Authentic Japanese Flavors Crafted Through Tradition

Could you start by giving us a brief introduction to Yamato Soy Sauce & Miso and highlighting some of the key milestones in your company’s history?

Briefly put, Yamato is an artisanal manufacturer of koji-fermented products such as soy

sauce, miso and more, based in O-Onomachi Kanazawa, the home of the fermented foods in Japan.

O-onomachi Kanazawa—itself an 800-year old town—is one of the five historical soy sauce brewing areas in Japan continuing its tradition since the Edo period and played a great role in the development of Kaga culinary tradition. For those of you not familiar, Kaga was the largest feudal clan during Edo period, thus the biggest consumer of food in Japan. In short, we embody the culinary culture of Kanazawa, one of the gastronomically important cities in Japan.

Against this backdrop, our artisans are making soy sauce and miso in authentic ways in wooden barrels, while thinking globally and innovatively at the same time as you can see from our export business and new product development. This should put us in a unique position different from other manufacturers of our size.

Our company was founded in 1911, and its origins trace back to our founder, Mr. Tomatsu Yamamoto, who was originally a sailor. He would load miso and soy sauce on his ship and sail all the way to Hokkaido, sell them, collect the earnings, purchase lumber, and transport them back to Kanazawa—essentially operating as an independent merchant. Our company still stands on its original location, and its name comes from a combination of our founder’s first and last name.

Each generation of leadership has played a pivotal role in shaping our business. The second-generation president truly accelerated our growth by introducing soy sauce brewing. My father, as the third president, expanded our portfolio by introducing miso. Now, as the fourth president, I am focused on tailoring fermented products to today’s hectic lifestyle.

Chief among them are our koji amazake series. Koji amazake—non-alcoholic beverages made with koji—is so nutritious that it is called “drinkable IV nutrition therapy,” because it delivers all of the essential amino acids. We also make dressings based on the concept “veg on veg” where the dressing itself is full of vegetable and the active enzyme in the dressing wilt the fresh vegetable for better digestion, allowing you to eat more vegetable. At any rate, through this evolution, we continue to innovate while staying true to our traditions, ensuring that our products remain relevant to both longtime fans and new generations.

Are there any specific Yamato products you would recommend for international consumers who are looking to explore new flavors and culinary experiences?

When talking about Yamato, among the many products, I think that Raw Soy Sauce Hishiho and Yamato miso brewed in a wooden barrel with a history of 100 years are indispensable.

I will tell you more about my story. Before joining Yamato, I worked at Fukumitsuya, a renowned sake brewery. At the time, they were focused on brewing ginjo-shu, a highly polished rice sake known for its refined aroma and exceptional quality. They didn’t sell it publicly—instead, they kept it in the brewery as a way to refine their techniques, eventually crafting daiginjo, an even more elevated version of ginjo sake. The philosophy was to make small, high-quality batches to continuously train and perfect their craft.

I’ll never forget when one of the craftsmen brought me a bottle of daiginjo wrapped in newspaper, absolutely blown away by the flavor and proud of what we had created. That sake wasn’t even made for sale—it was brewed purely for competition and technique refinement.

Years later, when I joined Yamato, I carried that experience with me. Daiginjo is typically raw sake, and it inspired me to think: Why not make a raw soy sauce? That idea led to the creation of Hishio Shoyu, bringing the same craftsmanship, purity, and dedication to quality that I had experienced in sake brewing into the world of soy sauce.

This product really gained momentum when chefs overseas began recommending it to one another. Through word of mouth, it became synonymous with high-quality Japanese cooking abroad. Seeing this trend, we leaned into it, choosing to market to a smaller, more specialized niche rather than competing on mass production.

Raw Soy Sauce Hishiho

Could you tell us about the miso made in the 100-year-old wooden barrels?

Some of the bottom plates have been replaced due to repairs, but the bottom plate of the wooden barrels still has inscriptions on it indicating when the barrel was made. Many of the wooden barrels used by Yamato have been in use for 80 to 100 years, and their unique yeast continues to live in them.

In fact, there are very few manufacturers who make miso the old-fashioned way in wooden barrels, like Yamato, and only about 1% of the miso on the market is made in them. Recently, miso has been mass-produced in stainless steel tanks for easier cleaning and to speed up the fermentation process by adding heat.

But I can say that there is a taste and aroma that can only be produced by the yeast in the wooden barrels. This is backed up by research results, and for some reason, wooden barrels can produce aromas like wine and cheese that cannot be produced by adding the necessary fermentation microorganism or yeast later.

The balance of power of the microorganisms that live in the wooden barrels varies depending on the brewery, and if you think Yamato's miso is delicious, it is thanks to Yamato's unique families of microorganisms.

Your company also promotes Hakusan water, a prized natural resource from the Hakusan Mountains, located between the Kaga Plains and the Sea of Japan. This unique geography allows for natural fermentation, creating a pure underground water source that is essential for brewing. Can you explain how this naturally filtered underground water enhances the fermentation process of your products?

