25. Round Purple 100ml

After the Great East Japan Earthquake

Yagisawa Shoten is a long-established store that started making soy sauce from whole soybeans at an early stage and has pursued the traditional taste, but everything changed with the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Rikuzentakata city in Iwate Prefecture suffered great damage and the entire storehouse was washed away.

"We will not lay off any of our employees. We will definitely revive the brewery," he promised his at a loss employees. Leaving the head office in Rikuzentakata, the following year they began construction of a factory on the site of an old elementary school in Ichinoseki City, just over the mountain. Not a single employee was laid off, and soy sauce shipments resumed in 2013.

This was the first time I heard about it.

At the former Yagisawa Shoten, wooden barrels were lined up inside the earthen storehouse, and the sight of soy sauce being made using traditional methods unfolded.

About 30 years ago, soy sauce was something that was sought after at a low price, as symbolized by the discount sales at supermarkets. It was at that time that Yagisawa Shoten made a splash by reviving traditional soy sauce making methods, using locally produced ingredients, brewing in wooden barrels, and pressing with a lever.

Integrating with the local community and growing together with the region

"We aim to spread gratitude through food and create a society where people can live healthily in harmony with the local nature." This is a passage from Yagisawa Shoten's management philosophy.
Immediately after the disaster, Mr. Kono and other local business owners launched a company called "Natsukashii Mirai Sozo Co., Ltd." This is an initiative that accepts aspiring entrepreneurial students as interns and develops new business plans, and by bringing together young people, it is hoped that the area will become more active. Mr. Kono's eyes are filled with strength as he looks to the future, saying, "One day, I will brew soy sauce in Rikuzentakata again."

Dark soy sauce made from locally grown soybeans

"Maru Murasaki" is a dark soy sauce made from whole soybeans and wheat grown in the rich nature of Iwate, and is characterized by its beautiful reddish purple color. It's rich and full of flavor! Rather than that, it's refreshing and easy to combine with other ingredients, making it very versatile. It's recommended not only for pouring on food, but also as a secret ingredient in dishes that will be heated.

Everyday mixed rice

Mixed rice is a dish that appears quite often on our dinner table. The standard ingredients are edamame and ginger, or wakame seaweed and whitebait. When you pour a sauce made from soy sauce, mirin, and sake over warm rice, it gives off a lovely, faint aroma. A bright, refreshing soy sauce like "Maru Murasaki" blends well with the rice and gives it a beautiful color.

Soy sauce is synonymous with this scent

The fragrant aroma of grilled corn at festival stalls. Surely there is no Japanese person who doesn't like this aroma? You can enjoy the attractive aroma of roasted soy sauce at home. It also brings out the sweetness of the corn.