August 5, 2024

In July 2024, Kikkoman held a five-day Japan Visit Program aimed at students of Japanese Studies at the School of Foreign Languages Shanghai University. With the aim of providing opportunities for exchange with a sister university in Japan and to experience Japanese culture, this visit is scheduled annually through the Kikkoman “紫 MURASAKI” Fund, an educational support fund established by Kikkoman within the participating faculty of studies. This year two students selected as outstanding for recipient of the fund, and one professor came to Japan.

The Japan visit is composed of several programs for encountering Japanese culture. One day of the program, “Kikkoman Day”, provides an opportunity to learn about Japanese food culture, beginning with soy sauce, as well as about the stance of the Kikkoman Corporation. Participants had a plant tour and a soy sauce-making experience at the Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum (Noda City, Chiba Prefecture), and then an opportunity to meet-up and communicate with young Kikkoman employees at the Tokyo Head Office.

During the plant tour, the students and professor observed koji-making and the temperature in the Koji Production Room through glass windows, checked out the changing color and aroma of moromi (mixture of soy sauce koji and brine) depending on the length of fermentation and aging, and used all five senses to learn about the production process of honjozo (traditionally-brewed) soy sauce. In the soy sauce-making experience, voices of surprise and excitement could be heard for changes in the color and texture of soy sauce koji with each passing day. Participants were full of smiles when manually squeezing (pressing) out the soy sauce, and the entire event had an air of fun and friendship from start to finish.

During the meet-up thereafter, the Chinese students and young Kikkoman employees each shared their thoughts on both Chinese and Japanese food culture and these trends. Laughter filled the room during questions and opinion-sharing after a presentation on lesser-known food cultures such as “suanye”, a dish made of fruit seasoned with licorice, salt and red chili peppers, and “Jiro-type ramen”, a ramen genre popular in Japan. Learning together whilst paying respect to each other’s food culture is the exact ideal for “the international exchange of food culture”. During the meet-up, participants were able to spend meaningful time stirring up intellectual curiosity.

In striving to fulfill its management principle, “To promote the international exchange of food culture”, Kikkoman carries out activities to share Japan’s rich culinary heritage with the world while introducing splendid food cultures from around the globe to Japan. One such activity was the establishment of the Kikkoman “紫 MURASAKI” Fund at Shanghai University in 2010. This fund was started when Kikkoman exhibited its Japanese restaurant “紫 MURASAKI” at the Japan Pavilion during Expo 2010 Shanghai China. Students majoring in Japanese at the School of Foreign Languages Shanghai University assisted with the restaurant’s operations as cooking assistants and hall staff. This collaboration inspired establishment of the fund, for ongoing exchange with the university. Over the past fourteen years, the fund has continued to provide educational support through scholarships, opportunities for outstanding students to participate in the Japan Visit Program and the holding of special lectures with the aims of promoting the international exchange of food cultures and fostering aspiring individuals who will act as a bridge between China and Japan.

In the future as well, Kikkoman will further strive to promote “the international exchange of food culture” through a variety of social activities, including the Kikkoman “紫 MURASAKI” Fund.