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Equipment

626 sourced equipment pages: vessels, tools, appliances and built structures.

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Illustration of Shallow pan over controlled hot water (yuba pan).
Built structures

Shallow pan over controlled hot water (yuba pan)

A wide shallow pan of soy milk standing in a controlled hot-water bath, so that the bath heats evenly while the open surface forms film after film of yuba.

Incubators and warm holds
Kyoto
Photograph of Katsuobushi smoking and drying equipment.
Equipment

Katsuobushi smoking and drying equipment

Enclosed cooking, smoking and drying equipment used in the multi-stage process that makes katsuobushi, the dried, smoked and mould-treated bonito of Japan, in repeated stages.

Smoking ovens, kilns and cabinets
Japan
Illustration of Kakigoya persimmon drying hut.
Built structures

Kakigoya persimmon drying hut

A wooden hut attached to a house in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, where persimmons are hung in the sun and wind and then dried indoors for hoshigaki.

Drying kilns and dryers
Hata Village, Shimane Prefecture
Schematic cutaway of an Edo-period underground kōji chamber, showing a shaft descending through soil and a low passage leading to a buried room.
Built structures

Kōji-muro (Edo underground kōji chamber)

A source-bounded account of Edo’s subterranean kōji chambers: shafts led through narrow passages to low rooms cut into Kantō loam for cultivating kōji. Excavated examples vary by site.

Cellars, caves and ripening rooms
Yotsuya, Edo (modern Shinjuku, Tokyo)
Interpretive cutaway of one possible Higashimyo use: a woven basket of acorns partly immersed in a dug wetland pit; the exact pit profile and arrangement are unknown.
Built structures · Place

Higashimyo Jōmon wetland storage pits

At Higashimyo in Saga, 155 round Early Jōmon storage pits were about 40–70 cm wide and 1 m deep. More than 700 baskets were recovered; Saga City interprets acorn soaking as a possible use, not a documented arrangement.

Show on map
Pits and cavities
Higashimyo Site, Kinryu-cho, Saga City
Watercolor cutaway of a Japanese koji-muro room with a broad toko rice bed and separate tana shelves holding shallow trays.
Built structures

Toko-koji bed, tana shelves and koji-muro

A Japanese koji-making work area may combine a broad toko bed, tana shelves for trays and an insulated koji-muro room. The terms describe distinct scales; sources document more than one working arrangement.

Cellars, caves and ripening rooms
Japan
Editorial cutaway of a shallow water-filled pit in wetland soil at Maeda Site; shown for form only, without contents or lining.
Built structures · Place

Maeda Jōmon acorn storage pits

At Maeda Site in Aira, southern Kyushu, a late Middle Jōmon wetland held 72 pits associated with more than 100,000 acorns. The pits were dug in a groundwater-fed valley; their use may have included storage or soaking and sorting.

Show on map
Pits and cavities
Maeda Site, Aira City
Cutaway illustration of a narrow-mouth pit widening beneath the ground at Sannai Maruyama; its empty chamber shows the reported flask-like form.
Built structures · Place

Jōmon flask-shaped storage pit

At Sannai Maruyama in Aomori, some Jōmon storage pits had a narrow mouth and broad floor, with larger examples reaching two metres deep; nuts or chestnuts are the proposed stores.

Show on map
Pits and cavities
Sannai Maruyama Site, Aomori City
Historical editorial illustration of an open upright Japanese wooden sake vat with foaming pale mash and a long paddle inside, in a timber brewery.
Equipment

Wooden sake fermenting vat

An upright, open-topped stave vat used for fermenting sake mash. Terada Honke documents a current wooden-vat practice and a new Sanbu-sugi cedar vat completed in 2023.

Barrels and casks
Japan
Photorealistic unbranded adjustable yogurt maker with four lidded glass jars beneath a clear cover on a warm ivory background.
Equipment

Adjustable yogurt-maker

A small electric incubator holds jars at a selected temperature for yogurt and other documented warm food preparations. Controls, capacity and vessel arrangement vary by model.

All-in-one appliances
Japan
Illustrative product photograph of a folded pale cloth; the source does not establish its fiber, weave or exact form.
Equipment

Food-contact cloth

A cloth listed for steaming rice in a rice-koji method and identified as cloth for a koshiki in a brewery-museum caption; its fiber, weave, and size are not specified.

steaming-cloths
Japan
Two distinct industrial koji-making options: a horizontal enclosed drum and a separate shallow mesh aerated bed.
Equipment

Industrial koji drum or aerated cultivation bed

Industrial koji machines cultivate mold on prepared grain before sake, shochu, miso or soy-sauce production. Commercial designs include rotating drums and aerated beds.

Industrial and laboratory plant
Japan
Watercolor illustration of an open, tapered rice-straw warazuto bundle holding sticky soybeans, tied near both ends.
Equipment

Natto warazuto (rice-straw bundle)

A natto warazuto is a rice-straw bundle that encloses soybeans during natto fermentation. Documented Japanese forms vary by region: Ibaraki examples include boat-like bundles, while Yamagata accounts describe straw tubes.

Bamboo, leaf and wraps
Ibaraki Prefecture
Hand-painted illustration of a short straw-wrapped cedar sake cask with a closed wooden top.
Equipment

Sake taru

A sake taru is a short wooden cask for holding and presenting finished sake; traditional examples may show bare cedar or a woven-straw covering.

