Microbe magic

微生物魔法

Yamamoto may be the only brewer at his company, but he’s not working alone. The way he sees it, his role is to care for the millions of microbes that are hard at work. So twice a day, he clambers into his loft and gingerly walks across the narrow planks to smell the moromi, mix the mash when it’s active and “talk to the bacteria from deep inside my soul”. And according to Yamamoto, the bacteria talks back by bubbling louder. “I think it shows that they’re happy,” he said. “[When] the bacteria is happy and works hard, it creates fantastic soy sauce.”

山本可能是他公司中唯一一位釀造師，但他卻不是一人單槍匹馬。對此，他的看法是，他的職責就是照顧這些數百萬個辛勤的微生物。所以他每天都會兩次爬上閣樓，小心翼翼地踩著狹窄的木板，聞一聞這些諸味的氣息，攪拌這些冒著泡泡的醬油醪，還會「與菌種們進行深度交流。」根據山本的說法，菌種會啵啵作響得更大聲地來回應他。他說：「我想這就表示它們很快樂。而[當]菌種快樂地努力工作時，就會釀造出夢幻般的醬油。」

Yamamoto speaks of his shoyu as though it were a loved one, and in many ways, it is the past and future of his family. In addition to passing down the knowledge of shoyu brewing, the most important thing Yamamoto’s ancestors did was to pass down the actual bacteria needed to brew it. Yamamoto’s century-old storehouse was built using bacteria-filled beams that have been in his family for 300 years. This, together with the family’s 150-year-old kioke, is how the Yamamotos have created and maintained their two distinct shoyu varieties over generations: the robust, creamy and intensely rich Tsuru and the lighter and more delicate Kikuza.

山本提起醤油的口吻，就好像它是他的親人一般，而在許多方面而言，它確實也是家族中的過去與未來。山本的祖先除了傳承醤油釀造的知識之外，最重要的事就是傳承釀造所需的真正菌種。他這個具有百年歷史的庫房是採用佈滿菌種的橫樑來建造的，而這種橫樑已存在在山本家300年了。這個以及150年的木桶就是山本家數代以來用來創造與維持兩種不同醤油的方法，這兩種就是：醇厚、綿滑、濃縮的「鶴醤」以及更輕淡精緻的「菊醤」。

 

Kioke custodian

木桶守衛者

Today, there are more than 1,400 soy sauce companies in Japan, and Yamaroku is one of the last to only use kioke. While this distinction has helped Yamamoto revive the family business in a more craft brew-friendly era, it also means that his family’s fragile ecosystem faces an uncertain future. Because kioke can only last about 150 years, Yamamoto’s ancestors never had to make them. Now, many of his barrels are on the brink of becoming unusable.

現今日本有超過1,400家的醬油公司，而山六是少數幾家仍只使用木桶的公司之一。雖然這股特質有助於山本在這個更喜愛手工精釀的時代重振家族企業，但是這也代表這個家族脆弱的生態系統面臨著一個未知的未來。因為木桶只能保存大約150年，所以山本的祖先根本不需要自製木桶。但是如今，許多桶子都快要無法使用了。

Before World War Two, hundreds of companies across Japan built kioke for shoyu, sake, mirin and other seasonings. Today, there’s only one: Fujii Seiokesho. When Yamamoto contacted them in 2009, he discovered that they hadn’t received an order for a new kioke in 70 years, and had spent the past seven decades repairing the ageing barrels still used around Japan. What’s more, he learned the youngest cooper at the three-person company was 68 years old, had no successors and was retiring in 2020. So, while Yamamoto could buy his barrel, soon no-one would be available to fix it.

在第二次世界大戰之前，全日本有數百家的公司為醤油、清酒、味醂和其他調味料製作木桶。現今，卻只剩一家：藤井製桶所。當山本在2009年與他們聯繫時，他發現他們已經有七十年沒有接到任何新的木桶訂單了，而在過去的七十年裡他們都在修理日本仍在使用的舊桶。更重要的是，他才知道原來這家三人公司中最年輕的一位桶匠已經68歲了，沒有傳承者，而且將在2020年退休。因此，雖然山本可以向他購買他所製的桶子，但是很快地就沒有人可以來修理它了。

Recognising that the future of his company and all authentically fermented Japanese foods depended on the continuation of this craft, Yamamoto and two carpenters travelled to Fujii Seiokesho’s workshop outside Osaka in 2012 to learn the ancient art for themselves. After three days of instruction and a year of practice, they made their first barrel in 2013.

