Aged Soy Sauce
The process takes a year to make.

KISHIBORI SHOYU is manufactured by Takesan Company. Established in early 20th century by Yoshiji Takebe, it is located on the small island of Shodoshima in the Seto Inland Sea, between the main Japanese island of Honshu and neighboring Shikoku.

Takesan Company only uses the finest quality whole soybeans, wheat and sea salt. The steamed soybeans, toasted wheat, salt and mineral water are left to ferment in well-seasoned cider barrels for one year. The barrels themselves have been in use in the production of soy sauce for more than 100 years.

Like miso, traditionally brewed shoyu is a fermented soy food, so it has many of the same nutritional properties. The natural fermentation process converts soy proteins, starches and fats into easily absorbed amino acids, simple sugars and fatty acids. A recent study by the National University of Singapore reports that the dark soy sauce has antioxidant properties that are 10 times more potent than red wine, and 150 times more effective than vitamin C.

It is the high concentration of brown pigment in shoyu that is thought to contibrute to its strong antioxidant and anticancer properties. Shoyu is also said to aid in digestion and be rich in minerals.