First there was salt and stone. And then there was soy sauce.
Four hundred years ago, Shodoshima was a prominent area for brewing soy sauce. Nowadays you can still smell the savory fragrance of handmade soy sauce wafting from local breweries. Hishio-no-sato is a small beachside district that reflects this legacy today.
It is accepted that stone quarrying teams that sojourned to Shodoshima from Osaka are to thank for the start of this legacy. The prototype for soy sauce was the clear liquid resultant in the production of miso, and those stoneworkers carried that into the island. Many feudal lords prized this savory liquid as a seasoning, and Shodoshima’s locals also took an interest in it. It’s said that they traveled to Wakayama Prefecture to learn how to produce it.
Soy sauce is made from soybeans, wheat, and salt. Shodoshima used their prior pedigree as salt manufacturers to incorporate it into their soy sauce. Soybeans and wheat were easy to procure thanks to the prosperous shipping industry of the era, and the warm climate of the Inland Sea complimented the fermentation process. Combined with their short distance to Osaka, which was widely known as “Japan’s kitchen,” it was easily produced and exported. It’s no surprise Shodoshima became a major manufacturer of soy sauce with such fortunate conditions.
The widely traveled Shodoshima locals have a history of vigorously absorbing inspiration to innovate in other areas besides soy sauce. For instance, Shodoshima somen noodles were first made by pilgrims who became interested in making somen while sojourning to Ise. As they passed through Nara multiple times, they eventually learned the method to create this delicacy. Similarly, they also adapted kabuki theater to their rural environments. Such enterprising spirit may have contributed to solidifying Shodoshima’s industry.
By the way, there are five types of soy sauce: white, mild, strong, twice-fermented and tamari. Shodoshima is known for manufacturing the mild, strong and twice-fermented varieties. Their characteristic flavor comes from using cedar casks, just as they did long ago. Fermentation begins at the start of the year in these casks, and it quickens as the temperature rises. The process can take anywhere from six months to three years, depending on the brewer.
Some brewers explained the difference in taste like this: “Machine-made soy sauce hits like a hard poke, but barrel-aged soy sauce tastes more like gentle massage.” Certain brewers allow you to watch the process directly as well as buy and try their soy sauce on sweets. We hope you try it out and compare the flavor to what you normally use at home.