Water plays an incredibly important role in a lot of things we make here like soy sauce, miso and dashi, etc., where the raw ingredients determine everything. I imagine that other soy sauce manufacturers may use similar production techniques, but what truly differentiates each soy sauce is the raw ingredients.

In Japanese nutritional panel, we are not obligated to put water but actually water is the most dominant ingredient for a lot of our products. And, yes, we are blessed with a mellow soft ground water from Mt. Hakusan. Our water is naturally filtered, making it perfect for fermentation, as it helps enhance the depth and complexity of our products, including miso, soy sauce, and dashi. Osmotic pressure is a big factor in soaking soybeans, extracting dashi, for example. Because of this, it is very hard to take good dashi using hard water.

So, yes, water does play a crucial role in shaping the final taste of our seasonings, and we are fortunate to have access to Hakusan water, which is ideal for bringing out the rich, natural flavors of our fermented products.

Mt. Hakusan and Port of Kanazawa

Washoku—Japanese cuisine—has become synonymous with health, exquisite taste, and culinary artistry, and we are seeing this reflected in two key trends. First, the 36.8 million people who visited Japan last year, many of whom came to experience authentic Japanese food. Second, the global rise in Japanese restaurants, which have tripled in the past 10 years, now exceeding 200,000 worldwide. How do you explain the continued rise in popularity of Japanese cuisine in recent years? What role does Yamato Soy Sauce & Miso play in this growing global appreciation?

Looking back to around the year 2000, there was growing global curiosity about Japanese cuisine, though many people had yet to experience it firsthand. During this time, top international chefs began visiting Japan to explore the local culinary traditions, often finding deep inspiration in what they encountered.

Take Le Bernardin, the renowned Michelin-starred restaurant in New York, owned by Mr. Eric Ripert. He travelled to Japan to experience traditional Japanese cuisine, and it was during this visit at Yamato that he discovered miso, an ingredient he later brought back to Le Bernardin. I had a chance to visit his restaurant later. There, served us a dish featuring monkfish, a variety of fish very popular in Japan as well as certain parts of the U.S., with miso-based sauce. The dish was very good and struck a nostalgic chord. I could identify strong influences of Kaga cuisine. Later, I learned that it was his way of paying homage to the experiences he had in Kanazawa.

Shortly after, the exchange began flowing in the opposite direction—Japanese restaurant owners and chefs started visiting Michelin-starred restaurants in the West, leading to a cultural exchange between Kanazawa and Western culinary scenes. Through this program, sous chefs were invited to Kanazawa to experience firsthand not only how to prepare sushi and Japanese rice, immersing themselves in the essence of Japanese cuisine, but also how traditional fermented foods like soy sauce and miso are made. Here we are lucky to have been their host, imparting the history and wisdom of fermentation. The idea was to inspire these chefs so that they could incorporate elements of washoku into their own culinary practices when they returned home.

For me, the biggest takeaway from this exchange is how it has made the world feel smaller, with borders becoming less apparent in the culinary landscape.

Living in Japan, we sometimes take certain aspects of our food culture for granted. It’s often only when we leave and return that we truly appreciate the small details that make our country and its cuisine unique. Seeing Japan and its products from an outside perspective has helped me recognize our strengths and areas for improvement. I believe this perspective is also an important tool in marketing Japanese food globally, allowing us to highlight its best qualities while continuously evolving and broadening our horizons.

Japan is currently facing a demographic crisis, with the average age of farmers now around 65 years old. This presents major challenges, including a shrinking domestic market and increased competition for labor. Given these factors, how important is internationalization as a core pillar of your strategy to navigate and overcome these demographic challenges?

There are many ways to approach these challenges, including the shrinking market and labor crisis. As a company in the food industry, the number of people we feed is naturally an important factor—when the population declines, so does overall consumption.

However, despite this reality, what truly matters is building a strong base of loyal fans. I don’t need the entire market; I need a dedicated group of people who genuinely love Yamato’s products, ideas, and concepts. These true fans are not tied to demographic trends—they will continue to grow over time, even as the overall population declines. In this sense, our core consumer base won’t decrease but will instead gradually expand, driven by appreciation for our brand and philosophy.

Earlier, you mentioned the importance of piquing the interest of a younger generation. Do you believe your products need a rebranding to better appeal to this audience, or can you achieve this engagement and connection through social activities and community-driven efforts?

Our marketing activities are centered on creating new customers and turning them into loyal fans of our products. Rather than focusing strictly on age or nationality, we believe that sharing our concept and philosophy resonates with people across different demographics.

A key aspect of our early business was the use of koji, a tradition that continues today in innovative ways—such as in our gluten-free cheesecake. While soy sauce and miso are deeply rooted in traditional Japanese cuisine, which was often prepared by housewives, we recognize that in 2025, we need to be more innovative in promoting these products to the younger generation. Cheesecake, for example, is far removed from traditional home cooking, but it appeals to younger consumers. By incorporating koji powder into this dessert, we are spreading awareness of koji. Additionally, we use White Koji—our white-miso-like condiment—in the recipe, which adds a unique balance of sweetness with a hint of saltiness.

