NaoGen Shoyu

(Naoe family soy sauce)

In the small town of Oono 大野, where the Kanazawa inlet meets the Sea of Japan is Chef Kevin Cory's family shoyu (soy sauce) brewery, Naogen Shoyu 直源醤油 since 1825. Oono town's perfect climate and high quality water create great flavor for shoyu. Oono town has been one of Japan's premiere centers of shoyu production since 1615, when it was introduced by our ancestor, Ihei Naoe-ya.

MOROMI 諸味

Naoe family shoyu is made by fermenting a mash of steamed whole Japanese soybeans, roasted Japanese wheat, koji (Aspergillus oryzae), water from Mount Hakusan (one of Japan's Three Holy Mountains), Noto's Agehama-style salt (before the earthquake), and the brewery's microbial ecosystem.

Naoe family shoyu brewery dripping and squeezing moromi drained from the wooden tub.

The Naogen Shoyu brewery townhouse in Oono is designated as a Komachinami preserved building by Kanazawa City.

The deep taste and aroma of Naoe family shoyu matches a variety of Kaga-Yasai 加賀野菜, indigenous local vegetables of the old Kaga Domain centered in Kanazawa. It is said that shoyu contains over 300 components of aromas, such as, apple, rose, vanilla and so on.

Chef Kevin Cory has introduced Naogen Shoyu to the United States at NAOE Miami.