Nihon Chomiryo Tabi
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Shodoshima has been making shoyu (soy sauce) for 400 years. As most of the country switched to steel tanks, a large number of kioke (wooden barrels) survived on this island. The idea that the microbes living in the wood give each brewery its own flavor is not folklore here. It is how these breweries still work.
Leave the island and you are in Sanuki udon country. The broth starts with iriko, dried sardines, and shoyu decides the finish. Because the noodles are the star, the soup has to hold together rather than shout. That is why dashi-blended shoyu took root here.
- Shodoshima, with 400 years of brewing and many kioke still in use
- The soup that iriko dashi and Sanuki udon call for
Is Kagawa shoyu sweet?
People often say Kagawa shoyu is sweet. It is not that simple, because sweetness is not the rule everywhere in the prefecture. What is sweet is the local palate: sweet-simmered kintoki beans on scattered sushi, sweet bean-paste mochi floating in white miso soup at New Year. That fondness for sweetness carries over into what people want from shoyu.
Meanwhile, Shodoshima, the shoyu-producing part of the prefecture, mostly makes honjozo koikuchi (the standard dark shoyu) with no sweeteners added. Udon soup usually calls for usukuchi (lighter in color, higher in salt). So Kagawa holds two things at once: a food culture that likes sweetness, and a production area that does not sweeten. If you want the sweet style, look for a sweet type from a maker inside the prefecture. If you want to taste Shodoshima kioke brewing, choose honjozo.
Where Shodoshima shoyu came from
Shoyu brewing on Shodoshima is said to have begun about 400 years ago. The story goes that crews quarrying stone for the construction of Osaka Castle brought shoyu from Yuasa in Kishu to the island as a seasoning. Islanders who took an interest sailed to Yuasa, learned the method, and brought it home. In other words, the technique of Wakayama, held to be the birthplace of shoyu, crossed over to an island in the Seto Inland Sea.
By the Meiji era the island peaked at roughly 400 breweries trading with wholesalers in Kyoto and Osaka. Kagawa still ranks 5th in Japan for shoyu shipments, and much of that comes from Shodoshima. The district where the breweries cluster is called Hishio no Sato, the village of shoyu.
Local dishes and their seasonings
- Shoyu Mame (しょうゆ豆)
- Dried broad beans are roasted and, while still hot, steeped in a mixture of koikuchi shoyu, sugar and chili. The dish dates to the Edo period, and one story has it starting when beans roasted to serve pilgrims on the Shikoku 88-temple route rolled into a shoyu jar. Sweet and hot sitting side by side is a good summary of how Kagawa uses its shoyu.
- Sanuki Udon (讃岐うどん)
- Dashi from iriko, seasoning from shoyu. Since the noodles lead, the soup is judged on how well it comes together rather than how strong it is. Udon soup is usually made with usukuchi, and this eating habit is also why dashi-blended shoyu became a fixture in the prefecture.
Makers in Kagawa
- Yamaroku ShoyuFounded about 150 years ago
A brewery on Shodoshima still working in kioke. Believing that the yeast and lactic acid bacteria living in the wood are what give each brewery its flavor, they have also taken up the craft of building new kioke. Their saishikomi (brewed twice, with shoyu instead of brine) shoyu is sold as Tsuru Bishio. - Kamada ShoyuFounded in 1789
A maker in Sakaide. An early mover in dashi-blended shoyu, known for flavors built around Kagawa's udon culture.
Stories from this area
Nearby prefectures
