Seasonings of Chiba

Chiba shoyu set the standard for Kanto koikuchi

Chiba shoyu is what is meant by Kanto koikuchi. The color is dark, the aroma lifts, and the balance of salt and savory flavor is clearly drawn. The food of Edo favored strong seasoning in soba broth, simmered dishes and tsukudani, so shoyu suited to those palates came to be brewed in Shimosa.

The reasons lie in ingredients and transport. The Hokuso plateau grew soybeans and wheat, the salt fields of Gyotoku supplied salt, and the water routes of the Tone and Edo rivers reached Edo directly. Hot, humid summers move fermentation along and bring out the strength of the koji (the fermentation culture Aspergillus oryzae), which also supports the aroma of koikuchi. People sometimes find that Chiba shoyu tastes sweet, but that is an impression created by the thickness of its savory flavor and aroma; it is not sweetened with sugar as the sweet shoyu of Kyushu is.

Kanto shoyu grew up in Choshi and Noda

Chiba shoyu grew up around two towns, Choshi and Noda. From the early Edo period onward, in place of the kudari shoyu shipped in from the Kansai region, the Kanto koikuchi suited to Edo palates came to be brewed here.

The main reason was location. The raw materials, soybeans, wheat and salt, were available nearby, and the water routes of the Tone and Edo rivers ran straight to Edo. As the population of Edo grew, so did demand, and the breweries of both towns sharpened their techniques for large-scale production. That current, known as Kanto jimawari shoyu, continues in the fact that Chiba is still one of the leading shoyu-producing prefectures in Japan. Places like Katori, where small breweries survive to this day, also help to carry the brewing culture across the prefecture.

Local dishes and their seasonings

Namero (なめろう)

A fisherman's dish of the Boso peninsula. Blue-backed fish such as horse mackerel or sardine are chopped with a knife together with miso, scallion, ginger and shiso. The name is said to come from it being good enough to lick the plate. Notably, it is made with miso rather than shoyu.

Futomaki Matsuri-zushi (太巻き祭りずし)

A large rolled sushi made for celebrations on the Boso peninsula. Ingredients are arranged so that flowers or animals appear in the cross section, rolled up in vinegared rice and nori. How the vinegar and shoyu are used decides the flavor.

Rakkasei Miso (落花生味噌)

A side-dish miso made by deep-frying the peanuts that are a Chiba specialty and coating them with miso, sugar and shoyu. It has long been enjoyed as an accompaniment to rice.

Makers in Chiba

• Chiba ShoyuFounded in 1854
  A shoyu brewery in Katori. They continue tennen jozo (naturally brewed, no temperature control) in the kioke they have used since founding, valuing the aroma the kuratsuki yeast (the brewery's own resident yeast) produces. Using only domestic whole soybeans, domestic wheat and salt, they release their flagship Shimosa Shoyu.
• Sunomiya Jozosho
  A maker of persimmon vinegar in the hills of Katori. Without adding a single drop of water, they rest persimmons alone for over three years to make an unheated, unfiltered cloudy vinegar. Their flagship product is Kohso-su Kaki no Shinzui.
• Kisaichi JozoFounded 100 years ago
  A vinegar maker in Kamagaya. They release Kioke no Itteki, a sake-lees vinegar left to ferment undisturbed in cedar barrels and then layered with rice vinegar. The maker's vinegar has been used by Edomae sushi chefs.