Message
Greetings from The President
Yamagen Jouzou Co., Ltd. CEO Mamoru Yamamoto
Former President Mamoru Yamamoto

The start of this company was 245 years ago, in the first year of the Anei era (1772), when my ancestor Chobei Muroya began running a rice mold business in Yokota-machi, in the Ecchu Takaoka region of the Kaga domain. The name Muroya refers to a family that runs this kind of business. Ever since then, we have developed our company, focusing on the manufacture and sales of fermented food products such as miso and soy sauce.

In recent years, the diet of Japanese people has changed a great deal. People’s lifestyles are in general becoming more western, and their eating habits are becoming both more diverse and more simplistic. Consumption of the traditional fermented food products that are an important part of traditional Japanese cuisine is on the decline. On the other hand, overseas in areas like America and Europe, these markets are experiencing rapid growth.

Like in the old saying “a bowl of miso soup a day keeps the doctor away”, fermented foodstuffs like miso are an important part of a healthy diet, and the viewpoint that these traditional foods are a part of why the Japanese people have a longer life expectancy than anywhere else in the world is now well established in foreign countries.

These fermented products that have come to be highly valued abroad are produced using a special mold that grows on rice, called koji. There are three important factors that must be considered when cultivating this mold.

1) Climate and Natural Features (water, seasons, humidity, etc.)
2) Tradition & History (fermentation cellars, warehouse conditions)
3) Technique (skill of workers, taking care of the product)

Water is the major deciding factor in the finished products.

Because a lot of snow falls here in Toyama, we have an abundant supply of high quality underground water. The topography going from the mountainous regions to Toyama Bay features a drastic drop in elevation, and as a result the water flow does not slow and become clouded with sediment but flows fast and stays pristine. There is also a clear division between each of the four seasons, and humidity remains high throughout the year. In this way, Toyama’s climate and natural features support our company’s rice mold production.

In addition, we have retained the traditional techniques and finely detailed approach established by the previous proprietors, and as a result of the blessings of the beautiful surroundings and the conservative values of this area, where the people still observe the yearly courtesies, maintain lifestyles with a traditional etiquette, and have an esteem for traditional Japanese cuisine, our company has continued in business for many years.

As a contribution to the popular slow foods movement sweeping the globe, Japanese cuisine offers one of its cornerstones: rice mold.

With a self-awareness that are company’s roots are in rice mold manufacturing, our mission is to strive always to create ever more delicious, safer, and higher quality products. In addition, we will not rest on our laurels as an old business with a long and distinguished history, but continue to devote ourselves to our ideals and their transmission to the next generation.

In conclusion, it is my hope that fermented food products, which even now contain a kind of magic that cannot be completely explained by modern science, will continue to be loved all over the world for many years to come. We hope for nothing more than to continue to receive your patronage, guidance, and encouragement in the future.

ごあいさつ
お客様へ
―ルーツは麹づくり―
山元醸造株式会社　前社長　山本衛

当社の起こりは、今から約250年前の安永元年(1772)に、先祖の室屋長兵衛が、加賀藩領越中高岡の横田町で麹屋を営んだことに始まります。室屋とは麹を作る家のことです。爾来、味噌醤油を中心とした発酵食品の製造販売に事業を進展させて参りました。

近年、私たち日本人の食生活は大きく変化しました。生活様式が洋風化し、食習慣が多様化・簡便化して、伝統的な発酵食品の消費は減退しているのが現状です。しかし、一方で、欧米等の海外では日本の発酵食品の消費は急速に伸びてきています。

「味噌汁のみの医者要らず」という古いことわざに象徴されるように、味噌などの発酵食品は医食同源の根幹、長寿大国日本の要因のひとつが伝統的発酵食品にあるとの見方が海外でも定着しているのです。

日本の発酵食品は、麹の働きによって造られます。
麹の育成を支えるは次の三要素です。

1) 気候風土 (水、四季、湿度等)
2) 伝統、歴史(発酵蔵、蔵癖)
3) 技術 (職人技、手をかける)

特に水は麹づくりの何よりもの決め手です。

富山は雪が多く降るおかげで良質な地下水が豊富です。標高の高い山岳地から富山湾までの高低差の激しい地形のために、水は淀むことがなく清澄です。また、四季の変化が明瞭で、しかも年間を通して常に湿度が保たれています。そうした富山独特の気候風土に、当社の麹づくりは支えられて参りました。

そして、富山の大地に育まれた農産物の実り、先人たちが築き上げてきた伝統技法と深いこだわり、年中行事や人生儀礼とそれにまつわる食文化を尊重する保守的な地域性等、私どもを取り巻く、この土地ならではの恵みを背景とし、社業を長年月にわたり継続させて参りました。

世界に冠たるスローフーズ、日本食の礎は麹にあります。

社業のルーツが麹づくりにあることを強く自覚し、より美味しく、より安全で、より良質な製品づくりに一路邁進することが当社の使命です。
加えて、老舗にありがちな歴史伝統に安住することなく、当社の理念を次世代にしっかりと伝承させて参ります。

最後に、現代の科学でも解明し尽くすことのできない効用を持つ、魔法のような発酵食品が、いついつまでも世界中で愛され続けることを祈念し、挨拶の結びとさせていただきます。皆々様には、今後も変わらぬご愛顧と、ご指導ご鞭撻を賜りますよう、何卒宜しくお願い申し上げます。