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Yuasa shoyu is soy sauce brewed in Yuasa Town, Arida District, Wakayama Prefecture. Yuasa is said to be the birthplace of soy sauce brewing in Japan. Soy sauce is said to have begun when people making Kinzanji miso, which had been introduced in the Kamakura period, noticed that the liquid collecting in the barrels tasted good and refined it through repeated efforts. In the Edo period, it received the protection of the Kishu Domain, and at its peak, 92 soy sauce makers are said to have lined the town. In 2006, the townscape that prospered through brewing became the first soy sauce brewing town in Japan to be selected as a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. In 2017, it was recognized as Japan Heritage under the title 'The First Drop: Kishu Yuasa, Birthplace of Soy Sauce Brewing.' Breweries that preserve traditional methods, such as large cedar barrels and kan-jikomi (winter brewing), still remain today. While strolling the townscape, you can tour the breweries and buy soy sauce.
Origin
The origins of Yuasa shoyu go back to Kinzanji miso, which is said to have been brought from Song China in the Kamakura period by Kakushin (Hotto Kokushi). A reddish-brown liquid collected in the barrels in which the miso was prepared. Because this liquid had deep umami and aroma, as well as saltiness and sweetness, the people of Yuasa are said to have refined it repeatedly, giving birth to soy sauce. However, it is also said that historical records clearly showing when soy sauce brewing began in Yuasa are lacking, and there are several theories about the timing.
History
There is said to be a record from 1535 (Tenbun 4) of a little over 100 koku of soy sauce made in Yuasa being entrusted to fishing boats, sent to Osaka, and sold there. In the Edo period, the number of brewers grew under the protection of the Kishu Domain, and in the Bunka era of the early 1800s there are said to have been 92 soy sauce brewers. The number later declined, and today there are a few breweries. In 2006, the townscape was selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, and in 2017 it was recognized as Japan Heritage.
Features
The ingredients are soybeans, wheat, and salt, and the soy sauce is made by fermenting and maturing them through the action of koji mold. In Yuasa, there are breweries that take their time maturing soy sauce in large cedar barrels, and breweries that keep to 'kan-jikomi,' preparing soy sauce only in winter. There are also products such as 'Nigori Bishio,' in which only the liquid produced as the koji breaks down the ingredients is drawn off, without pressing or heating. In the preservation district, imposing machiya townhouses with hon-gawara tiled roofs and earthen storehouses for brewing stand in rows along the Edo-period street layout.
Main Ingredients
Food Culture
In the town of Yuasa, there are breweries where you can tour the soy sauce storehouses and enjoy soy sauce soft-serve ice cream. To pass on the history of soy sauce, an initiative in which elementary school children grow soybeans and make soy sauce began in 2005 (Heisei 17). Since 2008 (Heisei 20), it has been carried out at all four elementary schools in the town.
Famous Shops
角長
和歌山県有田郡湯浅町湯浅7
A soy sauce brewery founded in 1841 (Tenpo 12), where a craftsmen's storehouse built in 1866 (Keio 2) still stands. It keeps to kan-jikomi carried out only in winter and also makes products that recreate Muromachi-period tamari and Edo-period soy sauce. It also has an attached soy sauce museum. Yuasa Tezukuri Shoyu (handmade soy sauce, 900 ml) is about 1,300 yen.
湯浅醤油 九曜蔵
和歌山県有田郡湯浅町湯浅1464
A brewery that slowly matures soy sauce in large cedar barrels 2.3 m in diameter that have been in use for more than 100 years. Factory tours are free, and you can also try soy sauce soft-serve ice cream (about 400 yen). The operating company, 湯浅醤油有限会社, traces its lineage to 丸新本家, a long-established Kinzanji miso maker, and was established in 2002.
| 角長 'Nigori Bishio' | A soy sauce made by a traditional method in which only the liquid produced as the koji breaks down the ingredients is drawn off, without pressing or heating. 720 ml is about 1,980 yen. There is also 'Nigori Bishio Takumi,' matured for three years (300 ml, about 1,850 yen). |
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| 湯浅醤油 'Kiippon Kuromame Shoyu (Black Soybean Soy Sauce)' | A soy sauce known as the flagship product of 湯浅醤油有限会社. It is from about 1,080 yen for 200 ml and can be purchased at places such as the shop at 九曜蔵. The same brewery also sells Kinzanji miso, so you can choose Yuasa's fermented foods all in one place. |
FAQ
Q. Why is Yuasa called the 'birthplace of soy sauce'?
A. Because of the tradition that soy sauce was born from the liquid that collected in barrels of Kinzanji miso. The Japan Heritage story also explains that today's soy sauce was born from the people of Yuasa repeatedly refining this liquid. On the other hand, there is also a view that traces the origins of soy sauce to 'hishio' (醤), introduced from China.