在意識到他的公司與所有正宗日本發酵食品的未來都繫在這門手藝的流傳上後，山本和兩位木匠在2012年時前往藤井製桶所在大阪外的廠房，自己學習這門悠久的藝術。經過三天的指導和一年的練習，他們在2013年終於製造出第一個桶子。

 

Hidden treasure

隱藏的珍寶

Making these mammoth 4,000-litre barrels requires a team effort. More than 40 planks of 100-year-old Yoshino cedar are rounded and laid vertically to form a cylinder. To lock the planks into place, Fujii Seiokesho’s craftsmen told Yamamoto not to use glue, but bamboo. After talking to a neighbour, Yamamoto learned that his grandfather had planted a bamboo grove decades earlier for exactly that reason, knowing that someone in the family would one day need to build more barrels.

製作這些4000公升容量的巨桶需要耗費龐大的精力。要將超過40片的百年吉野杉木板直立著圍成一個圓筒狀。藤井製桶所的工匠告訴山本，要將木板固定在位置上的話，需要使用竹子而不是膠水。而山本在和鄰居聊過之後，才知道他的祖父為此在幾十年前就種下了一片竹林，因為他確信總有一天家族中的人會需要建造出更多的桶子。

For each kioke, Yamamoto searches in the grove for just the right shoot, cuts it and shaves it down to make elastic strips that he slowly weaves into braided bamboo hoops. These cylindrical hoops are then hoisted atop the barrel and carefully hammered into place to prevent any liquid from seeping out.

山本會在竹林中為每個木桶找尋最適合的幼枝，在裁切竹子、剃下多餘的枝葉後，製出具有彈性的竹條，然後再將其慢慢地編紮成竹箍。接著托著這些圓柱箍從桶子頂部小心地鎚打在正確的位置上，使液體不會滲漏出來。

Since 2013, Yamamoto and his colleagues have constructed 23 barrels, but he hasn’t kept most of them. As word of his quest to revive kioke craftsmanship spread, Yamamoto has started receiving orders from other fermented food producers across the country. “When these three people [at Fujii Seiokesho] retire, they won’t be making barrels anymore, which means I’ll be the only person left who can make them,” he said.

自2013年起，山本和他的同事已經製造出23個桶子，但是大多數的桶子都沒有留下來。隨著他要復甦木桶工藝的消息傳出之後，山本開始接到來自全國各地其他發酵食品生產商的訂單。他說：「當（在藤井製桶所的）這三人退休後，他們就不會再製作任何桶子了，也就是說我將會成為唯一一個會製造它們的人。」

 

A secret worth sharing

值得分享的秘密

Yamamoto knows that if he doesn’t find a viable successor, the skill behind soy sauce’s secret ingredient will die with him. So every January, Yamamoto has hosted a 10-day kioke-making workshop at his family’s home and brewery where he teaches fellow craftsmen the essentials of kioke construction. Since 2014, more than 100 shoyu brewers, carpenters and other fermented food makers from all over Japan have attended, and more and more students are coming every year.

山本知道，若他無法找到一個可靠的傳承者，這門製造醤油秘密配方的技術將會亡於他這一代。因此，每年一月，山本都會在他老家與釀造廠舉辦為期十日的木桶製作研討會，教導其他工匠木桶製造的重點。自2014年起，已有超過百位來自日本各地的醤油釀造師、木匠和其他發酵食品製造商會來參加，而每年也有越來越多的學生會加入這個行列。

The group typically makes nine new barrels together in each workshop, and while Yamamoto keeps some of these kioke, he gives most to other companies. As he sees it, the only way authentic shoyu can survive is to build more kioke, reacquaint the world with how it’s supposed to taste and drive up demand. To do this, he’s proposed an ambitious goal to other brewers: to increase the Japanese market from 1% to 2% – a leap that would require the construction of 3,000 additional kioke.

每場研討會他們通常都會一起製造出九個新桶，山本雖然會保留其中的一些，不過大多都是給其他的公司。在他看來，正宗醤油能夠續存下來的唯一方法就是造出更多的木桶，讓世界重新認識它真正的味道，推動需求。為此，他向其他釀造師提出一個遠大的目標：讓日本的市場從1％增加到2％，而要達到這個目標，得要再製造出3,000個木桶才行。

“Yamamoto is very respected among other soy sauce producers in Japan,” said Takahiro Hiramatsu, an aspiring shoyu brewer in Shodoshima. “He is a hero of soy sauce.”

