Marunaka Shoyu

Prefecture of Japan: Shiga

Marunaka Shoyu in Japanese: 丸中醤油

Not your typical soy sauce

Have you ever tasted soy sauce from 200 years ago? Can you describe the taste and smell of soy sauce that has been aged for three years?

Very few people can answer "yes" to these questions with confidence. Once you've experienced a soy sauce made using the same old-fashioned methods from 200 years ago -- as well as the original equipment and fermenting microorganisms, you will quickly understand what real soy sauce should taste like.

Featured product from Marunaka Shoyu

Marunaka's Soy Sauce

$17.50

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I'll burn this storehouse down!

Due to the rise of cheap ingredient imports and the introduction of mass production by machines, the time-consuming traditional method of brewing soy sauce was once on the verge of disappearing.

Mr. Masakazu Nakai, the 8th president of Marunaka Shoyu,was working in his family's brewery when he first noticed the merits of authentic soy sauce processing.When he decided to take over his family's business, his sister, Atsuko Okabe, had a very important decision to make.

Atsuko Okabe, current Executive Director of Marunaka Shoyu and Masakazu Nakai's older sister, is in charge of product design as well as domestic and overseas sales. She grew up in Shiga Prefecture on her family's brewery. From spring to summer, during the fermentation process, no one except skilled workers were allowed to enter the brewery's storehouse since maintaining the temperature and humidity required for the microorganisms to remain activated is very difficult and sensitive. Once, when Atusko's grandfather found out that she had gone to school by passing through the storehouse, he scolded her. In response, she screamed back: “I'll burn this storehouse down!”

Needless to say, she never did burn down the storehouse. Instead, in support of her brother's desire to protect the inherited microorganisms and traditional manufacturing methods of her family's soy sauce business, she battled to save the company from going out of business. Today, she shares the value of Marunaka Shoyu's traditions with people in Japan and around the world.

”What is different about your family's soy sauce?”

WhenMs. Okabe first started selling her family's soy sauce to retailers, she was frequently asked: "What is different about Marunaka Shoyu's soy sauce?" There arearound1,300 soy sauce breweries throughout Japan, and with various products such as dashi soy sauce andother flavoredsoy sauce on the market, it was difficult to convince retailers to sell Marunaka Shoyu's soy sauce. For the first time, Ms. Okabe felt nervous that she didn't know enough about her family's business.

“It's a soy sauce that incorporates andeven improves all the ingredients it mixed with without overpowering them. Just one drop of our soy sauce enhances the flavors while cooking."Ms. Okabe said.