Discover the Fermentation Department: Local Fermented Foods
Dec 24,2020
Dec 24,2020
Shimokitazawa, a district of Tokyo, is home to a place that has gathered some 450 fermented products from across the country. That place is Hakko Department, opened in April 2020 by fermentation designer Ogura Hiraku. Hakko Department consists of a shop selling fermented food products from various parts of Japan and a café / restaurant specializing in fermented cuisine. It is also fitted out with a gallery and workshop space where people can learn about fermentation.
Ogura Hiraku’s aim is to make the workings of invisible fermentation microorganisms visible through design. He has collaborated with producers and researchers from all over the country on projects centered on fermentation and microorganisms. Through his research and field work, he encountered a huge variety of fermented foods.
“While visiting local producers and being shown different kinds of miso, saké, and soy sauce, I often came across fermented foods I had never seen before. The locals would tell me, ‘Actually, we’ve had this in our village for ages.’ That’s when I realized there are so many fermented foods unique to each region.”
Over the span of three years, from 2017 to 2019, Ogura visited 150 producers to collect fermented foods in all 47 prefectures. He then curated an exhibition called Fermentation Tourism Nippon — A Journey to Rediscover Japan Through Fermentation, which showcased different types of fermented foods from all 47 prefectures.
The 2019 exhibition presented fermented foods from all prefectures in Japan
The exhibition attracted around 50,000 people, a clear indication that fermentation is gathering a lot of interest. Ogura also established connections with producers all over the country through his regional visits.
“In talking with producers, I gained a keen understanding of what they need and what is necessary to preserve their culture. This led to the idea of creating a place where producers who make fermented foods, those who consume them, and organizers can come together to nurture this culture.”
This idea turned into Hakko Department, the concept of which is Fermenters of the World Unite! The store collects traditional fermented foods that have been cultivated over centuries and tells their backgrounds and histories. It also hosts food workshops and presentations so that people can enjoy traditional ingredients in their modern diets and provides opportunities to hear from and learn from producers.
Ogura takes pains to point out that Hakko Department is not a specialty boutique. The 450 fermented products in the store are all items that he discovered on his travels or gathered through his connections with producers. The products he stocks, however, are not just those that he personally thinks are delicious. Fermentation culture is regional in nature, and so the tastes that resonate are also personal in nature. This is why Ogura does not necessary select well-recognized items; rather, he aims to have a comprehensive assortment of products that covers all categories.
Rows of local fermented foods rarely seen in other stores are on display
“Take soy sauce for instance. We carry seven types: koikuchi [rich tasting], usukuchi [light tasting], saishikomi [double-brewed], tamari [dark and rich tasting], shiro-tamari [white tamari], fish sauces, and Kyushu soy sauces. Within these categories, we have several subcategories. Among the Kyushu soy sauces, we have koikuchi, standard amakuchi [sweet tasting], and usukuchi versions of amakuchi. Why carry so many varieties? Because while some flavors may be unfamiliar to most people, they may be indispensable or nostalgic for others. People from all backgrounds visit here and purchase items tied to their roots. We keep a balance between this sort of demand and supply.”
Exactly as Ogura says, Hakko Department’s miso shelves feature haccho miso fermented with only salt and soybeans from Okazaki, Aichi, and miso fermented solely with barley from Uwajima, Ehime. There is also natto made from a mixture of soybeans and koji from Yamagata as well as goishi-cha, a tea fermented by microorganisms from Kochi, and matsuura-zuke, a rare delicacy made by marinating whale cartilage in saké lees from Yobuko, Saga. Hakko Department gathers these very regionally specific condiments and foods under one roof.
The shelves dedicated to writings about fermentation, including travelogues, novels, and essays, cover many different fields
Hakko Department’s café restaurant began serving a fermented vegetarian lunch course meal in October of this year. Fermented ingredients are used in every course — the appetizer, the fermentation tasting flight, the main course, the dessert, and drinks. Ogura got the idea to make this course from a personal challenge.
“I’m a hearty eater, but when I eat a big lunch, I get sleepy in the afternoon. So my plan with this lunch course meal was to create a slightly indulgent meal that will give diners energy throughout the afternoon without getting drowsy.”
