『Asian Soy Sauces in Japan』 Food Coordinator and Cooking Culture Researcher, Nami Fukutome
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Series Soy Sauces of Asia 『Asian Soy Sauces in Japan』 Food coordinator and cooking culture researcher, Nami Fukutome Throughout Asia, there are countless varieties of soy bonito flakes I had brought from Kochi. These simple sauce made from soybeans and other grains. Previously yet nostalgic flavors were incredibly comforting. I in this “Soy Sauces of Asia” series, I have reported on remember feeling so grateful that I could buy Japanese my research into local soy sauce manufacturing and soy sauce even in a small town in a foreign country. usage in South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and I spoke to foreign nationals living in Japan, who Vietnam. For this article, I have switched my viewpoint have strong connections to Asia, to find out which to focus on the usage of Asian soy sauces in Japan. seasonings are indispensable to reproducing the flavors As the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games approaches, we are of home. Focusing on soy sauce, I wanted to know if witnessing a rise in overseas visitors to Japan, not only there are viable substitutes among Japanese soy sauces, to urban areas, but to rural areas too. A record number and how these foreign nationals satisfy their desire of 24 million people visited Japan in 2016, of which for authentic flavors in their homes and when eating more than 80% came from Asian countries (Fig. 1). out at restaurants. In addition to individuals from There were over 2.3 million foreign national residents in the four countries covered in my previous studies – Japan in 2016 (Fig. 2), with close to 30% of those from South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines – China, nearly 20% from South Korea, and large numbers I also interviewed people from China, Taiwan and from the Philippines, Brazil and Vietnam. Trends since Indonesia, which each have their own distinctive soy 1991 (Fig. 3) show the overall numbers have nearly doubled, sauce varieties. I asked Japanese and foreign national with notable increases in foreign residents from China/ chefs and food researchers, who have introduced Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, among others. dishes from Asian countries, how they recreated the In July 2008, the relevant Japanese government taste of home in Japan, or if they established a new ministries, including the Ministry of Education, version of their country’s cuisine relying solely on Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, established ingredients available in Japan. While my findings in a goal to welcome 300,000 international students to this report are limited to the Tokyo area, I hope they Japan by 2020. In 2015, the number of foreign students may serve as a base for future research in this field. enrolled in Japanese educational institutions exceeded 200,000 for the first time. Clearly there has been a Figure 1. Foreign Visitors to Japan by Country/Region steady increase in foreign nationals living in Japan. (2016) and Annual Trends (2007–2016) Tourists typically try to enjoy a variety of local [Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)] Japanese foods during their short stays. In contrast, Share of Foreign UK 2016 Total foreign nationals living in Japan tend to miss the tastes Visitors to Japan Canada Others 24,039,000 people of home and want to make dishes using seasonings Australia USA South Vietnam Europe, Korea they are accustomed to. How do these residents, some Philippines Americas, Oceania Indonesia who have lived in Japan for years or even decades, 12.3% Malaysia as well as Japan-born second and third generation Singapore Southeast Asia and India residents, reproduce the flavors of their homeland? Thailand 11.0% When I spent a year in France in my early twenties, East Asia Hong 72.7% I missed soy sauce–flavored broths and Japanese Kong pickles. I loved the delicious French bread sandwiches China at first, but I grew tired of them and yearned for the taste of home. With Japanese soy sauce and soumen Trends in Number of Taiwan noodles from an Asian food shop, I made soup noodles Foreign Visitors to Japan People 25 47.1 24.04 50.0(%) (millions) with a small amount of kombu tea and a sprinkling of Total number 40.0 Growth rate (year-on-year) 34.4 19.74 20 29.4 30.0 26.8 24.0 21.8 Nami Fukutome 20.0 15 13.8 Born in Kochi Prefecture, Japan. Ph.D. Food 13.41 coordinator and part-time lecturer at academic 10.0 10.36 institutions including Ochanomizu University 10 0.0 8.35 8.61 8.36 0.0 and Jissen Women’s University. Work