Yamasa

The company was founded in 1645 by the first Hamaguchi Gihei, who came to Choshi from the Kishu region near Yuasa – a place Yamasa regards as the cradle of soy sauce. The humid, cool summers and mild winters in Choshi suit soy sauce brewing; the company is still based there and has been brewing for twelve generations. Since 1895 it has supplied the Japanese Imperial Household.

Did you know?

• The logo is made up of a mountain-shaped roof (yama) with the syllable sa beneath it. The character 上 at the top right recalls the title of highest-quality soy sauce granted to Yamasa by the shogunate in 1864.
• During the 1854 tsunami, the seventh Hamaguchi Gihei set fire to sheaves of harvested rice to warn the villagers and lead them to safety. The story "Inamura no hi" was later taught in Japanese schools.
• In the 1950s the company's researcher Akira Kuninaka discovered that the umami taste of dried katsuobushi fish comes from inosinic acid.

What we stock

We offer soy sauce in a 1-litre bottle, in a 200 g glass bottle and in a less salty 150 ml version. Also teriyaki in a glass bottle and in a large 1.1 kg pack, thick unagi sauce – a sweet glaze for eel and sushi – and yuzu citrus sauce for gyoza dumplings.