Interview with Masami Tsukiyama, head of Tsukiyama Bakery
Since 1912, Tsukiyama Bakery has made a variety of breads, including its popular keshi-pan.
In its hometown of Tamashima, it is so beloved by residents that it could be called a soul food.
We interviewed Masami Tsukiyama, head of Tsukiyama Bakery, about the bakery’s beginnings, the care put into its products, its future plans, and more.
Founded in Osaka in 1912, restarted in Tamashima after the war
Could you tell us how the bakery got started?
Tsukiyama (honorific omitted)
It was founded in 1912.
This year (the interview took place in 2020), it marks 108 years since its founding.
It was founded by my husband’s grandfather.
After him, my husband’s father took over, then my husband, and now I am the head of the bakery.
Unfortunately, I haven’t heard many details about the early days.
The founder, my husband’s grandfather, was from Tamashima, but I’ve heard that he went to Osaka to train as a baker and worked at the “Maruki-go Bakery,” which existed at the time.
In “Maruki,” the character “ki” is enclosed in a circle.
He then met an American, and the two of them opened a bakery in Osaka in 1912.
That was the beginning of our bakery.
Apparently, they were already selling our current best-selling product, keshi-pan, at the time.
That’s why the current keshi-pan bags say “Formerly Osaka Maruki-go Bread.”
The founder chose to include those words because they mattered to him.
So I’ve kept them as they are.
Why did you end up opening a bakery in Tamashima?
Tsukiyama
Osaka was bombed during the war, and our bakery was also damaged.
I’ve heard that nothing was left of the shop. So we don’t know where in Osaka the founder’s bakery was located.
After the war, the founder returned to his hometown of Tamashima and reopened the bakery.
That became the Tsukiyama Bakery we have today.
It’s in the same location as now.
Took over running the shop when her husband became ill
How did you come to take over the bakery?
Tsukiyama
About ten years ago, in 2020, my husband became ill and could no longer work. He asked me to take over, so I began running the shop in his place.
I had helped out at the shop before, but I’d had nothing to do with the management, so it was a big adjustment.
I managed somehow, learning little by little from my husband at his bedside. But a few years later, he passed away.
At one point, I considered closing the bakery, but many of our business partners told me, “Customers are saying they don’t want you to stop, so please keep going.”
My husband had also said he wanted me to continue for as long as possible. So I decided to keep the shop going, as long as I didn’t overdo it.
My daughter helps out now, too.
Supplies bread mainly to supermarkets in Tamashima
I heard that wholesale is your main business. Where do you supply your bread?
Tsukiyama
Mainly in the Tamashima area (the former Tamashima City).
Most of our wholesale customers are supermarkets.
If you visit supermarkets in Tamashima, you’ll find our bread in many of them, though not all.
We also supply some independent shops.
Recently, we’ve also started supplying the Michiguchi Parking Area on the Sanyo Expressway.
Some customers who bought our bread at the parking area liked it so much that they went out of their way to come to our shop on another day to buy more.
We also supply a few shops in Kurashiki and Mabi.
The red bean paste has been a signature flavor since the bakery’s founding
What do you take particular care over in your products and in running the shop?
Tsukiyama
The thing I most want to preserve is the flavor of our smooth red bean paste.
We make it ourselves, and we’ve kept the same flavor since the bakery was founded.
It’s the red bean paste in our best-selling keshi-pan.
Keshi-pan has been around since the bakery opened, and of course we’ve been making the paste since then, too.
Customers praise it as “a flavor you can enjoy only at Tsukiyama Bakery.”
Besides keshi-pan, we use the same red bean paste in our fried bread and anpan, too.
The key is that we cook it for about three hours every day, and that we get the sweetness just right in our own way.
What are your hopes and plans for the future? Is there anything you’d like to try?
Tsukiyama
Honestly, I don’t know what the future holds. (laughs)
So I think it’s about taking things one year at a time and doing what’s in front of me.
And doing what I can.
Tsukiyama Bakery’s bread is nostalgic in both taste and appearance
Tsukiyama Bakery’s exterior, bread packaging, and the flavor of its bread all have a wonderfully nostalgic feel.
The bread is simple, yet makes you want another piece—and makes you want to come back and buy more.
I love keshi-pan, too, and sometimes buy several bags when I happen to see it in a shop.
Tsukiyama’s bread could well be called a soul food of Tamashima.
It’s amazing that the bakery was founded in 1912 and has a history of more than 100 years.
I hope it continues making its long-established, nostalgic-tasting bread for many years to come.
Tsukiyama Bakery details
| Name | Tsukiyama Bakery |
|---|---|
| Address | 1-5-8 Tamashima Chuo-cho, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-522-3608 |
| Parking | None |
| Hours | 1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. |
| Closed | Wednesdays, Sundays, and public holidays |
| Payment methods |
|
| Reservations | Accepted Products can be set aside by phone |
| Seating | None |
| Smoking | Entirely non-smoking |
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