The meal loosely incorporates the basic tenets of vegetarian Buddhist cuisine —being gentle on the body, avoiding killing living beings, and appreciating the seasonal bounty of nature. For this reason, the courses do not use any animal products or garlic or other stimulating ingredients that excite the senses. The courses are also gluten-free, making them accessible to a wide range of people.
On the day of our visit, we enjoyed fermented dim sum made with rice flour dough as an appetizer, a miso-tasting flight featuring five types of miso, and a seasonal miso soup. The main course was fermented borscht-style rice noodles, which combined the umami of pickled beetroot and sauerkraut juice with lacto-fermented pickled mushroom juice. For dessert, we had saké lees amazake fruit gratin, and to drink, we had Lao Tongzhi puer tea.
The fermented vegetarian lunch course meal uses many different fermented foods (¥2,500 per person (includes taxes and a drink))
“Even though it does not contain any animal-based ingredients, the meal tastes great because the fermented ingredients add depth to the flavor,” says Ogura. We found every dish to be exceptionally delicious and very satisfying. The dishes draw inspiration from Ogura’s world travels, incorporating ingredients like steamed dumplings made with rice flour dough popular in Southwest Asia, mixian rice noodles found from Yunnan Province in China all the way to Myanmar, Korean kimchi, and sauerkraut eaten in Germany, Northern Europe, and Eastern Europe. The arrival of each dish is an event, as you wonder “What will this taste like?”
The course meal varies by season. Because the dishes are gentle on the body while also being delicious, the restaurant is frequented by many older women and by families with young children.
Hakko Department opened in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2019 exhibition was attended by visitors from all parts of Japan and from around the world. At the moment, however, nearly all Hakko Department customers live in the vicinity, according to Ogura.
“The past six months have been a learning experience in how to communicate with people who aren’t necessarily into fermentation. In the early days, customers would come in saying, ‘I want a good soy sauce,’ and I thought a lot about how to turn such customers into allies that would nurture the culture of fermentation, who might try making mysterious pickles. Gradually, I’ve been able to expand this base of allies with people who weren’t originally into fermentation, which might be something good coming from something bad.”
Ogura says there is much he still wants to do.
“Because of COVID-19, 95 percent of what we carry at the moment is made domestically. In the future, I’d like to fill out our lineup with fermented foods from other countries. I want to collect products from the world over, like fermented teas from China, ciders from the U.S., and wine and local spirits from Europe.”
True to its concept of Fermenters of the World Unite!, Hakko Department seems poised to become even more fascinating.
At the end of our visit, Ogura gave his thoughts on the future of fermentation.
“I believe that the store staff, the producers who gather here, and our customers are showing the way forward for fermentation. Fermented foods were originally born out of necessity, as a way to preserve food and supplement what was lacking in people’s diets. However, as time has passed, fermented foods have evolved into something that people eat because they taste good and make because it is fun. Communities of like-minded people have even formed around fermented foods. The idea that even the effort involved is enjoyable, and that’s why we continue, will be, in my opinion, the core of a new generation of fermentation culture. In other words, what’s important for the future of fermentation is that we and our fellow enthusiasts who nurture the culture of fermentation continue to enjoy it.
“Going forward, I hope that Hakko Department will become a place where people come to learn about the background and significance of each fermented product and have fun doing so. In this spirit, I want to share fermentation cultures from all over Japan and around the world.”
Fermentation designer
Fermentation designer
Born in Tokyo in 1983, Ogura studied cultural anthropology at Waseda University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences. During his studies, he spent time in France to study painting. After working for a time as a salaried worker, he went on to study fermentation science as a graduate student at Tokyo University of Agriculture. After graduation, he established a fermentation lab on a mountain in Kofu, Yamanashi, where he explored the world of microbes while cultivating microorganisms every day. Ogura collaborates with fermentation producers nationwide on product development, picture books, animé, and workshops. His Temae Miso no Uta [Songs About Prized Miso], a picture book and animé, won a Good Design Award in 2014. In 2015, he published the O-uchi de Kantan Koji-Zukuri [Make Koji At Home Easily] picture book and launched a koji-making workshop. In addition to being active as a fermentation culture ambassador overseas, Ogura has appeared in magazines and on radio and television. From 2017 to 2019, he traveled to all 47 prefectures to uncover ultra-local fermentation cultures. The fermentation exhibition he curated at Shibuya Hikarie was a huge success. He opened Hakko Department in 2020 in Shimokitazawa.