Nihon Chomiryo Tabi
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The area around Kawajima, ringed by the Arakawa and Irumagawa rivers, lay on the boat route that sent goods to Edo. Brew the soybeans and wheat grown locally, then send it down the river to Edo. That is why shoyu (soy sauce) breweries have continued here since the Edo period.
Ways of eating that involve brushing on shoyu and grilling, as with Soka senbei, have also taken root. Having shoyu close at hand shaped the foods of the area directly.
- Shoyu brewing since the Edo period, supported by boat traffic on the Arakawa
- The lineage of Soka senbei, brushed with shoyu and grilled
Saitama shoyu is described as mellow, with a perceptible sweetness
Saitama shoyu is often described as mellow, with a sweetness on the palate. It belongs to the koikuchi (the standard dark shoyu) lineage of the Kanto region, yet unlike the sweet shoyu of Kyushu it is not sweetened with added sugar. What creates that impression is said to be the fullness of savory flavor that comes from whole-soybean brewing and long aging in kioke (wooden barrels).
Behind this flavor lie the soybeans and wheat grown in the granary belt of Kawagoe and Kawajima, and the water of the Arakawa and Irumagawa rivers. Being adjusted to the palates of a nearby consuming market, and the slow brewing that each brewery has continued by resting the shoyu in kioke for over a year, are also thought to contribute to that mellowness.
One corner of Kanto shoyu, running since the Edo period
Shoyu brewing in Saitama goes back to the Edo period. Fueki Shoyu in the town of Kawajima, Hiki County, was founded in 1789 and is known as a brewery now in its 12th generation. In this area, once the granary belt of the Kawagoe domain, soybeans and wheat were grown close by, and the shoyu brewed here was carried to Edo by boat on the Arakawa and Irumagawa rivers.
As for where shoyu itself originated, there are competing accounts including Noda and Choshi in Chiba and Yuasa in Wakayama, and Saitama is not the birthplace. Still, the role played by breweries here as one of the Kanto shoyu producing areas supplying Edo was not a small one, and old breweries still remain across the prefecture in Kawajima, Kawagoe, Hidaka and elsewhere.
Local dishes and their seasonings
- Hiyajiru Udon (Suttate) (冷汁うどん（すったて）)
- A cold udon dish long enjoyed in the Saitama summer. Ground sesame, miso, cucumber, shiso and myoga are loosened with cold water, and boiled udon is dipped into it. It is recorded in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' Uchi no Kyodo Ryori collection, a cooling dish fitting for wheat country.
- Niboto (煮ぼうとう)
- A dish eaten mainly around Fukaya, in which wide fresh noodles and local vegetables are simmered in a shoyu-based broth. The noodles go into the broth with their dusting flour still on, which thickens it. Shibusawa Eiichi is said to have been fond of it, and it is recorded in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' Uchi no Kyodo Ryori collection.
- Chushichi-meshi (忠七めし)
- A signature rice dish handed down at the restaurant Nihyakuyonen in the town of Ogawa, Hiki County. Nori, wasabi and yuzu serve as condiments, and hot dashi is poured over. It is counted as one of Japan's five great rice dishes, and the aroma of its shoyu dashi carries the food culture of the area.
Makers in Saitama
- Fueki ShoyuFounded in 1789
A shoyu brewery in the town of Kawajima, Hiki County, under the trade name Kinbue. Using only soybeans, wheat and sun-dried salt, they brew whole soybeans by tennen jozo (naturally brewed, no temperature control) in large kioke for over a year. The main site includes Kinbue Shoyu Park, where visitors can see the brewery with its rows of kioke. Their flagship product is Kinbue Marudaizu Shoyu.
Nearby prefectures