includes: 8.35 comparative studies on ingredients, usage in 6.79 6.22 -10.0 cooking, and recipe expressions in Japan and 5 overseas; food culture studies; and tasting -20.0 workshops introducing Japanese food culture. -18.7 -27.3 0 -30.0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016(year) 14 FOOD CULTURE Figure 2. Number of Foreign National Residents in Japan (medium to long-term residents and special permanent residents) by Nationality/Region, and Proportion by Prefecture [Statistics by Ministry of Justice: Statistics on foreign national residents in Japan, June 2016] 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100(%) Philippines Brazil Vietnam Others (Unit:people) China South Korea 677,571 456,917 237,103 176,284 175,744 224,357 Total 2,307,388 people Nepal 60,689 India 27,592 USA 53,050 North Korea 33,273 Taiwan 50,908 Indonesia 39,540 【Proportion by Prefecture】 Peru 47,670 Thailand 46,690 (Unit:%) Others 19.1 Tokyo Figure 3. Trends in Number of Foreign 26.8 Shizuoka 1.7 Aichi National Residents in Japan 13.6 Gifu 1.8 Others [Statistics by Ministry of Justice, Statistics on 22.2 Ibaraki 1.8 Tokyo People foreign national residents in Japan, June 2016] Kyoto 1.8 China Nagano 2.0 13.0 (ten thousand) Hiroshima 2.0 Mie 2.6 Philippines Brazil Others 250 Kanagawa Hiroshima 2.8 Kanagawa Fukuoka 2.8 Philippines Peru 8.9 8.6 Gunma 2.8 South Korea and USA 223 Hyogo 3.3 Chiba Osaka 3.0 Saitama North Korea Vietnam 219 Saitama Ibaraki 3.8 Chiba 7.7 208 6.6 Shizuoka China 203 Aichi Osaka 8.5 Gifu 4.6 7.3 6.0 200 38 6.7 8.0 (Note: figures for China 192 include Taiwan) Tokyo 169 15.1 15 Aichi Tokyo 17 8.9 34.2 150 148 Vietnam Saitama 135 Others Taiwan Osaka 7.7 122 23 17.5 Osaka 23.1 Osaka 10 Hiroshima 1.7 7.2 Chiba Kanagawa11.2 Chiba 3.4 6.5 9.3 100 12 49 Fukuoka 3.4 South 6 Korea Tokyo Aichi Saitama 3.4 16.9 12.7 Tokyo Tokyo 19.8 Chiba 9.6 Kyoto 5.5 69 Thailand 11.5 Indonesia Ibaraki 50 Kanagawa 7.6 Ibaraki Shizuoka 71 6.1 Aichi Hyogo 9.7 5.9 6.9 9.1 Kanagawa 9.0 17 0 1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2015 (Year) China and Taiwan Soy Sauces in China and Taiwan Japan, the major brands of both varieties are available Japan has long been influenced by China, with the online and in Asian grocery stores. transmission of rice cultivation methods in the late In Taiwan, the Chinese characters for soy sauce are Jomon period (approximately 1,500 BCE), by Japanese the same as in Japan (醤油). The top brand, Kimlan envoys to the Sui and Tang dynasties, by early trade Soy Sauce, has a distinctive yellow label, and is with the Song and Ming dynasties, and later by trade similar to Kanto-style koikuchi soy sauce in taste with the Qing dynasty through Nagasaki. Pastes made and appearance. Japanese soy sauce is an obvious with food preserved and naturally fermented in salt, substitute for this variety, however, the nostalgic flavor known as hishio, were imported from continental Asia of home the Taiwanese call jiang yo gao (soy paste) and already in production in Japan during the 700s. has no such alternative in Japan. Used as a sweet The cereal-based version of this fermented product dipping sauce for dim sum, its starchy consistency was called koku-sho and is considered the prototype has prompted importers to label it in Japanese as for soy sauce and miso. Japan went on to develop ‘Taiwanese thickened soy sauce’. its own koji mold–based fermentation and brewing In Tokyo and surrounds, Yokohama Chinatown with techniques, resulting in well-established soy sauce its many Chinese grocery stores is a great hub for businesses in both the Kansai and Kanto regions in the shopping and information exchange. The basement of late 1700s, and a uniquely Japanese style of soy sauce Ameyoko Center in Ueno also offers a wide variety of with different aromas and flavors to the soy sauces Chinese and Taiwanese ingredients and seasonings, available in China. and I was told there is a whole building specializing in The two main varieties of Chinese soy sauce are Chinese goods in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. On my visit to the laochuo, referred to in Japan as Chinese tamari latter, I found one floor dedicated to Chinese books, soy sauce, and shunchuo, or Chinese koikuchi soy a floor of Chinese restaurants, and a supermarket at sauce. Laochuo is thick, black in color, and has salty the top selling a large variety of food items. Much flavors with a touch of sweetness and a bitterness like of the seasonings section was taken up by the main caramel. Shunchuo is light in color but has prominent soy sauce brands, but also included oyster sauces and salty flavors, making it most suitable for salting.