Yugeta Organic Shoyu (Soy Sauce)

300 ml - Tawame, Saitama Perfecture, Japan

Yugeta Shoyu has made soy sauce since 1923 in Tawame, Saitama, about 2 hours and 15 minutes by chikatetsu (地下鉄, "underground iron") from the site of the original Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.

The company is run by fourth-generation Mr. Yohichi Yugeta, who remains true to his  great-great grandfathers philosophy "It's a food, so it has to be safe to eat, and it's a seasoning, so it has to taste good, or it's pointless.” through traditional shoyu making.

Yugeta starts with organic soybeans that are grown on farms certified under Japan's organic JAS standard.

These soybeans are grown at the base of the Shiragami Mountain Range, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

The soybean fields are in the Aomori Prefecture and are surrounded by forests eliminating risk of contamination from neighboring non-organic farms.

The shoyu is then naturally brewed using underground water from the  flowing from the Chichibu mountains.

Yugeta-san ages the soy sauce moromi (mash) in cedar barrels, with some of the barrels being over 100 years old.

Only 1% of Japan's soy sauce is traditionally made in wooden barrels and Yugeta is one of those rare producers. 

Because Yugeta uses only ingredients produced in Japan to make its soy sauce, it accounts for just 0.2% of Japan's total soy sauce output, a marker of how rare and artisanal it truly is.