Maruhide Shizenichi Shoyu (丸秀醤油 自然一醤油)

The story behind it

Kyushu shoyu (soy sauce) is sweet, but most of that sweetness comes from added sweeteners. Maruhide Shoyu in Saga answered the question differently: it adds rice amazake to the moromi (the fermenting mash) and lets fermentation alone produce the sweetness.

Founded in 1901. Live whole soybeans that would sprout if planted, koji made from Saga-grown Shirogane wheat, and salt from Nagasaki. The batch ferments for 2 years, left to the brewery's resident microbes and the ambient temperature. The finished shoyu carries a soft fruit aroma that people compare to apple or peach.

Kyushu's sweet-shoyu culture and additive-free tennen jozo (naturally brewed, no temperature control) were thought not to go together. A small brewery in Saga connected them.