Umajimura Yuzu no Mura Ponzu Shoyu (馬路村 ぽん酢しょうゆ ゆずの村)

The story behind it

Deep in the Kochi mountains, Umajimura has a population of about 800. Forest covers 96% of its area, and this small village is known nationwide for one thing: yuzu.

Facing the decline of forestry, the village decided to turn all the yuzu it had into processed goods. Yuzu no Mura ponzu shoyu, launched in 1986, is a plain-spoken blend of village yuzu juice and katsuo dashi. In 1988 it won the grand prize at Seibu Department Store's "101 Villages of Japan" exhibition, and orders poured in from across the country as it became a symbol of rural revival.

The yuzu aroma lifts right off it, and the ponzu is mellow enough that you could almost drink it. Behind the bottle sit a mountain village's way of life and the forest around it.