To further promote koji culture, we host cooking classes twice a month at our facilities, known as the Koji Club. The concept is to integrate koji into daily life, teaching people about its versatility and benefits while showing them how to cook a variety of dishes using koji. Beyond education, these classes help us cultivate brand supporters. We strongly believe that once people experience the flavor and benefits of koji and Yamato products, they will find it difficult to imagine their lives without them.

Looking ahead, are there any other new segments or markets that you are considering expanding into?

We are a family-based SME, not a large corporation, which means we must carefully consider safe ways to diversify given our limited resources.  One area we are actively exploring is microbrewing. Fermented foods have been a part of human diets for over 1,300 years, proving their long-term safety and health benefits. Within fermentation, there are three key categories: yeast, bacteria, and fungus—the latter of which includes koji, Japan’s national fungus, which is found only in Japan.

If you look at miso and soy sauce, they contain all three elements of fermentation. However, unfiltered sake is another product that naturally integrates yeast, bacteria, and fungus, making it a perfect addition to our portfolio. Our plan is to use this building to produce microbrews, bringing all of these super-healthy fermented products under one roof.

We have already submitted the necessary documents to obtain a brewer’s license and expect to receive approval by March 2025. If all goes as planned, we aim to officially open our microbrewery in April 2025, marking an exciting new chapter for Yamato Soy Sauce & Miso.

Yamato wooden barrel

Two of your key products, Yamato Hishiho Shoyu Japanese Raw Soy Sauce and wooden-barrel miso with varying length of aging, showcase the depth of your craftsmanship and dedication to fermentation. For first-time customers, could you highlight some of the standout products in your portfolio that best represent Yamato Soy Sauce & Miso?

Earlier, I talked about Hishiho and Miso, which are Yamato's representative products. Here, I would like to talk as much as possible about new products that we have developed or are currently developing.

There is an exciting addition to our lineup, Gluten-Free Tamari Soy Sauce. Often times, soy sauce with 100% soybean with no wheat is susceptible to “bad” fermentation, meaning that because it takes long time to ferment, unwanted strands of microorganism get in, resulting in off-flavor. We have developed a way around the long germ-prone process and was able to produce GF soy with utmost purity in its aroma and umami, without any unwanted off-flavor. This product aligns with our philosophy as it offers a new option for customers seeking authentic Japanese flavors without gluten.

How has the response been since the post-launch of your gluten-free soy sauce?

The first country where it got on track really fast was the United States. We partner with a distributor specializing in food-service. And I think, because of the well-defined aroma and flavor of our GF soy, it gained trust among chefs that this is a GF soy sauce that allows them to fill the missing piece of flavor, nothing more or nothing less.

For R&D, we are in lucky that our overseas partners are often at the frontline of culinary trends in the world. In France, for example, we are blessed to be able to work with a distributor that has won many prizes for new and innovative products at big competitions. We discuss a new trend together, play with ideas, come back with prototypes, share feedbacks, etc., and in doing so, we often end up with a new product that captures new trends. Of course, the artist is the chefs so our task is to help them with time-saving ideas and products so they can focus more on the creative aspect of their job.

Yamato currently distributes to over 20 countries, including the United States, England, Malaysia, and Singapore, among others. Are you actively seeking new distribution partners, and if so, which regions or markets are you particularly interested in expanding into?

It’s not so much that we are actively seeking new markets, but rather that we are being led to certain regions through organic growth and demand. For example, we first began distributing in the U.S., followed by a distributor in Mexico, which then naturally led to expansion further south in the Americas.

This year, we started exporting to Colombia, and in March 2025, we have a business meeting with a Chilean distributor, so it’s clear that opportunities are guiding us in certain directions. That said, we have always followed the principle of one distributor per country, ensuring strong, focused partnerships.

At the same time, we are also exploring emerging markets like India, where we see tremendous growth opportunities. In fact, we have an online meeting next week to discuss our entry strategy for that market. India, much like the U.S., holds immense potential for our products.

We are always open to partnering with companies that can effectively handle international distribution and help bring Yamato's products to new markets.

Your company operates on a unique hybrid model, combining an online store, retail locations, and Koji Park, where we are conducting this interview today. Can you share insights into your sales strategy? Are you looking to target more inbound tourists, expand your physical store presence, or explore alternative channels, such as smartphone apps?

Inbound tourism comes and goes. Rather than going out of our way for inbound tourism, we will continue to make our products with care as usual. As I mentioned above, I believe that mass production, mass sales, and efficiency are not the way forward for us.

Around 40% of our sales come from direct-to-consumer channels, while 60% comes from wholesale, including international distribution through our partners. I see huge potential in international markets, particularly in the United States, which is such a vast and diverse country. Moving forward, we are placing significant emphasis on expanding in the U.S.

Imagine that we returned for another interview on the last day of your presidency. What personal goal or ambition do you hope to have achieved before you retire?

I hope that every employee who works here will look back on their time at Yamato with appreciation. When they retire, I want them to cherish their experience and feel that they were part of something meaningful. More than anything, I hope that they will proudly describe Yamato as the epicenter of koji, a place where tradition, innovation, and craftsmanship came together to create something truly special.

For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.yamato-soysauce-miso.co.jp/English/index.html