Barrels and casks
Japan
Empty rectangular Aizu Hongo-yaki nishin-bachi with a thick rim, glossy dark brown glaze and muted green drips.
Equipment

Nishin-bachi (Aizu herring bowl)

A rectangular Aizu Hongo-yaki ceramic bowl made for layering Hokkaido dried herring with sanshō leaves in Aizu's nishin no sanshōzuke; it is documented as a marinating dish, not fermentation equipment.

Jars, pots and crocks
Aizu region
Hand-painted illustration of a huge upright cedar kioke filled with dark moromi in a timber soy-sauce brewery.
Equipment

Shoyu kioke

A shoyu kioke is a very large upright wooden vat for fermenting and ageing soy-sauce mash; Japanese sources document cedar-stave examples held together by hoops.

Barrels and casks
Japan
An unbranded electric rice cooker with its lid open and inner pot seated in the base, photographed on a warm ivory background.
Equipment

Rice cooker

A modern electric pot that cooks rice and may provide a model-specific keep-warm stage. Documented Japanese and Korean recipes use it for koji amazake, sikhye and ssal-jocheong; measure warm settings rather than assume.

All-in-one appliances
Japan
Illustrative long coarse-woven cotton saka-bukuro for a fune press, with one gathered and tied mouth.
Equipment

Sake pressing bag (saka-bukuro)

A sake pressing bag holds moromi while cloth separates liquid sake from rice-and-yeast lees. Traditional fune presses stack filled bags; material and shape vary by method and period.

Bags, sacks and casings
Japan
Hand-painted illustration of an empty rounded ceramic nukadoko jar with its fitted pottery lid beside it.
Equipment

Nukadoko jar and container

A nukadoko container holds the moist rice-bran bed in which vegetables are repeatedly pickled. Japanese households have maintained these beds in ceramic jars, while contemporary options also include compact ceramic and enamel designs.

Jars, pots and crocks
Japan
Illustrative view of an empty Japanese wooden koji-buta tray, one documented form within the broader tray-and-basket category.
Equipment

Shallow solid-state cultivation tray or basket

A shallow tray or basket carries grain or another solid food material during a mold-growing stage. Japanese koji trays and Southeast Asian bamboo trays share a broad function, but have distinct forms, histories and local uses.

Baskets, trays and beds
Japan
Archival illustration of a sealed clear-glass Codd-neck bottle with a glass marble against its washer and clear carbonated drink.
Equipment

Marble-stoppered bottle

A marble-stoppered bottle is a glass carbonated-drink bottle sealed by a glass marble pressed against a rubber washer. Its Codd neck holds the marble at the mouth when sealed and gives it a side pinch after opening.

Bottles, carboys and demijohns
England
A simple shallow wooden koji-buta tray with steamed rice partly covered by white cloth, in watercolor-pencil illustration on warm ivory paper.
Equipment

Shallow breathable koji tray

A koji-buta is a shallow wooden tray for spreading grain as it grows into koji. Japanese sources document a traditional form, while modern methods also use cloth-lined or steel trays; size and construction vary.

Baskets, trays and beds
Japan
Ink-and-watercolor editorial illustration of a documented Goishicha wooden tub, covered and weighted with blocks for the second wet fermentation stage; one current setup, not a universal form.
Equipment

Goishicha weighted fermentation tub

A Goishicha weighted tub holds tea leaves and steaming liquor during the second, wet fermentation stage in Ōtoyo, Kōchi. A current producer photograph documents one covered wooden tub under concrete-block weight.

Presses and weights
Ōtoyo Town
Reference-grounded editorial illustration of a whole horizontal coopered wooden cask resting on wooden chocks, showing its convex staves, hoops, end head and bunghole.
Equipment

Coopered barrel, cask and large wooden vat

Coopered vessels use shaped staves and hoops, but portable barrels, large foeders and upright wooden vats serve different roles. Materials and uses vary by place and process.

Barrels and casks
Jerez de la Frontera
Watercolor and pencil illustration of a traditional wooden narezushi tub with a fitted wooden cover and stone pressing weight.
Equipment

Narezushi pressing tub

A narezushi pressing tub is a wooden bucket or barrel for packing salted fish and rice under a cover and weight. Regional methods vary; some also water-seal the tub.

Presses and weights
Arita Region, Wakayama Prefecture
Watercolor illustration of rounded dark ceramic kurozu jars with shallow covers arranged in an outdoor field.
Equipment

Kurozu kame jar

The kurozu kame is a dark ceramic jar used outdoors in Kagoshima to make and mature kurozu. At Sakamoto, the jar serves as the vessel for successive stages from rice conversion through vinegar fermentation and aging.

Jars, pots and crocks
Fukuyama, Kirishima
Illustration of a large coopered wooden miso vat topped with a pyramid of river stones in a storehouse.
Equipment

Hatcho miso stone-weighted kioke

A coopered wooden kioke used by Kakukyu in Okazaki for Hatcho miso: a broad vat capped with a carefully stacked pyramid of river stones during maturation lasting more than two years.

Barrels and casks
Hatcho-cho, Okazaki
A broad wooden tub packed with wet Awabancha leaves beneath a wooden follower and natural stone weights, shown on a warm ivory background.
Equipment

Awabancha tub

A large wooden tub used in Tokushima to ferment heated, worked Awabancha leaves with their cooking liquor. Its size and construction details are not specified in the sources.

Tanks and vats
Tokushima Prefecture
An unglazed Okinawan awamori kame jar with a separate pottery cover, shown as an editorial illustration.
Equipment

Awamori kame

A ceramic jar used in Okinawa to store and mature distilled awamori into kusu; it holds the finished spirit after distillation rather than fermenting the rice mash.

Jars, pots and crocks
Okinawa Prefecture