Yawataya Isogoro : Iconic Shichimi Producer
The Yawataya Isogoro Company had its origins in the mid-18th century, in 1736. At the time, the northwest part of Nagano city known as "Nishiyama" was famous for the production of hemp and Japanese paper. Merchants carried these products to Edo (present-day Tokyo) and to most other regions of Japan.
On their journeys throughout the country, the merchants bought food and daily necessities and brought them back to sell in the surrounding areas of Zenkoji Temple as a side job. Some of the goods brought back by the merchants included shichimi togarashi, the 7-spice blend used on protein, noodle and rice dishes.
One such merchant was Kan'emon Muroga, the founder of the Yawataya Isogoro Company. He began selling shichimi togarashi in the grounds of Zenkoji Temple in 1736.
The Nishiyama area was perfect for the production of six of the ingredients needed to make shichimi, except for dried mandarin orange peel. Nishiyama was a famous hemp-producing area, so hemp seeds were easily available. Furthermore, Japanese pepper grew naturally in the surrounding mountains, local farmers were easily able to grow the remaining ingredients, namely togarashi chili pepper, black sesame, ginger and perilla.
Since dried products kept longer, the last ingredient, dried mandarin orange peel, could be collected and carried from Kamigata (the modern-day Kansai area). In this way, Yawataya Isogoro was able to create shichimi togarashi with a distinctive flavor reminiscent of the mountainous region of Shinshu.
Nowadays, they offer multiple varieties of spice mixes including the classic Shichimi Togarashi, the Yuzu Shichimi and the Ramen Shichimi