USUKI’s GASTRONOMY / Usuki City

In recognition of its rich culinary heritage, Usuki City is a member of the ‘UNESCO Creative Cities Network’ in the field of Gastronomy. Its distinctive culinary culture has evolved around three core pillars: fermentation and brewing tradition, eco–friendly organic farming, and resourceful local cuisine.

Thanks to rich water sources, the traditional fermentation and brewing practices of miso and soy sauce have been preserved in Usuki City for over 400 years and remain an important industry. Within Usuki City, you can even visit Kani Soy Sauce, the oldest miso and soy sauce producer in Kyushu, and view the manufacturing process through a window. Furthermore, Usuki City promotes farming without synthetic pesticides or chemical fertilisers, making mature compost at the initiative of the government. The city has also set up a ‘Certification System for Authentic Agricultural Products’ to support producers engaging in organic farming.

In this region, many of the local dishes which were created in the Edo period in–line with laws regulating expenditures still remain to this day. For example, dishes like kirasumameshi make the most of ingredients which would otherwise have been wasted, covering offcuts of sashimi (raw fish) and nakaochi (left–over flesh from the spine of a fish) with okara (bean curd). Dishes like this were ahead of their time, reminiscent of the SDGs of today. The traditions, knowledge, and local initiatives used in Usuki City’s cuisine have combined to establish Usuki as a city renowned for its culinary creativity, now attracting global attention.