Receiving life and passing it on.
That is the history of mankind.
It is only recently that we have begun to eat things that are not necessary for sustenance (colorings, preservatives, and so on).
Except for the last hundred years or so, all life on earth has been sustained by the bounty of nature.
Although human wisdom can influence nature, let us carefully sharpen our senses and examine the situation once more. The very technology that supports our future may in fact be undermining us.
This is possible only when we dare to not do everything we could do.
The Thought Behind the Imashibori Brand
The "ima" in Imashibori means “now” in Japanese, and "shibori" means “to press”.
We are committed to using only live kōji mold, and we want our customers to be able to taste the true flavor and texture of raw soy sauce, “pressed now” as it continues to ferment. This is the inspiration for the brand name “Imashibori”.
Doing what we can do ourselves.
Daring to not do everything we could do.
We established Imashibori in April 2017.
Each family moved to Shigasato with their own unique aspirations, determined to live in a village surrounded by rich nature where time passes peacefully.
Living with nature is a family affair.
Seasonal farm work is a major undertaking; one that not only involves entire families, but which also connects individual families to each other.
For those of us that are used to living in cities, it is an entirely new way of life.
Being surrounded by such vast nature impresses upon us the wisdom of a way of life in which we help and share with one another.
Our Philosophy
Meat, fish, and vegetables, which have been necessary for human survival since the beginning, are not needed in quantities beyond what we consume.
Even if you can harvest a large amount of food, you cannot eat it all yourself. And even if you do your best to preserve it, it will only last so long before going bad.
The food we work so hard to obtain is valuable only when it is eaten.
Nature tells us that since ancient times, people have lived by sharing and supporting each other.
While we have become richer and our lives more convenient as a result of money as a store of value enabling us to keep all of our “harvests” as our own, there seems to be much that we have lost.
A society in which almost all value can be represented by money has led to great disparities, such as food that sacrifices safety for profit and discriminatory forms of employment.
Here, we may not enjoy the same comforts, but we have the warmth and wholeness of life that we had lost in urban living.
There are many things that should not be done no matter how much money is made, such as generating electricity from nuclear power or treating workers as if they are disposable.
Imashibori was established in the hope that we could share our experience and passion with today's diverse society, while building a more solid foundation for our own lives.
Offering the Handmade Lifestyle Through Our Products
- Soy Sauce for Growing: an easy way for anyone to engage in making soy sauce the old-fashioned way.
- Imashibori Shōyu: a moromi soy sauce base that has been aged for 2 years and can be enjoyed as-is or pressed to make fresh soy sauce.
- Soy Sauce for Eating: a seasoning made from the moromi after it has been pressed to make soy sauce.
- Ikiteru Shōyu (Extra Virgin Soy Sauce): a limited-edition soy sauce only the best part of the first pressing of the moromi.
- Presses for pressing Soy Sauce for Growing and Imashibori Shōyu: a tabletop press for pressing only the amount used at the table, and a bottle press for pressing the entire amount of Soy Sauce for Growing.
- Workshops and events to share traditional wisdom and skills.
We would like to promote this business through face-to-face interactions with those who share our ideas and with whom our products resonate.
Company Profile
Imashibori Inc.
Address: 5 Konishi, Shinoda-cho, Ayabe, Kyoto 623-0351
Phone: 0773-21-6831
E-mail: shigasato@imashibori.com
〒623-0351 Konisi-5, Shinodacho, Ayabe Shi, Kyoto Fu, 623-0351, Japan
☎︎ 0773-21-6831
