Heritage Koshu Miso & Fermentation Culture at Gomi Shoyu
Oct 13,2022
Oct 13,2022
“Although we have shoyu [soy sauce] in our name, we are a miso shop.” Telling us this is Gomi Hitoshi, the sixth-generation owner of Gomi Shoyu, a beloved local miso shop founded 150 years ago in the city of Kofu. Hitoshi is part of the Fermentation Siblings, along with his sister Yoko and fermentation designer Ogura Hiraku, a group that is enthusiastically spreading the message about the benefits and wonder of fermentation and brewing culture. We spoke with him about the activities of the Fermentation Siblings and about traditional miso-making that has been passed down for generations.
Gomi Shoyu has been making koshu miso continuously for 150 years in a residential area along a national highway in Kofu, Yamanashi. What sets koshu miso apart is that it includes a blend of two types of koji mold: one from rice and one from barley. This miso is famously used in hoto, a local Yamanashi delicacy consisting of flat udon noodles and vegetables in a miso soup. Hoto is a tradition dating back some 500 years — historical records indicate that the powerful feudal daimyo lord Takeda Shingen himself ate hoto — that is still loved by locals today. Preserving the production of this historic type of miso is Gomi Hitoshi, the sixth-generation owner of Gomi Shoyu.
“Our miso is fermented naturally. Following the traditional method, we prepare both rice and barley koji right from the outset. Since each type has to be processed differently, it doubles the amount of work. For example, rice needs to be soaked overnight, but barley only needs 90 minutes. On the other hand, rice needs to be steamed for one hour, while barley needs precisely one hour and 20 minutes. You can see why we can’t make it all in one process. So you might ask ‘Why use barley koji too if the work is so hard?’ The answer is that people couldn’t harvest a lot of rice in this narrow basin of land here. To extend the amount of miso they could make, people mixed in barley koji. It wasn’t for any positive reason like adding barley made the miso more delicious. It was about making do with what could be harvested from the land, adapting it, and passing it down. But over time, people became fond of koshu miso, which is why it remains to this day.”
Hitoshi studied brewing and bio-business at university. He learned the age-old method of making Gomi Shoyu miso from the previous owner, his father.
“Since the miso is fermented naturally, it’s affected by the environment, especially by temperature and humidity, so every batch is different. However, the ingredients and the method have already been perfected, so I don’t see any reason to change them. We had a string of very hot days recently, so the color turned out slightly darker than we expected. So I had to apologize for the miso being so darkly tanned during my deliveries. [laughs] It would probably be much easier for us to install new equipment and use electricity to power the operations instead of doing them by hand and make an absolutely consistent product. But rather than shifting in that direction, I feel making miso in the classic way and selling it while occasionally having to apologize is the true meaning of preserving traditions.”
An artisan tends to rice inoculated with koji mold in a cedar-planked production room. The rice is spread out flat to a thickness of about three centimeters and managed to keep it at the optimal temperature. Hitoshi says: “The typical process is to lay out the rice a little thicker and maintain the temperature with forced air, which is more effective. But this is our family’s traditional method.”
The miso is matured in a traditional method in large wooden tubs that have been in use for 70 years. Coopers used to be common in every town and village, but now only two companies in the entire country still employ artisans who can make the large tubs.
Hitoshi wants to preserve the traditions of the entire food culture. This is why he’s gone even further back in time and started growing his own rice last year to make his koji.
“I began thinking we should grow our own rice too. But after getting my hands into it, I really understand just how hard rice farming is. Nevertheless, it’s still a lot of fun.”
Gomi Shoyu’s signature product is koshu miso, which has a complex, rich flavor that is enhanced by the distinctive sweetness of barley miso
The store attached to the miso warehouse offers a wide selection of fermented products. Yamago is the name of Gomi Shoyu’s shop and features in the logo as well.
On the Gomi Shoyu grounds, alongside the miso warehouse and shop, stands another building: a pure white, mountain-shaped structure called Kanente. Opened in 2017, Kanente serves as a space for various workshops, including prized temae miso classes in which participants learn how to make miso.
“After graduating from university, I decided to see more of the world and worked for three years at a soy sauce producer in Thailand. After returning home in 2008, my very first assignment was managing our miso making workshops. I went around running workshops at various locations on my own until 2013 or so. When my sister decided to move back to Kofu, it sparked a plan to create a space where we could have more control over what we did. I designed Kanente in the shape of a mountain, from the mountain character in our shop’s name Yamago. I wanted the building to catch the attention and curiosity of passersby.”
