Notice of Change of Representative and Appointment of New Board Members
Dear Sir or Madam, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for your continued support and patronage. I am pleased to inform you that I am assuming the position of Representative Director by resolution of the Board of Directors. Although I am a novice, I am determined to make my utmost efforts to develop the company’s business, following the policy of the former representative. I would appreciate your further guidance and encouragement. Sincerely yours
September 2022
Yasushi Takahashi, President, TAKAMO&Corp.
President Yasushi Takahashi Chairman Yoshihiko Takahashi
News of Article Publication_Forbs Japan_September Issue
Yamamo is featured in the “POSITIVE IMPACT GUIDE” in the September issue of Forbs Japan. Yamamo was selected as one of the “CULTUREPRENEURS” that have picked up local culture and turned it into value.
Local cultures are formed in accordance with the local climate. Because we live in an area with heavy snowfall, brewers have long lived and worked collectively at the brewery. They lived together for food, clothing, and shelter, and the boundary between public and private life was blurred, so the tools and daily necessities for the kurain remain in the warehouses, giving visitors a sense of the unique culture. In addition, there remains the wisdom and systems to maintain and manage the fungal ecosystem of brewing in the heavy snow and the seasonal flora and fauna in the gardens.
We are considering how we can incorporate the values and ideas derived from these wisdoms into our industries and services. Starting with our current project of making products with new yeast, we are thinking of restructuring and touring the culture that remains in the warehouses, such as creating tea houses, tending the gardens, and managing the fields, to keep the old and new attractive values alive for the future while turning the economy around. We hope you will take a look at the article.
Impact of the “New Protagonists” on the World Cultural Maturity and Economic Impact / New Value” Created by Cultural Planners
We believe that culture planners who are attached to their culture and region and create added value will play an important role in Japan. There will be a greater need for players who can add new value to national and regional cultural resources and commercialize them. Furthermore, rediscovery and reinterpretation of attractive cultural resources that have not yet been given value will become more important. The role will be to build new circuits of culture and consumption in the “everyday” lives of people around the world, as well as to people around the world who are interested in Japanese culture, such as Japanese food and Zen.
People who have successfully picked up the culture of a country or region and turned it into value have existed throughout Japan for some time. However, it is necessary to redefine them as important, naming them “culture planners” rather than “people who are doing something revolutionary in the community. If the national government, local governments, and private sector can create an environment that facilitates the sharing of know-how and the dissemination of information to the world, their appeal and value will grow, and Japan’s cultural maturity will likewise increase. (Article excerpt)
Yamamo Miso and Soy Sauce Brewing Co. Founded in 1867. Yasushi Takahashi, the seventh generation, rebranded the company and began exporting miso and soy sauce products overseas in 2012. He organized inbound tours and set up his own cafe-restaurant and art gallery. In recent years, he has formed a yeast research and development team.
Newly launched in June 2014 as the Japanese edition of Forbes, a global business magazine that operates in 47 countries around the world. For readers with a global perspective, Forbes curates articles from Forbes’ home country editions and editions from around the world, and presents the world’s most cutting-edge information along with original articles from Japan. Forbes’ mission is to bring the people, ideas, and technologies that are changing the world to the business executive community. Forbes Japan is building on Forbes’ 100-year history, trust, and network of influential and powerful people to deliver the world’s most cutting-edge information in a variety of formats through the magazine, the Web, events, and other platforms.
Notice of Program Broadcast_BIZ STREAM / NHK-WORLD JAPAN
Yamamo’s efforts will be introduced in NHK-WORLD JAPAN’s “BIZ STREAM” broadcast to about 380 million households in 160 countries and regions around the world. The program will feature a special On-Site Report on “Innovation Through Fermentation,” which will include a VTR and studio commentary.
At the time of the interview, it was during the preparation period, so the crew stayed at the brewery for three days. In addition, Mr. Kimura, a researcher from the Akita Prefectural Food Research Center who is a member of the development team, Chef Sato who supervises our café, and Mr. Kobayashi from Domaine Chaud who worked with us on the Viamver®︎ wine were also there for the interview.
