Five Generations of Making Soy Sauce the Traditional Way

Japanese shoyu, or soy sauce, was traditionally brewed in vats over two years in a process that dates back to the 7th century. Over the past 60 years, global demand gave way to industrialization, and today less than one percent of shoyu is produced in the old way. But on the island of Shōdoshima, Yasuo Yamamoto ferments soy beans traditionally in bamboo barrels similar to the ones his family has built for the past 150 years. And while it takes four times longer than the modern way to produce, the results ar