Located along a national highway, Kanente exudes a sense of playfulness just from its eye-catching appearance
The name is derived from a local name and embodies Hitoshi’s desire to have all kinds of people meet and develop in this space
Having their own space enabled the siblings to suddenly expand their activities beyond workshops.
“Our warehouse is right behind Kanente, so we have all the ingredients and equipment on hand. This meant we could do more things and accommodate more people. Some people come every year, and others share their delicious miso with their friends. And other people bring their friends. The miso-making circle has definitely expanded with the new space. We also renovated an area in the miso warehouse — which was a space where we once produced soy sauce but hadn’t been used in 35 years — and turned it into a space called Tane. At the moment, Akito Coffee, which operates a coffee stand in Kofu, uses Tane as a pastry kitchen and roastery. We had hoped this place would become more than just a miso-making spot — a place that instigates communication. So seeing people gather here and connections grow is truly wonderful.”
Tane, meaning “seed”, was named in the hope of being a place that sows the seeds that make the community and life more enjoyable. The miso warehouse is visible from the patchwork walls made from reclaimed timber.
Hitoshi is also involved in the Fermentation Siblings, a group consisting of himself, his sister Yoko, and fermentation designer Ogura Hiraku, who was featured in a previous article on this site
（ https://mag.marukome.co.jp/20201224/13859/）
“To be absolutely honest, I don’t remember exactly when the three of us started Fermentation Siblings. But it began because my sister and Hiraku worked at the same company. One day, Hiraku came here to interview me for their company newsletter. As someone involved in traditional fermented foods, I found his perspective, shaped by his studies in cultural anthropology, incredibly fascinating, and we became close right away.”
Not long after, Ogura left the company and went independent. He began helping Hitoshi with the design of the Gomi Shoyu website and product packaging.
“At some point, I talked to them about how to get kids more interested in miso, coming from the miso making workshops I’d been running for years. Not taking ourselves too seriously, we began writing songs. Since we had taken the time to write the songs, we didn’t want to leave them in a half-finished state. So we produced them with a professional team. These songs turned out to be Temae Miso no Uta [Songs About Prized Miso].”
Temae Miso no Uta won a Good Design Award in 2014. It generated a wave of interest, including the publication of a picture book. The video has gotten 210,000 views on YouTube (as of September 2022).
The Fermentation Siblings are now involved in a wide range of activities including planning fermentation-related events with the city of Kofu and local businesses. One of these is their radio show called Fermentation Siblings’ Cozy Talk, broadcast every Saturday on Yamanashi Broadcasting System (YBS).
“We’ve decided to only do things as the Fermentation Siblings that all three of us genuinely believe are great. That’s how we started our radio show, which has been running now for seven years. The show basically centers on fermentation, but we have been expanding its worldview with the occasional guest. Even though it’s broadcast weekly, we never run out of topics to cover. Whether it’s the radio show, or events, or creating spaces, whenever we get people together using fermentation as a tool, it quickly gets very interesting. All I can say is fermentation itself is like alchemy. It makes food last longer, boosts its nutritive value, and makes it taste better. And, as my former university professor Koizumi Takeo would say, fermentation also makes food smelly. In the same way, when interesting people get together, the whole atmosphere gets that much more interesting, just like fermentation.”
“One of my earliest memories is my father’s smell. He’d carry the sweet smell of koji with him when he returned from the warehouse at night.”
For Hitoshi, with memories like this, miso has always been a central presence in his life. What motivates him to carry on his activities promoting the culture of fermentation?
“As I described earlier, koshu miso didn’t arise from particularly positive circumstances and it wasn’t preserved with any lofty intent. It just so happened that everyone around here ate it, and because there were so many households that made miso in Yamanashi, our family made koji too. Koshu miso is something that survived through the changing times, intertwined with all these cultural anthropological elements: the historical background, the land and fermentation conditions, and the food culture. Food culture is fascinating when viewed from a historical perspective. Even some incredibly strange food could become part of the culture if it could survive for a hundred years or so. If I were to invent some kind of food, by the time my great-grandkids’ generation came around, they’d surely think ‘That old guy’s idea is still with us!’ When you think of it this way, food culture is truly epic. This is what appeals to me and what I find most interesting.
“It’s true of all fermented foods, but the way we make miso is very labor intensive and some parts of it probably don’t make sense today. But the times have come around full circle, and people are looking at wooden tubs again in a new light. So, if we are going to continue making miso, then I want carry on the tradition and connect with history guided by a strong sense of purpose.”