Communicating the characteristics of the fungus discovered from the brewer’s yeast must be done from many angles. We are looking forward to reporting on the wide range of activities, including product development, gastronomy, and tours, while including the voices of the people involved. We hope you will take a look at it._mediainfo._overseas_tv
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節目播出通知_BIZ STREAM / NHK-WORLD JAPAN
Yamamo的努力將在NHK-WORLD JAPAN的“BIZ STREAM”中介紹，該節目將向全球160個國家和地區的約3.8億家庭播出。在節目的專題現場報導中，似乎有來自VTR和工作室的評論以“發酵創新 / Innovation Through Fermentation”為主題。
○About BIZ STREAM BIZ STREAM provides the world with the latest economic information from Japan and Asia. We take a close-up look at corporate strategies, the frontlines of development, etc., and introduce their background and impact from a global perspective. It is an economic program that conveys information quickly and in depth, with cutting-edge information from Asia.
th Generation Takahashi is appearing on Kitchen Travel, a podcast dedicated to cooking time in the kitchen. Our navigator, Mr. Nomura, visited us two years ago and gave us a tour and a meal. The relationship at that time led to the request for this appearance, and the program will consist of a first part and a second part. The first part of the story focuses on how Takahashi spent his childhood and how he took over the family business. What kind of feeling does a person grow up with as they become aware of their career path and future being determined? I feel that I have once again been able to put my feelings into perspective. We hope you will watch the video.
Our guest this time is Yasushi Takahashi, the 7th generation of Yamamo Miso Soy Sauce Brewing Company. @the_7th_generation @yamamo_garden_cafe Yamamo is a miso and soy sauce brewer located in Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture, and has been in business for generations since 1867. I had the opportunity to visit a while ago, but first of all, there was something strange about the website. When I actually visited, I remember being really surprised to see a view beyond my imagination. As you enter the traditional Japanese house, you see more and more things that are different from what you would normally imagine a brewery to be, such as galleries and glass showcases. A space with a view of a century-old garden can be turned into a café where you can enjoy experimental cuisine that makes full use of fermentation. A space and experience that emanates a unique atmosphere, a mixture of tradition and novelty, and the person who has been setting it all up is Yasushi Takahashi. Since that visit, I’ve had a secret goal of inviting him to join the podcast one day, and now it’s finally happened. As is becoming customary, we’ll be doing it in two parts this time. Nomura is a little nervous, but please enjoy the show.
An article about Yamamo is featured in NIHONMONO, a travel magazine that explores the ‘real things’ of ‘Japan’. Hidetoshi Nakata visited us and explained the benefits of Viamver®︎ yeast and the process that led to its discovery during the tour, and paired wines and food with the same yeast. We had a very interesting discussion about their views on the intended fermentation and the thoughts of the creators and how they communicate their values to the world.
Because of the yeast’s ability to work across technologies and genres, we continue to explore its potential in collaboration with other industries, such as winemaking. This is very rewarding, but it is not easy to communicate completely new products and values. The invisible bacteria and delicate flavours may sometimes have to be made easier to understand or from a different angle. Our conversation with Mr Nakata, who is also involved in efforts to communicate the value of sake to the world, made us think about this.
They have written an article about the efforts of the 7th generation so far. We hope you will take a look at it._mediainfo._magazine
In search of the future, the 7th generation head of the family chose the evolution of fermentation, ‘Yamamo Miso and Soy Sauce Brewing Company’
The Minase River flows through the southern part of Akita Prefecture, descends the Oyasu Gorge, enriches the Inaniwa Udon noodle village and joins the Naruse River in the town of Yuzawa. In 1867, Mosuke Takahashi, founder of the Yamamo Miso and Soy Sauce Brewing Company, began making miso and soy sauce near the Minase River. The beautiful water was essential for miso and soy sauce production, and the proximity of the river made it possible to transport the products by boat. After 150 years, the Yamamo Miso and Soy Sauce Brewing Company is now in the hands of the seventh generation of the family, Yasushi Takahashi. The name “Yasushi” is inscribed in his name, but Yasushi’s first choice was the path of change.
