Founded in 1879 (Meiji 12), the unlimited partnership Marusho Rice Vinegar Manufacturer & Co. has a deep history. We spoke with Kazuko Kosaka, the current head of the company, who is still preserving the traditional wooden vat method of vinegar making from her predecessors.
We are still making vinegar in wooden vats.
The founder’s predecessor started making vinegar at Daimonzaka, Kumano Kodo with his friends, and later established his own business in 1877 in Tenma, Nachikatsuura, where the company building is now located. Inside the store next to the brewing warehouse, there is a subtle aroma of vinegar, with a slightly sweet aroma that is not too strong. That’s no wonder. In the large brewing warehouse right next to the storehouse, vinegar was being made in wooden vats so large you could look up at them, each with its own name. The wooden vats, which are much larger than one would imagine, are said to last for 100 years. They have been in use since the previous generation and are very much loved, but the disadvantage is that they are very difficult to maintain.
The other disadvantages are that wooden vats gradually leak and evaporate 5% during the vinegar making process, which is not a problem with FRP or polyethylene tanks, but the taste is the most important thing, so they respect using traditional wooden vats over such efficiencies. Besides, the wooden vats are the best for the bacteria. The previous generation brewed in FRP, polyethylene tanks, and wooden vats to check the taste and aroma, and came to the conclusion that nothing beats a wooden vat. The number of makers of these precious wooden vats has unfortunately decreased considerably. Some soy sauce makers in Shikoku have started a project to revive the wooden vats, and now they are making a big splash. I hope they will continue to protect the wooden vats with their history and traditions.
Good vinegar is old-fashioned brewing.
Vinegar is a fermented food. Vinegar making, in which bacteria is vital, is carried out in the 12 vats that line the brewery. The vats are made from the core of a huge, precious Kumano cedar tree. The wooden vats, which continue to breathe, provide a favorable environment for the bacteria essential to vinegar production to live in. The water from the Kumano mountain range, which has the same source as Nachi Falls, springs from the well in the brewery, and the water temperature is constant at 16 degrees Celsius all year round. Low pesticide rice grown in the Kumano region, which is the raw material for vinegar, and the clean water of the Kumano mountain range are essential for making this delicious vinegar. The rich and blessed environment in which we have access to these two essential ingredients for making delicious vinegar is one of the main reasons why we have been able to continue making vinegar for so long.
The crisis we faced.
The first crisis was during World War II. Due to rationing, we were unable to make vinegar because we did not have enough ingredients on hand. Because the barrels were left empty for so long, the bacteria died or stopped fermenting. However, our predecessor did not give up and went to various places to share the bacteria, and was able to successfully make vinegar. With such a policy of our predecessor, we wanted to continue to make and sell vinegar with the quality within our capability, and we did not think of expanding our scope to that extent. However, with the rise of large supermarkets, the number of retail stores decreased, and the number of stores using inexpensive mass-produced vinegar also increased, and the number of local customers dropped from 800 at the time to 80. It was the wave of mass production of the times. Once sales plummeted, the previous generation thought about closing the store, but he decided to do what he could before that, so he went to each and every one of his customers and persuaded them to do the same. Sales, which had once fallen, stopped falling and picked up. However, he decided to broaden his business to sell outside the area because he would eventually lose his business if he continued to have only local customers. The department store product fairs were in their heyday, and the mother of the previous generation, who was an excellent seller, was very successful and made various connections. She was able to keep up with the times. Thanks in part to this “inside help,” TV interviews and magazine coverage gradually increased, and when the company appeared on the popular “Which Cuisine Show” program in 2004, the response was so great that the phone calls kept coming in. This led to a nationwide expansion, and the company began selling its products by mail order. He says that he now sells about half of his products domestically and half overseas. “If we had only focused on the local market, I think we would have gone out of business sooner or later,” Kazuko says. Kazuko says. She is still amazed by the foresight of her predecessors and her mother. “When we first started selling the square bottles we sell today, we were the only company selling square bottles, so we really stood out. My father invented it, but I thought he had good taste.” Marumasa Vinegar’s vinegar-filled square bottles come in so many varieties and are so stylishly designed that they make a good interior decoration in the kitchen. And I am truly amazed by the resourcefulness and efforts of the previous generation, who never gave up in the face of various crises, but always looked forward and kept vinegar production in view of the times.
How did you start your global expansion?
We began doing business with Western countries in the 1980s at the request of Dr. Michio Kushi, a leading macrobiotic expert. At the time, Europe and the United States were experiencing an unprecedented macrobiotic boom, and many foreign customers visited Marusho Vinegar to see the products. Then, in 2007, Kazuko had a major turning point. A fax from France, sent by a Japanese couple living in France, inquired if they would be interested in opening a Japanese boutique. The couple, who have lived in France for more than 20 years, said that the stores in Paris that stock Japanese goods now only sell products made by large corporations, and they wanted to establish a select store that stocked more high quality products made in Japan by retailers with good taste. His passionate desire and careful explanation bore fruit, and a relationship with Europe began. In the same year, when he went to Belgium for the Monde Selection award, he made a Japanese friend there and asked us to wholesale vinegar as he was a private broker. He asked me to distribute his vinegar to some restaurants and stores in Belgium, and the world began to expand. The friend became an important business partner, and they still travel together to many places overseas. The business spread again, and a trading company in Tokyo contacted us, and this time we established a connection to Italy and began exporting. Italy is a country known for its gastronomy.Because of this, she had a conservative side and was not accepted at first, but Kazuko frequented the store and now her products are placed in various restaurants and stores. The reason for exporting to Spain is that there was an exhibition of Wakayama products in Singapore, and when she exhibited, she made friends with a Spaniard, a very friendly Japanese-speaking person who fell in love with Marumasa Vinegar and became our distributor in Spain. The connection with the UK is that there is a Japanese person living in the UK who makes wasabi, and when he made an inquiry, we flew to the UK to discuss business and ended up asking him to help us. It is a very nice connection. As for future prospects, they are considering the United States, Hawaii, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and China in Asia, and Dubai, Israel, and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East are also in their sights. The key is still to find local distributors. However, he believes that fate and timing are important, so he will wait for the right time. It is exciting to think that Marumasa Vinegar’s delicious and historic vinegar will continue to spread overseas.
