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(2) Development of the Barrel |
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Origin It is not clearly known when the container called the "barrel" came into existence. The form we immediately conjure up in our mind is the kind called "Yuidaru (also called a Shibaridaru)". This is assumed to have originated from the Yuioke (pail) brought from China to Japan primarily through Japan-Sung (China) trade around the 13th century. This can be surmised from picture scrolls of those days in which the Yuidaru began to appear. |
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Popularization of the Yuidaru Thereafter, these barrels became popular around Kyoto in the latter part of the Age of Civil Wars (the 16th century) and spread throughout Japan in the Edo period. The Yuidaru, which is superior to other barrels in its outstanding transportability and ease of fabrication, became very popular and the kind most commonly used. |
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Yuidaru as a Shoyu Container Many varieties of barrel became available for barrel (see Panel-7). Among them the kind exclusively used as a shoyu container was the Yuidaru made of Japanese cedar. This Yuidaru was primarily used for the transportation of sake, but eventually it came to be used for shoyu transportation. In the first part of the Edo period, when shoyu began to be produced on a commercial basis, conventional heavy and fragile earthenware pots and jars were inconvenient for distributing shoyu to the various parts of Japan. Thus, the Yuidaru, which was lightweight and less susceptible to breakage, was chosen as the container convenient for transportation. The shoyu barrel with a volume of 1-To (see note) containing 8-Sho(see note) of shoyu was designated as a standard among shoyu wholesalers in the Edo period, but in and after the Meiji era, one Yuidaru was filled with 9-Sho of shoyu. (note):1-To=18L;1-Sho=1.8L |
 "Dainippon Bussanzue"by Hiroshige Ando,3rd.
(Owned by Kikkoman Corp.) | |
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Yuidaru as Shoyu Containers for Exports In the Edo period, Japan had trade relations with the Netherlands, and the only port that was open for trade with the Netherlands (and so foreign countries) was Nagasaki. Japanese shoyu was exported to the Netherlands through Nagasaki, and the Yuidaru was also used for export containers, as were together with Comprador bottles. The photo on the right shows a trade document from the Netherlands East India Company and in the center portion of the document, we see "12 Ballen Soya" (12 barrels of shoyu), is written. |
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The Trading Record of Netherlands East India company (Owned by Central State Archive Repository, Hague the Netherlands) |
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Shoyu Barrels are Recyclable Containers Newly fabricated barrels were of course used in those days, but used barrels were considered proper for the "best- quality shoyu". These were cleaned with water and hot water for reuse. In Edo, a merchants union called the "Akidaru Don-ya" (Empty Barrel Wholesalers Union) existed, and a system to collect empty barrels and sell them to brewers had been established. In addition, the recycling of sake barrels of "Kudari Zake" (sake shipped from the Kansai region to Edo) was practiced, and known as "Tsubushi Daru". 4-To (about 72L) sake barrels were disassembled to remake into 9-Sho (about 16L) shoyu barrels. Furthermore, there was the "Kashi Daru", a system to lease barrels, and selling shoyu by measure was also practiced for the people who bought only small volumes of shoyu. On such occasions, earthenware containers were used. |
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Development of Barrels during and after the Modern Period In and after the Meiji era, a large number of Yuidaru were used as shoyu barrels. In addition to the reuse of sake barrels which had been practiced before, barrels fabricated using high-quality Akita cedar were popularly used from around the end of the Meiji era. With the development of rail traffic and transportation represented by the opening of the Ouu Main Line in 1910 (43rd year of the Meiji era), suppliers of barrel material changed. In the Taisho era, shoyu saw the golden age of barrel packaging. Thereafter, demand for shoyu increased, and a still greater number of barrels were required. At Kikkoman, barrel-fabricating plants were established and mass-production began. However, as demand for shoyu increased, demand for containers also increased, and as a result, the use of cans and bottles also grew. Though the demand for barrels continued to increase, eventually, barrels were destined to lose their share of the market for containers for shoyu. In wartime, due to the shortage of materials, Showadaru made from pine wood, and Toadaru made from Sugihiki-zai (sawn Japanese cedar timber), were among those developed to make up for the shortage of containers. After World War II , when the shortage of materials eased the use of cedar barrels was revived and continued, but because of changes in social needs and various technological innovations, the period of high economic growth saw the role of barrels severely diminished. |
 Showadaru |
 Toadaru |
｜Exhibition TOP｜
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