Historians believe that the kind of
soy sauce we use today was first developed during the
Kamakura Period (1192-1333). It is said that a monk called
Kakushin at a Zen temple in Wakayama Prefecture discovered
a substance similar to tamari soy sauce during the process
of making miso. However, the roots of soy sauce can be
traced back much further. The process of making a liquid
seasoning by fermenting grain malt, meat and alcohol was
recorded in ancient China as early as the 12th century
BC. Later records indicate the use of soybeans to make
a fermented food product during in the Hokugi Period (386-534
AD). The process described is very similar to the way
miso and soy sauce are made today.
"Shoyu", the Japanese name
for soy sauce, first came into usage during the Muromachi
Period, and the word appears in a dictionary written in
the early 1500s. Thus, it can be assumed that during the
mid-Muromachi Period soy sauce began its usage as a liquid
seasoning. During the Azuchi-Momoyama Period, under the
rule of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the development
of a monetary economy among the merchant and artisan class
served as the gateway to the modern era, increasing the
circulation of goods. Against this historical background,
soy sauce spread quickly among the common people, and
demand for the product increased. In response, the first
soy sauce factories emerged during the late 16th century
and early 17th century. Soy sauce brewing was begun in
Yuasa in Wakayama Prefecture and in Choshi and Noda in
Chiba Prefecture. In Choshi and Noda, soy sauce brewers'
guilds were founded in 1754 and 1781 respectively, and
output steadily increased in both locations thereafter.
During the Edo Period (1603-1867), wheat was used to produce
a fragrant kind of soy sauce called koikuchi shoyu, perfect
for flavoring the fish caught in the Edogawa River, the
popularity of which contributed greatly to the culinary
culture particular to the era.
Yamasa Shoyu began when the soy sauce
manufacturing process used in Yuasa, Wakayama Prefecture,
was brought to Choshi in Chiba Prefecture by Gihe Hamaguchi.
Upon his arrival in Choshi, Hamaguchi noticed that the
climate and water in Choshi created ideal conditions for
soy sauce production, that barley and wheat were available
close by, and that the Edogawa and Tonegawa Rivers provided
the perfect means for shipping the product to the large
consumer base in Edo, Japan's capital. He began producing
soy sauce in 1645. Since then, Yamasa Shoyu has strived
to achieve the best quality in Japan, and in 1864 it was
included among seven products honored by the Tokugawa
Shogun, under the designation "Best Soy Sauce".
