Nihon Chomiryo Tabi
Marujuoya Aji Marujyu Dashi Shoyu (丸十大屋 味マルジュウ)
The story behind it
Autumn in Yamagata. Groups gathering around pots along the riverbanks for imoni is one of the prefecture's seasonal sights. Would it surprise you to hear that this one bottle is what decides that flavor?
Marujuoya was founded in 1844 as a safflower merchant, and its Aji Marujyu is a dashi-infused shoyu combining honjozo shoyu with dashi from katsuobushi and other sources. In Yamagata people say the taste of Marujyu is the taste of home, and its standing as the first name that comes to mind is overwhelming. Seasoning imoni takes this bottle and nothing else.
The history of Yamagata as a merchant city built on safflower, and the everyday life of its people, are dissolved into this flavor. This is not a souvenir memory. It is what people in Yamagata actually use, brought to your table.
How to use it
For seasoning imoni, with beef, konnyaku, taro, and green onion. Use it straight on chilled tofu, ohitashi, or natto, or dilute it 5 times for a noodle broth.