History
From Ancient China’s Jiang to Japanese Soy Sauce
For years the backbone of Japanese food culture, Kikkoman soy sauce is now used in over 100 countries worldwide. If you were to search out its roots, you would come upon China’s “Jiang”. Through experience, we learned that while it is being immersed in salt for preservation, food ferments and ages, bringing out its’ umami flavor. This is said to be the origin of soy sauce. This type of soy sauce was introduced to Japan around the time of the Yamato Imperial Court era (250 AD -710 AD) from China and the Korean Peninsula.
Noda: Birthplace of Kikkoman Soy Sauce
During the 100 years from the mid-17th century to the mid-18th century, the soy sauce industry flourished, centered around the Mogi and Takanashi Families, near the present day city of Noda in Chiba Prefecture. It was during this period that Kikkoman Soy Sauce also was born.
Noda is located on the Kanto Plain, which was one of the few top-producing regions in Japan for soybeans and wheat. The nearby city of Edo (present day Tokyo) flourished as the center of Japan, and with population increase, a large market would be built. Noda is surrounded by two main waterways, the Tone River and the Edo River, and as such was a location especially well-suited to the transport of both raw materials and manufactured soy sauce product.
From Noda Shoyu to Kikkoman Corporation
It was mainly in order to ship soy sauce to Edo that several soy sauce brewers organized an association. By the mid-19th century, Noda was the largest soy sauce producer in the Kanto region.
In 1917, the Mogi, Takanashi and Horikiri families merged their businesses to form Noda Shoyu Co., Ltd. Then in 1964, Noda Shoyu Co., Ltd. changed its corporate name to Kikkoman Shoyu Co., Ltd. This trade name was altered in 1980 to the company’s current name: Kikkoman Corporation.
Kikkoman Soy Sauce Crosses the Ocean
Japanese soy sauce was already being exported overseas by the mid-17th century. Export of Kikkoman Soy Sauce began in the mid-19th century. However, it was after the Second World War that Kikkoman’s overseas business significantly expanded.
Kikkoman Expands Overseas After WWII
Following the war, upon seeing that many of the military personnel and journalists, as well as educators and scholars stationed in Japan had become familiar with soy sauce based Japanese cuisine, Kikkoman saw great potential in overseas expansion. Currently, Kikkoman has three soy sauce production plants in Japan, and eight soy sauce production plants overseas and sell our products in markets worldwide. Kikkoman’s goal is to make Kikkoman Soy Sauce the global standard of seasoning.
About Kikkoman
Bringing trusted quality and authentic flavor to every kitchen.
