Yasuo Yamamoto , a 5thgeneration soy sauce producer on Shodoshima Island in Western Japan, started crafting wooden barrels himself. This was to preserve the traditional wooden barrel brewing method of soy sauce for the next generation. The body and flavor of soy sauce is imbued by microorganisms that inhabit the wooden barrels and breweries. However, due to industrialization, wooden barrel craftspeople have disappeared and usable wooden barrels could be lost in a few decades. Mr. Yamamoto started to reach out to fellow soy sauce brewers across Japan to encourage them to use his wooden barrels. “My job is not to make soy sauce. It is to connect our generation with the next. My ancestors have done the same.” We’ll take a close look at the Yamamoto and his unique way of having dual professions of crafting wooden barrels and brewing soy sauce.

For more information about Yasuo Yamamoto's soy sauce, visit https://yamaroku.net/

The true, rich taste of soy sauce aged in KIOKE (wooden barrels). Soy sauce is aged like fine wine and whiskey. Each brewer's microbial terroir of active cultures is unique, resulting in distinctive flavors and aromas. KIOKE SHOYU perpetuates traditional production methods. A truly premium soy sauce.　
website: https://kioke.jp/

Produced by the documentary unit "RITORNELLO FILMS". We are producing a video series that conveys the essence of Japanese manufacturing.
website: https://www.glocalcraft.com

Music Masakazu Uehata
Translator Yuko Koichi
Director, Camera, Editor Naoki Uchiyama / Toru Kubota