About 2.5 kilometers northwest of the Bikan Historical Area.
“Tora Shoyu,” a soy sauce brewery near the Takahashi River (Takahashigawa), one of Okayama Prefecture’s three major rivers, is one of the oldest companies in Kurashiki City.
Its tiger-face logo is familiar not only in Kurashiki but throughout Okayama Prefecture.
My family has used Tora Shoyu for as long as I can remember.
In recent years, Tora Shoyu has also become popular for its seasonings made with ingredients from Okayama Prefecture, such as yellow chives and cilantro.
Here we introduce Tora Shoyu, a long-established company that has supported the dining tables of Okayama residents for many years and grown alongside the local community.
The information presented was current when this article was published in March 2019. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Tora Shoyu: A Soy Sauce Brewery Founded About 150 Years Ago
Tora Shoyu was founded in the late Edo period, in 1860.
That was the same year as the Sakuradamon Incident at Edo Castle.
Tora Shoyu is one of Kurashiki’s most venerable companies, with a history of more than 150 years.
Today, the company is headed by its seventh-generation representative director, Masaki Miyake.
When it was founded, Tora Shoyu was called the “Miyake Soy Sauce Shop.”
The name came from the surname of its founder, first-generation owner Kijuro Miyake.
It was founded in Sakazu, now part of Kurashiki City.
The company remains at the same location today.
Sakazu lies on the banks of the Takahashi River, near its confluence with the tributary Oda River.
This makes it possible to draw high-quality water.
In addition, the southern part of Bitchu Province, where Sakazu is located, was a production area for soybeans, wheat, salt, and other key ingredients for soy sauce.
Sakazu was also a base for Takase-bune boats traveling along the Takahashi River, making it advantageous for transportation as well.
Because Sakazu was so well suited to soy sauce brewing, it became the founding location of the Miyake Soy Sauce Shop (Tora Shoyu).
Since its founding, Tora Shoyu has made food products with a focus on food safety, security, and trust.
Guided by its philosophy of “bringing families together through food and contributing to society,” this locally rooted company makes a range of products, including soy sauce.
During the Taisho period, the company also presented soy sauce to the Imperial Household.
Tora Shoyu has received numerous other awards and earned high acclaim.
Origin of the Company Name
Tora Shoyu was originally called the “Miyake Soy Sauce Shop,” but in 1918 it became “Miyake Soy Sauce Co., Ltd.”
Then, in 1950, it changed its name to its current one: “Tora Shoyu Co., Ltd.”
▼In Kurashiki, Tora Shoyu is known for its tiger-face logo.
But why “Tora” (tiger)?
As it happens, the zodiac sign opposite the fourth-generation head and first company president, Jihei Miyake, was the Tiger.
The “opposite zodiac sign” is the sign directly opposite your own when the zodiac signs are arranged in a circle.
In other words, it is the sign six places away from your own.
Jihei Miyake was born in the Year of the Monkey, so the Tiger was his opposite zodiac sign—and the inspiration for the company name.
The name was inspired by a saying at Kibitsuhiko-jinja Shrine in Ichinomiya, Kita Ward, Okayama City, that “cherishing your opposite zodiac sign brings prosperity in business.”
Main Products Made by Tora Shoyu
Tora Shoyu offers a wide range of products, including soy sauce, soy sauce-based products, sauces, tare, and dressings.
It also offers its “Takumi Brand” gift series and gift sets.
Soy Sauce
The company makes honjozo (naturally brewed) and blended soy sauces.
▼This soy sauce, marked with the tiger-face logo, is familiar to people throughout Okayama Prefecture.
▼Other products, such as “Kintora” and “Bessen,” have also been loved in the region for many years.
Honjozo soy sauce is the traditional kind made from soybeans, wheat, and salt.
Blended and blended-brewed soy sauces contain added amino acid liquid.
▼The company also makes other products, including “Sashimi Soy Sauce,” a twice-brewed soy sauce, as well as soy sauce for businesses and school meals.
Soy Sauce Products
Soy sauce products are made with a soy sauce base, with additions such as dashi.
▼Tora Shoyu’s popular “Yellow Chive Soy Sauce” is made with yellow chives, a local specialty of Okayama Prefecture.
