ichibiki: Master of Tamari Soy Sauce and Mame Miso

Soybean miso and tamari soy sauce [a dark and rich tasting soy sauce] are inseparable from the food culture of the Tokai region. Ichibiki Co., Ltd., headquartered in Aichi, began as a soybean miso and tamari soy sauce brewery. Ichibiki, today, has expanded into many product lines, including seasoning miso and fermented foods using koji rice malt, in addition to miso and soy sauce. We visited the company to speak with President and Representative Director Nakamura Koichiro and Factory 1 General Manager Bito Naoyuki.

Josan oke, Japan’s largest miso preparation tanks, have been in constant use since the Meiji period

The former town of Goyu, now merged with the city of Toyokawa and home to Ichibiki’s Factory 1 facility, once flourished as the 35th post town, called Goyu-shuku, on the old Tokaido road. The old Tokaido road actually runs through the premises of Ichibiki’s Factory 1. An avenue lined with pine trees stretches between Goyu-shuku and Akasaka-juku, the 36th post town. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, is said to have ordered the planting of some 300 black pines to form the avenue, which is now designated as a National Natural Monument.

“Our company’s predecessor, the Nakamura Brothers Trading Company, was founded in 1772,” says President Nakamura. “This factory has produced soybean miso and tamari soy sauce since it was built in 1911. Now, as our Factory 1, it specifically produces miso.”

The old Tokaido road runs through the middle of Ichibiki’s Factory 1 premises, dividing it into two sections.

President and Representative Director Nakamura Koichiro of Ichibiki Co., Ltd. spoke with us

Ichibiki has special wooden tanks for preparing miso that have been in use since Factory 1 was constructed. Nakamura and Factory 1 General Manager Bito showed us around the storehouse where rows of the tanks stand.

The moment we were ushered inside, the sheer presence of the massive wooden tanks lined up before us made us gasp “Wow!”

The storehouse lined with josan oke tanks is breathtaking

“These tanks, called josan oke, are the largest miso preparation tanks in Japan. They stand 3.9 meters tall and have a diameter of 3.9 meters. They were named josan oke [literally, 1 + 3 tanks] because they measure 1 jo 3 shaku in traditional Japanese units. The tanks used in other miso factories are usually 6 shaku (1.8 meters × 1.8 meters) in size, so you can imagine how significantly larger these are.

“The josan oke tanks are used for preparing soybean miso. Each tank can hold 50 tons of miso — equivalent to five dump truck loads. That means a single tank can produce enough miso for approximately 2.5 million bowls of miso soup.”

Wooden tanks used for miso preparation typically have a capacity of about five tons, so the josan oke tanks can hold ten times the miso. Currently, 38 josan oke tanks are still in active use at Factory 1.

“The oldest tank is a josan oke tank made in 1911. Others were made during the Taisho period (1912 to 1926). About 100 single planks of cedar were used to make one josan oke tank. The planks were first joined together using a technique called hozo [mortise and tenon], then secured around the circumference with special taga collar-like hoops.

“The number of craftsmen who can make wooden tanks is dwindling, but they can still be found across the country. However, there are no longer any craftsmen who can make or repair these josan oke tanks. So we have to continually maintain and use the tanks we currently have with great care.”

In recent years, Ichibiki has often been reinforcing and maintaining the josan oke tanks with metal hoops and covering them with bamboo on the outside

As Bito described the tanks to us, we observed them up close. They were in surprisingly beautiful condition and certainly didn’t show their over 100 years of use. Bito summed up the reason as, “They are like old houses.”

“You know how old houses start to deteriorate and decay when no one lives in them anymore? Wooden tanks are the same. If you were to stop making miso in them and leave the tanks empty for a while, the wood would start to dry out and gaps would form. That’s why we always make sure to start the next batch within a month. By keeping the tanks constantly in use like this, even a tank from 100 years ago can be kept in as beautiful condition as this.”

Brewing large quantities ensures consistently delicious miso

We wondered how they extract miso from the massive wooden tanks.

“In the old days, they used a basket called a biku, lowered by pulley from above, to manually scoop out the miso. Now, we use a vertical screw. We open a side port, and the miso flows out under its own weight into containers. The tank is divided inside into six sections by cedar boards. We remove these boards one by one, gradually extracting the miso. Once all six boards are removed and the miso no longer flows out on its own, we switch to manual extraction. Workers enter the tank and dig out the remaining 30 tons or so by hand. This task is always part of our new employee training.”

