Soy sauce is one of Japan's most popular seasonings, and it's a must-have for sushi, stewed food, sukiyaki, or barbecue!
The following is an introduction to the history of Japanese soy sauce and the characteristics of shodoshima in Chiba, Hyogo, and Kagawa Prefecture, where the three major soy sauce producing regions are.
Xiaobian hopes that through this special topic, you can understand the origin and use of Japanese soy sauce, so let's get into the main topic!
The source of soy sauce
Sushi with soy sauce
The earliest record of soy sauce was discovered 700 years ago in the ancient Chinese book "Zhou Li", which was called "sauce" at that time.
"Sauce" was mainly a general term for preserved foods at that time, and was divided into 3 categories: grass sauce, meat sauce and cereal sauce. Grass sauce refers to pickling; Meat sauce refers to foods with salty and spicy stripes; Tani sauce can be said to be the origin of soy sauce and miso today.
So, when did the origins of soy sauce in Japan begin?
Nara period
Soy Miso
During the Nara period, Japan absorbed much of Chinese culture, and fermented foods such as pickled and miso began to develop in Japan.
Among them, the "sauce" method is mainly based on the rapid development of food, and the variety has also increased. "Sauce" is mainly based on soybeans, rice, wheat, etc., which are very expensive for ordinary people; Salt is still the most commonly used in the folk, soy sauce was considered a luxurious seasoning used by the upper class in the Nara period!
The Heian period
seasoning
With the advent of the Heian period, the technology of making sauce also advanced, and the sauce gradually changed from solid to liquid.
By the time of the Heian period, there were four types of seasonings: "salt, sake, soy sauce," and people could choose their favorite seasonings to accompany their meals.
The Kamakura era
With the development of Japanese agriculture in the Kamakura period, soybeans were cultivated in large quantities in areas centered on western Japan, and people began to use seasonings called "slips".
"Slip" in Japanese means liquid that sinks under the miso; It was the liquid that remained under the miso barrel after the solid miso was removed during the process of making miso, and this "slip" can be said to be the original prototype of Japanese soy sauce.
Muromachi period
In the middle of the Muromachi period, the appearance of modern soy sauce gradually became the same, and the term "soy sauce" was born at this time.
The term "soy sauce" appeared in the 1597 dictionary of everyday language, the "Collection of Yilin Benjie", which is also the earliest document in Japan where the word soy sauce appears.
In the late Muromachi period, the Kansai region, centered on Japanese culture, developed industrialization and soy sauce brewing became increasingly popular.
Edo period
Bamboo basket soba noodles
During the Edo period, the raw material used for soy sauce brewing changed from barley to wheat, and the familiar "thick soy sauce" was also produced and brewed in large quantities at that time.
As a result, soy sauce culture began to develop from the Edo period; Foods that require soy sauce, such as soba noodles, tempura, eel grilled food, etc., are becoming popular, and the popular thick soy sauce is gradually becoming popular in the Kanto region.
Meiji era
Since the Meiji era, Japan has begun to exchange overseas culture, and Western sauces and tomato sauces have been introduced and produced in Japan.
However, at this time, soy sauce has become a necessity for the people, and with the good times after the First World War, the production of soy sauce has also expanded rapidly; With the industrialization of mass production, soy sauce quickly entered various households.
Showa era
In the Showa era, because of the impact of World War II, raw materials began to be insufficient, so the government set up a "controlled materials" bill to restrict the people's purchase of materials, soy sauce also formed a unified ration by the government to make people's livelihood necessities.
However, with the subsequent technological innovation, the brewing of soy sauce also began to have new changes, and the production method changed from human to mechanized.
Right now
Today's soy sauce can be said to be of good quality and quantity, and in addition to selling it in Japan, Japanese soy sauce can also be bought in the United States, China, Australia and other parts of the world.
The three famous production areas of soy sauce
The production areas of Japanese soy sauce are mainly in Chiba Prefecture, Hyogo Prefecture and Kagawa Prefecture, so let's take a look at the characteristics of soy sauce produced by these three major production areas!
Chiba Prefecture
Soy sauce reservoir
Chiba Prefecture produces one-third of the amount of soy sauce in Japan, and the main factories representing Japan's soy sauce plants, Kikkoman and Yamasa Soy Sauce, are located in Chiba Prefecture.
The production of soy sauce in Chiba Prefecture dates back to the Edo period, with the two cities of Choshi and Noda being the most famous. The soy sauce industry flourished in the production of soy sauce because they used the water conservancy of the Edo and Toinegawa rivers and made it easier to transport raw materials for soy sauce production.
In addition, most of the soy sauce made in Chiba Prefecture is thick soy sauce, which accounts for about 84% of The market sales in Japan!
Hyogo Prefecture
Soy sauce in various concentrations
Hyogo Prefecture is a major producer of soy sauce. The main production area is located in the western part of Hyogo Prefecture in the western part of Banshu Hirano, west of Tatsuno City.
This region accounts for 15% of the country's production, and if combined with Chiba Prefecture, the number one production area, half of Japan's soy sauce can be said to be produced from these two places.
Hyogo Prefecture is known for producing "light soy sauce" that matches the color and taste of the dish. Tatsuno City also made thick soy sauce at first, but as the Edo period faded, it gradually became dominated by light soy sauce.
With abundant wheat raw materials, and in yamabe, high-quality soybeans, salt from a red ear, and natural resources from rivers with a clear and iron-poor content, it is arguably the most suitable place to make light soy sauce!
Kagawa Prefecture・ Shodou Island
Wooden barrels of soy sauce