500 ml bottle - Japan
From Rice Field to Rice Vinegar
The Iio Jozo Story
What started out as an inquiry about what appeared to be a simple vinegar turned into a very interesting passionate artisan maker’s tale.
Iio Jozo was established in 1893 in Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture, the 26th year of the Meiji era. The founders were originally rice farmers who began making rice vinegar as a side business, who eventually turned it into their main trade.
The first generation, Iio Chozo, set out with a focused ambition: to create the best rice vinegar in Japan.
Today, Iio Jozo is the last artisanal rice vinegar maker in Kyoto Prefecture. Fifth-generation brewer Akihiro Iio runs the operation alongside just 19 employees, producing between 250,000 and 300,000 liters of vinegar a year.
In the beginning: A Commitment to Pesticide-Free Farming
The company's defining philosophy took shape in the 1930s, when third-generation brewer Terunosuke watched pesticides, including DDT, eliminate every living thing from the surrounding rice paddies.
Convinced that vinegar made from such rice wasn't right, and he then spent two years knocking on doors to persuade local farmers to change their practices. It took another three years before the first pesticide-free rice was ready.
Today, Iio Jozo works with 15 local farms to grow the rice that goes into every bottle.
How It's Made
The production process is labor-intensive and unchanged from traditional methods. Pesticide-free rice from the mountainous Tango District of Kyoto is combined with clear mountain spring water. The rice is inoculated with koji mold, requiring attention every 3–4 hours for three full days and then it is pressed using a hand-powered wooden press.
After 45 days, the sake is ready.
That sake is then converted to vinegar through "static fermentation," allowing acetic acid bacteria to naturally develop on the surface of the tank over 100 days. Industrial producers pump air through their tanks and finish the process in as little as 8 hours.
After fermentation, the vinegar is aged for another 8 months. From start to finish, the process takes roughly one year — compared to a single day for large commercial producers.
What Makes It Special
Iio Jozo uses 200g of rice per liter, five times Japan's legal requirement for rice vinegar, ultimately producing a richer, fuller complex flavor.
Where ordinary rice vinegar is 99% acetic acid, Fujisu's ratio is just 86%, with the balance made up of mild non-volatile acids including lactic, succinic, and malic acid. The result is a vinegar with no harsh bite!
Fujisu Premium earned a place in Japan's government-sponsored "Wonder 500" program, which celebrates the country's finest local products, and has become a trusted ingredient for Michelin-starred chefs worldwide.