小豆島上一位有志一同的醤油釀造師平松表示：「山本備受其他日本的醬油生產商的推崇。他是醬油的英雄。」

 

Royal blend

御用特調

At one of these January workshops several years ago, Yamamoto remembers a man attending who was especially keen on learning the basics of kioke repair, but was hesitant to explain why. Yamamoto later learned that the man worked for Kikkoman – the world’s largest soy sauce producer – and had taken what he learned from Yamamoto back to the company. Since then, Kikkoman has started using several old kioke that were laying around its factory in Noda to supply authentic soy sauce to the Japanese emperor and imperial family.

在一個幾年前的一月研討會中，山本記得有個參加者對學習修復木桶的基礎知識特別的熱衷，卻不願意解釋原因。山本後來才得知這名男子任職於全球最大的醬油生產商龜甲萬，並將他從山本那裡所學到的知識帶回公司。從那以後，龜甲萬就開始使用許多放置在野田工廠周圍的舊木桶，為日本天皇與皇室提供正宗的醬油。

Shortly after, a few senior officials from Kikkoman stopped by to examine Yamamoto’s storehouse, watch his process and see if they could replicate his fermenting methods. They couldn’t. Nonetheless, Yamamoto kindly invited the staff back for his next January workshop to learn more, and Kikkoman has since asked Yamamoto to come to their Noda factory several times to advise them on their rare, royal blend.

不久之後，一些龜甲萬的高層前來訪查山本的庫房，察看他的製法，看看能不能複製他的發酵法。他們無法做到。儘管如此，山本還是親切地邀請這些人員再來參加下一回的一月研討會，學習更多知識，而龜甲萬從那之後也多次請求山本到他們的野田工廠來為他們稀有的御用特調提供意見。

“Kikkoman’s staff received a lot of useful advice from him,” said Haruhiko Fukasawa, general manager of Kikkoman’s foreign administration department. “A relationship has formed based on his kindness.”

龜甲萬海外管理部部長深澤晴彦說：「龜甲萬的員工從他那裡得到許多有用的建議。這樣的關係得多虧他的好意才能建立得起來。」

 

Future generations

未來世代

To date, none of the more than 100 craftsmen who have attended Yamamoto’s workshops have been able to master kioke construction. Like brewing authentic shoyu itself, it’s a slow and strenuous process. That’s what led so many brewers to give up long ago. And while Yamamoto will likely never be able to make enough kioke to save traditional soy sauce and Washoku cuisine in his lifetime, there are three main reasons why he presses on.

至今，這些參加山本研討會的100多名工匠仍然未有一人能掌握木桶的建造。就像釀造正宗的醤油本身一樣，這是一個緩慢而艱苦的過程。這也是造成許多釀造師在很久以前就放棄它的原因。雖然山本終其一生可能都無法製造出足夠的木桶來挽救傳統的醬油與和食料理，但是讓他不願放棄的原因主要有三個。

With every new kioke that Yamamoto makes, he writes his name and the names of his three young children on an inside panel of the cedar wood before sealing it shut. They, in turn, leave their handprints on the underside of each barrel. Yamamoto’s daughter has started running into the family storehouse to ask if she can taste her father’s shoyu. His oldest son, who Yamamoto hopes will one day take over the family craft, now eagerly leads him into his great-grandfather’s bamboo grove to search for shoots.

山本每製作出一個新的木桶，就會在將他的名字和他三個孩子的名字寫在一片密封前的杉木內板中。而他們則會依次將手印留在每個桶子的底面。山本的女兒已經會跑進家族的庫房裡問說她可不可以嚐嚐父親的醤油。山本希望他的長子有朝一日能夠接管家族手藝，而現在後者則急著想進入曾祖父的竹林中尋找幼枝。

By the time Yamamoto’s newest kioke are fully caked in the family’s centuries-old bacteria, he may be gone. By the time they finally split apart to reveal the family names written inside, his children and grandchildren may be, too. But Yamamoto hopes that whoever discovers them in the future realises something he learned long ago: “The reason I can consume this soy sauce today is because somebody I didn’t know hundreds of years ago made it.”

到了山本最新製出的木桶完全被家族具有幾百年歷史的菌種覆蓋結塊時，他可能已經不再人世了。而到了後代終於將木桶拆開，露出裡面所寫的名字時，他的孩子與孫子也可能不再人世了。但是山本希望不論未來是誰揭開它，都能了解他在很久以前就已經知道的：「這個醬油是因為某個幾百年前我所不認識的人把它製作出來，所以現在我才能夠吃到它。」