With Mimiko we visited some well known places, but also had a few adventures off the beaten tracks….
Izumo
Hamono in Minari-Okuizumo
Mimiko asked if there were other things we wanted to see while in Japan… we are were more open to any suggestions, but one thing was on our list (well mostly Patrick’s list), to see a true Japanese blacksmith making knife blades – Hamono (刃物).
And actually Mimiko pointed out we were not far from Unnan & Okuizumo region, THE place for traditional sword forged blades – tatara.
Now you will say there is a difference between a samurai sword and a knife … sure! That is why we tried to find a hamono blacksmith, and not the prestigious, museum like tamahagane makers.
Although we got an address and phoned them… once guide on site with GPS we could not find the place, or at least it looked empty, so as not to waist more time we went to nearest restaurant, turns out they knew about the hamono place and guided us to them, just 150m along the perpendicular street!
Morita Shoyu
As we continued our walk in this small town of Minari (Okuizumo-Cho), Hélène noticed what looked like a shoyu (soy sauce) factory…. peaking through the entrance…. and 10’ later we were given a full lecture and guided tour on the authentic fabric of shoyu. The young “boy”, Kohei Morita, was passionate about his work, as it turned out he is the son of the owner and came back to help the family business, returning from a major city with a university diploma in biochemistry.
Some stages in the shoyu making were hard to follow, like when is the kooji mixed with wheat and soybeans? versus steaming the soybeans, adding the wheat, etc… But we were not here to steal a recipe! And there are ways to get further information: what you always wanted to know about the 麹 Kooji secret but never dared to ask
We got the feeling the son will perpetuate the traditions, but also use his training in biochemistry to invent new variations and off products. They are proud of their product, and should be, so for instance they prefer personalized customers that will have made the effort to visit them and understand their way of working so the customer also somewhat shares this passion…
They realized the importance of the wooden barrels, and as there are very few people that still know how to manufacture them, they learned how to repair & maintain these barrels … this takes place in another warehouse ~2km from the factory, Kohei even took us there to show us.
Also check the hoops (what keeps the barrel together) as they are made of laced bamboo (and not metal)!
All this effort and time to show us around and explain, even though we were clearly not some potential regular customers, had not book any appointment etc… We did our best to payback by praising his shoyu´s which indeed were very tasty to all we met after that visit.
great! you found a gem of a blacksmith!