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Soy and legumes from Wakayama

Kinzanji miso (name-miso, eaten as a relish)径山寺味噌

Kinzanji miso is a chunky miso eaten as it is, with rice or with drinks, not used for soup. Rice, naked barley and soybeans are all made into koji, then mixed with chopped melon, eggplant, ginger and shiso, salt and sugar, and left to ferment and ripen for several months. Kishū Kinzanji miso from Wakayama is a registered Geographical Indication.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Kinzanji miso itself.

Short entrySoy and legumes

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe Kishū Kinzanji miso GI specification fixes the ingredients and steps but no amounts. All ingredients must be grown in Japan.
Rice, polished, washed and soakedSteamed and made into koji[GI-39]
Naked barley, polished, washed and soakedSteamed and made into koji[GI-39]
Soybeans, sorted, dehulled, washed and soakedSteamed and made into koji[GI-39]
Aspergillus oryzae seed koji[GI-39]
Uri melon, eggplant, ginger and shiso, washed and choppedAll four are required for the GI product; general Kinzanji miso uses melon, eggplant and ginger[GI-39]
Salt and sugar[GI-39]
Starterkoji (Aspergillus oryzae seed koji on rice, barley and soybeans)
Start
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Close-up: water moving into a bean

What changes: Rice, naked barley and dehulled soybeans are washed and soaked

Step 1 of 4
Polish, wash and soak the rice, barley and soybeans
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Aspergillus oryzae
Moulds

Output: soaked grains and dehulled beans.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Kinzanji miso is a chunky miso eaten as it is, with rice or with drinks, not used for soup. Rice, naked barley and soybeans are all made into koji, then mixed with chopped melon, eggplant, ginger and shiso, salt and sugar, and left to ferment and ripen for several months. Kishū Kinzanji miso from Wakayama is a registered Geographical Indication. Aspergillus oryzae does most of the fermenting.

What makes this one different

Every grain is made into koji, soybeans included, and vegetables go in with it, so it is a food in its own right rather than a seasoning. The GI product differs from other Kinzanji miso by using rice, naked barley and soybeans for koji (others use soybeans and wheat) and by adding shiso.

Related ferments

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The GI specification records two origin stories and calls the first the stronger. The monk Kakushin returned from Song China in 1254, founded Kōkoku-ji at Yura, and taught the miso of Jingshan temple. The other credits Kūkai. An industrial method close to today's was completed in 1615, sugar was in use by the end of the Second World War, and the Kishū miso cooperative was founded in 1951. The liquid that pools in the tubs is said to be the origin of soy sauce (MAFF Kinki).

  1. [GI-39] MAFF, Geographical Indication No. 39, 紀州金山寺味噌 (Kishū Kinzanji miso), specification (明細書), created 2016-04-01, updated 2024-08-01; registered 2017-08-10spec
  2. [MAFF-kinki] MAFF Kinki Regional Agricultural Administration Office, 金山寺味噌/径山寺味噌の紹介 (interview with the Kishū miso cooperative, 2025)gov
  3. [WK-nagomi] Wakayama Prefecture, 和 vol. 58, 和歌山の発酵食 金山寺味噌 (feature)gov