Brewing Perfection: Kikkoman’s Craft Soy Sauce

Take a look inside your cupboard. Chances are, you’ll find a bottle of a dark, salty, and savory sauce from this famous, long-standing Japanese company, a perfect complement to rice and countless other dishes. Since the Edo period, Kikkoman has been refining its skills in producing some of Japan’s finest soy sauce, now found in households around the world. Receiving the 2024 OMOTENASHI SELECTION Grand Gold Award for their luxuriously produced Goyougura series soy sauce, Kikkoman has perfected its craft through around 300 years of brewing and sourcing only the finest quality ingredients.

Join us in this exclusive interview with one of the world’s most famous Japanese food companies.

Could you please introduce yourself and the company?

In June 2022, we opened “Kikkoman Honten” and primarily sell products focused on ingredients and manufacturing methods through e-commerce and mail order. While our main business involves soy sauce, soup bases, and processed soy sauce products, “Kikkoman Honten” operates as a model to deliver products directly to customers.

Given Kikkoman’s nearly 300-year history, how does that legacy influence your current operations?

While Kikkoman soy sauce is now used in over 100 countries worldwide, in Japan — its birthplace — we embody the spirit of “learning from the past to understand the present.” We preserve the best of tradition while evolving our approach to soy sauce, conveying its enduring value.

What is the origin story of Kikkoman’s Goyougura series soy sauce?

Kikkoman was granted the status of Imperial Household supplier (currently the Imperial Household Agency) in 1908.

In 1939, the Imperial Household Soy Sauce Brewery (commonly known as Goyougura) was constructed. Later, due to deterioration, it was relocated to the side of the Noda Factory during renovation work. However, the original wooden fermentation vats, roof trusses, roof tiles, stonewalls, and gate were reused, recreating the structure close to its original form.

Here at Goyougura, we continue to brew soy sauce for the Imperial Household Agency using traditional methods, just as we have for generations.

What would you say sets the Goyougura series apart from Kikkoman’s standard soy sauces, both in process and flavor?

The soy sauce crafted at Goyougura was born under the spirit of “crafting the finest soy sauce using the best ingredients.” Only domestic soybeans, wheat, and salt are used. Because the ingredients directly determine the final quality of the soy sauce, we evaluate numerous production areas and varieties, selecting only the raw materials best suited for soy sauce production.

Even in the ingredient processing stage, we steam the soybeans until they are soft enough to eat as is, meticulously and carefully drawing out the ingredients’ umami while brewing the soy sauce. Using carefully selected domestic soybeans and wheat, we brew it richly to slowly draw out its umami and sweetness. And we still use the traditional method of aging it in cedar barrels.

“Kikkoman Honten Goyougura” is characterized by its robust aroma and firm saltiness (enmi), making it a soy sauce that pairs well with bold ingredients like tuna and red meat.

On the other hand, “Kikkoman Honten Goyougura Nama” features the gentle aroma of raw soy sauce, the freshness of freshly pressed soy sauce, and a deep umami that further enhances the flavor of the ingredients.

Soy sauce is a global pantry staple; what do you hope international customers understand or appreciate about your more premium offerings?

The “Kikkoman Honten Goyougura Series” is fermented and aged through the gentle seasonal temperature changes of four distinct seasons, making it the ideal method for soy sauce brewing.

This traditional method, combined with our refusal to standardize the final product (a common practice in soy sauce production to adjust variations in ingredients or fermentation), means we deliver the sauce exactly as it naturally finishes. Minor variations are part of its character. Enjoying each unique encounter is part of the charm of this product.

Do you personally have a favorite way to enjoy Goyougura soy sauce in a dish?

Kikkoman Honten Goyougura: Tuna sashimi (red meat), beef steak (with soy sauce and wasabi).

Kikkoman Honten Goyokura Nama: As a sukiyaki broth base, salmon and yellowtail sashimi.

Goyougura received the 2024 OMOTENASHI SELECTION Grand Gold Award. What does that recognition mean to you and your team?

We are honored that our efforts to preserve tradition while innovating new expressions have been recognized. This external endorsement also makes it easier to recommend to our customers.

Before we conclude, do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share with the readers of Arigato Travel?

We look forward to the day you use our soy sauces at your table for special occasions. Please also consider it for seasonal gifts or as a thoughtful souvenir; it truly means a lot to us.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story and the remarkable craftsmanship behind Kikkoman’s Goyougura soy sauce. Your dedication to tradition, quality, and hospitality truly shines through each bottle. We hope more people around the world will come to appreciate not only the deep, layered flavors but also the centuries of culture and care that go into every drop.

Learn more about Kikkoman on:

Website: https://www.kikkoman.co.jp/honten/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kikkoman_honten/
OMOTENASHI SELECTION: https://omotenashinippon.jp/selection/en/prize/2400-01-002/

Featured Photo Credit: Kikkoman

Looking to try more Japanese food while you’re visiting us here? Make sure to book a spot on one of our tours in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, or Hiroshima to try tons of delicious dishes and learn more about Japanese cuisine!