坂本商店／Sakamoto Shoten

遠方からも常連が訪れる、70年近く続く老舗
大正11年創業、家族経営の味噌専門店。中野営業所は昭和30年頃のオープンで、商店街でも指折りの老舗。北海道味噌、仙台や越後の赤味噌、江戸甘味噌、愛知の八丁味噌、京都の西京味噌に長崎の麦味噌など50種前後を全国から仕入れる。それを独自に配合したブレンド味噌も数種類あり、店頭で好みを伝えオリジナルブレンドを作ることもできる。4月に販売される月替わりブレンドの詳細は企業秘密。「春野菜、あさりやしじみなどの貝類の風味や食感を引き立てるような配合を考えています」と、みそソムリエの資格も持つ店長の坂本研一さん。土地や蔵ごとに伝わる製法、材料となる大豆や麹の種類は異なるが、加熱殺菌をしない、酵母が生きている味噌にこだわって販売している。

English version of the article starts here.

The seventy-year-old miso shop attracts regulars from remote areas.

This miso shop is a family business established in 1922. Nakano shop was opened around 1955, which makes this shop one of the oldest businesses in the shopping street. They carry around fifty kinds of miso from all around Japan, including Hokkaido-style miso, aka miso from Sendai and Echigo, Edo-style ama miso, Haccho miso from Aichi, Saikyo miso from Kyoto, and mugi miso from Nagasaki. They have a couple variations of mixed miso with their original recipes. But they can also mix miso to your taste. The detail of April's mix is confidential. "I'm making the mix that brings out flavors and textures of the spring vegetables, sea clams, and freshwater clams," says the certified miso sommelier, manager Kennichi Sakamoto. Each region and brand have their own method and ingredients such as soybeans and malted rice. However, the shop only carries miso which are not sterilized by heat. It allows the yeasts to stay alive.