Producer

To understand the origins of anything, you have to go back. But when you begin to look back it’s difficult to know when to stop looking and to start telling. We’ve decided to start our story in 1990, when Shoichi Sugiyama made the decision to learn how to make miso by enrolling in a small, locally-taught class in Fukuoka, Japan. However, we could easily go back further: to how he learned to cook in the 1970s as a firefighter, on nights when his crew would make dinner together, or to his own family’s meals and traditions. Origins aren’t always clear.

In 1990, Shoichi was living in Iizuka, Japan and began to make his own miso. There were ups and downs and some batches turned out better than others, but he was progressively getting better. During this time Shoichi had two daughters, Anna and Maia. The two girls grew up chasing frogs, riding bikes, and playing hard in the countryside of Iizuka (Their home and surrounding neighborhood looked like it came straight out of My Neighbor Totoro). Anna remembers some nights that her dad, Shoichi, would go out and catch fireflies in jars so that she’d have a soft night light, and then once she’d fallen asleep he’d release them back outside.

Fast forward to 2001, and Ichiro Suzuki is the greatest baseball player ever playing on the greatest baseball team to ever play (The 2001 Seattle Mariners) and the Sugiyamas have been living in Seattle for two years.

Double time fast forward.

Anna Sugiyama is in her early 20s and an English student at the University of Washington. Her friends and her have developed a deep love for food and cooking, and begin to regularly explore new restaurants, prepare large dinners, and holistically grow their culinary skills. She begins to learn about farm to table, ‘buy local’ movements, foraging, and low waste life styles, etc. Meanwhile, Shoichi has worked as a professional woodworker for years and is the premier Mochitsuki master in the Pacific Northwest. At this point, the miso he’s making has only been for friends and family.

That’s when it happens!

The light bulb clicks!

A friend coming to pick up miso says something like, “Ahh, thank you! Your miso is so good. It’s our absolute favorite.”

Anna looks to see if there are any miso companies in Seattle - none.

There’s both a problem and a solution.

Problem: No supply of quality, locally made, small batch miso.

Solution: Yoka Miso.

Initially to be titled Yoi Miso (Translates to “Good Miso”), the Sugiyama’s decided on Yoka Miso because Yoka is the more colloquial way of saying Yoi in their own region of Japan. Yoka Miso, as a title, is simple but very intentional. The Sugiyama’s are incredibly proud to be providing the best quality miso (good), and to be a company that’s focused on the local community (yoka).

In many ways, our story has just begun as we introduce our miso on a larger scale. We hope you enjoy our miso and we thank you for all of your support <3

Warmly,

Anna & Shoichi

Yoka Miso is a Seattle-based, small-batch miso producer committed to traditional craft, local sourcing, and environmental transparency. Every batch is handmade and aged a minimum of 7-12 months using time-honored Japanese fermentation methods, combining soybeans, salt, and kōji (Aspergillus oryzae) to develop deep, complex flavor.

Ingredients are sourced from trusted Pacific Northwest farms. Soybeans are distributed by Columbia Bean and Produce, and garbanzo beans come from Palouse Brand. Both are regional growers whose crops align with Yoka's commitment to quality and local supply chains.

Yoka Miso is gluten-free and produced in small batches to ensure consistency and care in every jar. The team is dedicated to minimizing their carbon footprint, supporting the local community, and maintaining full transparency in their sourcing, packaging, and production processes.