Japanese Entrepreneur Develops BBQ Sauce with Soy Sauce Base that Costs ¥32,400

By Yoshihiro Taniguchi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

10:30 JST, January 25, 2026

KUDAMATSU, Yamaguchi — A soy sauce-based barbecue sauce developed by an entrepreneur in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is receiving praise despite its extraordinary price tag of ¥32,400 per 360-milliliter bottle.

Amon Yamamoto, 31, said he was inspired by his grandmother’s homemade special sauce that he had enjoyed since childhood to create High Quality Japanese BBQ Sauce Yaiba. He hopes to share the unique Japanese flavor of the product, which is made with carefully chosen domestic ingredients, worldwide.

Yamamoto thought if he could pair soy sauce with barbecue sauce, which is popular overseas, it may be a hit, so he started working on the product several years ago. At the time, he was working at a major human resources service company that allowed its employees to have a side business.

Although Yamamoto had no knowledge of food development, he knew he had the perfect flavor — the sauce made by his grandmother Tomoko, now 85. His family often had barbecues, always enjoying it with Tomoko’s sauce. Yamamoto said the homemade sauce, which is made with a lot of fruits, tastes better and is distinguished by being more flavorful and milder than store-bought ones, calling it “the Yamamotos’ unique soul food.”

After learning his grandmother’s recipe, he worked on developing his product. He tried dozens of combinations of fruits, such as apple banana and persimmon, with soy sauce as the base and got feedback from his family. Based on the advice of people such as his father Daikichi, 60, who had run a restaurant, Yamamoto pursued a “taste worth paying for.” He traveled to various production areas nationwide to gather high-quality ingredients.

He finally was able to create a sauce with an elegant taste by combining locally made sake from Iwakuni in the prefecture, made with pure river water; apple banana grown in Okinawa Prefecture; and wasanbon traditional high-quality sugar made in Kagawa Prefecture. He does not use any preservatives to maintain a natural flavor, but the sauce, which is made by boiling at a high temperature, is said to keep its quality for six months.

In March 2024, he founded Itadaki Co. in Kudamatsu and named the sauce High Quality Japanese BBQ Sauce Yaiba in the hopes that customers will fully enjoy the refined taste of a sauce prepared with select ingredients.

In February last year, the sauce won the judges’ special award in the food category at the 37th Gourmet Show Spring 2025 held in Tokyo.

Yamamoto said he has received orders for the sauce from restaurants and others, both domestically and internationally.

“I want to make the sauce a Japanese product that we can be proud of worldwide,” Yamamoto said.