An illustration of the traditional miso-making process

Ichibiki has continued this traditional miso-making process since the Meiji period (1868 to 1912). Just imagining the work is itself grueling labor, so why use such enormous tanks? General Manager Bito answers. “Miso brewed in the same tank has the same quality. Using large tanks allows us to brew large quantities of miso with consistent quality.”

The desire to consistently deliver delicious products to customers is embodied in the size of the josan oke tanks and the labor they entail.

Another point is the miso made in the josan oke tanks is natural miso. It ferments naturally in the storehouse without any temperature or other controls.

“The miso we brew is shipped after it has spent two summers in the tanks. For example, miso that starts brewing in January will be ready around the time it has passed through that summer and the following summer.”

For about two years, the koji ferments and breaks down the soybeans inside the tanks, transforming them into delicious soybean miso.

Factory 1 General Manager Bito Naoyuki

Ichibiki’s passion and dedication is contained in its very name

Ichibiki has been producing soybean miso and tamari soy sauce for centuries. It began brewing as a family business in 1772. As the business expanded, it was established as a company under the name Otsuya Co., Ltd. in 1919.

The company name was changed from Otsuya Co., Ltd. to the current Ichibiki Co., Ltd. in 1961.

This panel shows how the Ichibiki trademark has evolved over the decades

“During Meiji and Taisho, our representatives would travel to Hokkaido to procure soybeans, the main ingredient of miso and soy sauce. They would carefully check each and every bag to confirm it contained high-quality soybeans. Our company had a custom of marking each confirmed bag with a single line that resembled the ichi character. Over time, people began calling us ichibiki [single-line mark], which eventually became our trademark.”

The Ichibiki trademark and company name are thus rooted in the company’s commitment and dedication to quality.。

Expanding soybean miso into new product lines and focusing on promotion overseas

While Ichibiki has continued producing soybean miso and tamari soy sauce using time-honored methods, it has also embraced numerous new initiatives to meet evolving customer demands over time.

“For centuries, Japanese food culture has been centered on rice. However, with the introduction and proliferation of Western-style eating habits, people have more opportunities to eat bread and other wheat-based foods. As a consequence, the proportion of miso consumption has gradually declined. It’s not realistic to attempt to halt this development itself. So our approach is to develop and expand products while preserving traditional miso and soy sauce so that these foods can be eaten in new ways,” says President Nakamura.

One of the first examples of this innovation is Kondate Iroiro Miso [literally, miso for every meal], launched 30 years ago and now a long-selling product. Kondate Iroiro Miso is a blend of soybean miso and rice miso and formulated with added sweetness. It’s popular as a dipping sauce for dishes like miso katsu [pork cutlet with miso sauce] and miso oden [simmered vegetables and meat in miso broth] and as a convenient seasoning for preparing dishes like double-cooked pork or mabo nasu [fried eggplant with Chinese chili sauce].

“This year is the 30th anniversary of Kondate Iroiro Miso. While people could make their own dipping sauces at home by adding sugar to miso, it seems many busy people today appreciate its convenience and ease of use.”

100% Aichi Soybean Miso (left) is scrupulous about the origin of its ingredients, while Gensen Kokusan Nama Aka Dashi [Choice Domestic Red Miso Base] is Ichibiki’s flagship product

Re: Flora (left) and Dera Genki (center) are types of lactic acid bacteria tablets containing plant-based lactic acid bacteria produced at miso breweries. Kondate Iroiro Miso (right) is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

Nakamura says they want to familiarize more young people with the taste of miso by incorporating it into various products as well as having miso straight.

“Akakara Nabe Soup, for example, is one of our popular products. It recreates the taste of the popular Akakara nabe hot pot served at Akakara, a nationwide restaurant chain, so you can enjoy it at home. We add soybean miso to the soup base for richness. You might not consciously notice the miso, but we want to promote miso more as a secret ingredient that makes dishes even tastier.”

Ichibiki is active on websites and social media, promoting its products and creating opportunities for more people to use fermented foods like miso and soy sauce.

We ended our conversation by asking about Ichibiki’s future prospects.

“Our greatest strength in soy sauce is tamari soy sauce and in miso, soybean miso. Naturally, we want many people to enjoy these at home, but going forward, we are aiming to increase the number of customers who use our products in commercial and professional settings. We also want to further our promotions and outreach to customers overseas. Soy sauce is already well-known internationally, but we want to get people specifically to try tamari soy sauce and to experience the flavor of soybean miso. These products are highly nutritious and have unique umami tastes and richness. We plan to promote ways to use our products in Chinese and Western dishes as well as in Japanese cuisine.”