Why Only 1% of Japan's Soy Sauce Is Still Made in Wooden Barrels

A Japan documentary about the last artisans making soy sauce the traditional way. Made in Japan, for the world. Japan produces 800,000 tons of soy sauce every year. 99% of it is made in stainless steel tanks. This brewery makes it the other way. Yugeta Soy Sauce in Saitama, Japan has been fermenting soy sauce in wooden barrels since 1923. No shortcuts. No additives. Just whole soybeans, sun-dried sea salt, and water drawn from 80 meters underground — fermented naturally for over a year. The bacteria living inside these barrels are unique to this building, this town, this water. You can copy the recipe. You cannot copy the microbiome. In this episode of Unscripted Japan, we visit the fourth-generation brewer who chose to keep making soy sauce the hard way — and why that choice is becoming increasingly rare. 🛒 Try Yugeta Soy Sauce: https://thejapanesepantry.com/collect... — 00:00 Introduction 00:30 The 1% who still use wooden barrels 02:00 The Yugeta family story 03:27 How soy sauce is made 07:50 The wooden barrel revival project — Tags: Japanese soy sauce, wooden barrel fermentation, traditional Japanese crafts, artisan Japan, made in Japan, Japanese culture, Japan documentary, Japanese food, Japanese history, Saitama Japan