishio Seienjo”（Yukishio Salt Factory) first appeared on NIHONMONO.