Other products include the long-selling “Aji Tora,” noodle soup base, and soy sauce for tamago kake gohan (rice topped with raw egg). These have become a signature product category for Tora Shoyu, alongside soy sauce.
Other Products
Tora Shoyu also offers sauces for yakiniku and ginger pork, as well as sauces and dressings.
▼Among them, the “Okayama Cilantro Dressing,” made with cilantro from Okayama Prefecture, is especially popular.
▼For sauces, the company has also taken over the “Tomoe” brand, a long-established Okayama company, and makes various Tomoe sauces.
▼It also makes “Hishio-yaki,” baked sweets made with soy sauce.
Stores Selling Tora Shoyu Products
Tora Shoyu products can be ordered through the company’s official online shop on Rakuten Ichiba.
▼The “Kurashiki Meisankan” in the Bikan Historical Area also carries a wide selection of Tora Shoyu products.
Kurashiki Meisankan stocks nearly all of Tora Shoyu’s main products, making it convenient to compare them before buying.
You can also buy Tora Shoyu products at the company’s headquarters.
In addition, Torashoyu products are sold at supermarkets, food retailers, and other stores throughout Okayama Prefecture, particularly in Kurashiki City.
Please refer to the map of retailers on the official website.
How Soy Sauce Is Made
Here is an introduction to how soy sauce is made at Torashoyu.
It takes about one year to make soy sauce.
The brewing process is as follows:
- Steam the soybeans and roast the wheat
- Mix the soybeans, wheat, and koji starter
- Make koji, then prepare the moromi mash
- Add salt water to the moromi and leave it to ferment
- Press the mash to extract the soy sauce
- Heat-treat the soy sauce to sterilize it
- Filter
- Fill containers with soy sauce and apply labels
▼Soy sauce brewing begins with preparing the raw ingredients: soybeans and wheat.
▼The soybeans are placed in a huge tank called an NK tank and steamed.
As soon as I entered the work area, I was greeted by the pleasant aroma of steamed soybeans.
▼The tank on the left contains roasted wheat.
▼The tank at the upper right contains water.
▼Roasted wheat is added to the tank of steamed soybeans and mixed.
The work area apparently gets quite hot in midsummer.
▼After mixing, the ingredients are sent to the adjacent koji-making room and left there for about three days.
Inside the koji-making room, it is very hot and humid, almost like a sauna.
▼After three days, the mixture has become koji.
▼The finished koji is taken to a moromi tank, where salt water is added.
There are several moromi tanks, each about three meters deep.
▼After fermenting in the moromi tank for about eight months, the moromi is ready.
After inspection, the moromi moves on to the pressing stage.
The moromi is pressed in a press, extracting raw soy sauce.
▼A huge tank contains raw soy sauce.
The raw soy sauce is then blended and seasoned before undergoing heat treatment.
Heat treatment is a sterilization process using heat.
Heating causes impurities in the soy sauce to rise to the surface.
After filtering them out, the soy sauce is ready.
▼The tank for the finished soy sauce is also enormous.
It holds an astonishing 4.5 kiloliters.
I was overwhelmed by its size.
▼Soy sauce-based products go through an additional process here, using dedicated equipment.
Soy sauce for sale is filled into containers, labeled, packed into boxes, and shipped.
▼A machine is used for filling.
▼Labeling and boxing are also done by machine.
▼Some products are labeled and boxed by hand.
The aroma of the soybeans in Torashoyu’s work area and the scent of the finished soy sauce brought back memories of the familiar smells I remember from my family’s storehouse when I was a child.
In the second half of the article, we interviewed Torashoyu Director Yukihiro Murakami about changes in the environment surrounding soy sauce and his passion for making it.
Tora Soy Sauce Co., Ltd. data
| Organization name | Tora Soy Sauce Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food manufacturing and sales (soy sauce, seasonings, miso, drinking water, alcoholic beverages, etc.) |
| Representative | Masaki Miyake |
| Year established | Established: 1918; founded: 1860 |
| Address | 2362 Sakazu, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-422-0233 |
| Website | Soy Sauce Brewing, Soy Sauce Making, Specialty Soy Sauce, Processed Soy Sauce Products | Tora Soy Sauce, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
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