He had previously set his sights on a career in architecture, but at the age of 27 he returned to Akita to take over the family business. His decision to take over the business was driven by his love for the brewery, which had unknowingly taken up residence in his heart, and he thought that if someone else was going to take over the business, it should be him. However, the small brewery in Akita, in the north of Japan, was feeling a sense of entrapment. Tai felt that this was not good enough. He was not attracted to the miso and soy sauce business himself. He decided that he had no choice but to change things himself, and started working on the rebranding of the company on his own.
From the very beginning, it was abroad that he set his sights on. There was also a determination that I would be the one to take on the mission of communicating the proud traditional Japanese culture overseas. The soy sauce labels were changed to Japanese and English, an official website was created in foreign languages, and while retaining the good qualities of traditional industry, the design that emerged from the process looked 180 degrees different from what had been done before. No, to the casual observer, it only looked ‘different’. He clashes with old employees and finally with his parents. Tired and lost day after day, Yasu is still encouraged by the results of his work. In the second year of his involvement in overseas trade, he began doing business in Taiwan, and the following year he made a full-fledged foray overseas by actively exhibiting his products at overseas trade fairs. The brewery was also revamped into a completely different experience-oriented brewery by organising factory tours that include the garden of the Takahashi family mansion, which has been carefully passed down from generation to generation, as part of the tour. Furthermore, they opened the YAMAMO GARDEN CAFE, which connects courses with dishes made only with special yeast while enjoying the view of the garden.
Behind the café’s food offerings is the ‘experimental brewing’ that Tai-san has continued to carry out behind the scenes of innovation in traditional industries. Since taking over the company, Yasushi has conducted a number of experiments, such as actively using fungi used in industries other than miso and soy sauce, and adopting technological applications from other industries. These unprecedented experiments led to the discovery that the company’s own special brewer’s yeast fungus can produce large amounts of umami. Furthermore, many of the yeast strains used in miso brewing are said to be halophilic, meaning that they are active in a salty environment. However, this yeast fungus is not only halophilic, but can also live and work without salt and is a special fungus with the ability to produce nearly 6% alcohol. The yeast, which was discovered through 10 years of trial brewing, has been named Viamver® and will be presented at the Japanese Society of Brewing Science in 2020. In 2020, the yeast will be presented at the ‘Japanese Society of Brewing Science’ and a patent for both its production and manufacturing process has been applied for. Using this new yeast, the company has succeeded in converting it into a new fermented seasoning and in brewing natural wine with Viamver® yeast. It is now also capable of producing bread, butter and cheese. Furthermore, the company is challenging the possibilities of Viamver® yeast by brewing natural beer and doburoku using the same yeast.
The YAMAMO GARDEN CAFE offers full courses using Viamver® yeast not only in meat and fish dishes, but also in desserts and drinks. The company sees pairings and course meals using a single yeast as a new possibility for fermentation, and is working on this with a view to creating an auberge that invites people from home and abroad. Visitors can experience the history of the brewery through a tour of the atmospheric brewery. They can also learn about the evolution of fermented seasonings through cooking while admiring the beautiful garden. Yasushi believes that these experiences are the catalyst for the brewery to remain in people’s memories for a long time and become a much-loved brewery. This is probably because he believes that remaining in people’s memories is the essence of inheriting and passing on the thoughts of the predecessors who have spun them on for so long.
Yasushi adds new scenes to the traditional brewery one after another. He says he aims to revitalise the region by combining tradition, which demands that things remain unchanged, with innovation, which requires the creation of new things, and he hopes to weave a new tradition in the area where he was born and raised. We can’t wait to see what innovations he will continue to bring to the Yamamo Miso and Soy Sauce Brewing Company, and how far its products will go beyond the boundaries of traditional industry.
