Kokuto Okinawa Island Sweetness - Journeys in Japan

Blue and green, the colors that define the scenery of the Okinawa Islands. Fields of sugarcane sway and rustle in the breeze. The juice pressed from this sugarcane is carefully cooked down to create a traditional form of sugar known as kokuto. That's the way it's been made here for over 400 years. Okinawa was then known as the Ryukyu Kingdom. Ever since, kokuto has remained a staple in people's daily lives. On this edition of Journeys in Japan, Michael Kita explores the enduring appeal of this homegrown source of sweetness that encapsulates the spirit of these southern islands. Around 1,500 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, Okinawa's main island lies on the edge of the East China Sea. Drawn by its subtropical climate and unique history and culture, tourists find this island archipelago has a very different flavor from the Japanese mainland. Michael lives in the countryside outside Tokyo, where he runs an organic farm. Hi, I'm Michael Kita. This time I've come to Okinawa. Now one thing I love about Okinawa is it has a wide variety of foods that you can only find here and not on the mainland. And this time, I'm going to learn all about kokuto, or black sugar. Now it's a sugar that looks like brown sugar, but it's completely different. It has a new texture, flavor, and aroma. And I'm sure if we look around, we're going to find it right away. So let's get started. Ah, I found it. It's over here. If you look at it, you can see it's got a much darker, richer color than your typical brown sugar does. So this must be an Okinawan sweets shop. Do you often use kokuto in Okinawan sweets? Yes, we use it a lot. We use it in satanragi, we use it in mochi, and we also use it in kokuto crepes. I'll have one. Just opening it, I can smell that kokuto aroma. It's absolutely strong. That's really good. It definitely has that distinct flavor that only kokuto has. In the heyday of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Okinawa was an important hub for trade between East Asian countries. Sugar making was introduced from China in the 17th century. It's done by boiling down the sugar cane juice, adding a small amount of lime powder to help it solidify. To this day, kokuto is still produced by this same simple method. It's an Okinawan specialty. Most kokuto is produced on eight small islands away from the Okinawa mainland. Michael has set off to visit one of those islands. It's called Iejima. Iejima was formed by the uplifting of a coral reef. The islanders have produced kokuto here since the days of old. Looks like you're busy harvesting right now. Looks like they have sugar cane here. Tomoyose Chinari is a sugar cane farmer. He was born and bred on Iejima. Fresh sugar cane. The soil in Iejima is dry, as it doesn't hold the water well. Harvesting sugar cane is hard work, as the leaves and husks have to be stripped off one cane at a time. It's lonely being alone, isn't it? Is it fun? Well, it's fun. It's fun to be able to do things with my classmates. The locals also work together to produce their kokuto. The harvested sugar cane is taken to the local refinery, where it's immediately pressed. The juice is then boiled down until it can be solidified. The finished kokuto is packed with flavor, sweetness, and the concentrated nutrients of the sugar cane. Wow, you can see the entire island from up here. From this vantage point down below, you can see why sugar cane would be such a staple on this island. The ferry is waiting to take Michael back to the main island. What's this? This building was a welfare institution offering loans to the villagers. Built almost 100 years ago, it suffered severe damage in World War II and has been preserved as a heritage site. In the final months of the war, Okinawa was the site of fierce ground combat. The fighting left the islands scorched and in rubble. About 100,000 civilians are thought to have died. But the islanders found strength and reassurance in the resilience and sweetness of their sugar cane, which quickly springs back up even after it's knocked down. Hey, how you doing? Hey! I'm Michael. Are you Crystal? Yes. Nice to meet you. Crystal Burnett is from the U.S. She's lived on Okinawa's main island for 10 years. Her deep interest in health and longevity has led her to study Okinawa's food traditions. She also leads tours for visitors to experience life on the island. They drive north. They're heading to Higashi, a village where kokutou plays a part in people's everyday lives. Mr. Motomura! Hi, Crystal! Hello! Nice to meet you. This is Michael. I'm Motomura. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. 73-year-old Motomura Tamiko has lived in this area all her life. She's an Okinawan through and through. She takes them around her fields. I want you to dig here. Dig here? Yes. What are you going to bury? I'm going to bury a goya. A goya? With a shovel. Okay. Let's do it. Okay. Up to here? Yes, up to here. Okay. Is that okay? Yes. Give me a shovel. Okay, a shovel. Like this. There you go. That's it. Good. This is a good exercise, isn't it? Yes, it is. It's good for your body. And it's rewarding. Yes. So this is basically how I spend most of my days back in Kanagawa. So I'm kind of in cruise control while doing this. Crystal, how are you getting along over there? Apparently, I need more power. You need more power? Apparently, I'm not strong enough. She's stronger than me. It's not necessarily the biggest farm, but in this Okinawa sun, it's really hot out here. I'm breaking a sweat. Here's your tea. Thank you. Itadakimasu. Here you go. Itadakimasu. Have some black sugar, too. In Okinawa, we get tired easily. So black sugar is a must. It's good. It's good, right? It's good. What I always say about kokuto is that it's like the equivalent of the energy drinks that people drink now these days when they work out. So this dark brown sugar was like an Okinawan's energy drink back in the day. It has a lot of vitamins and minerals in it that really replenish everything that you lose through your sweat. Nice. We think of black sugar as a medicine. A medicine? Yes, a medicine. What does that mean? It's a medicine of life. In other words, it's very good for your body. I don't know about the other ingredients, but if you eat it, you'll feel better. Black sugar. It's what your body was looking for. That's what black sugar is. Motomura also uses kokuto in her everyday cooking. She's preparing local wild boar seasoned with kokuto, salt, and sake. It's so good. Unlike regular white sugar, it's got a lot more depth in the sweetness. I'm tasting different minerals in there, and it really makes for a lot more depth in this type of recipe. Despite its long reputation as a healthy food, demand for kokuto has been hit by changes in people's diets and the drastic drop in tourism during the COVID pandemic. In 2021, unsold inventories rose to a critical level. However, that challenge has given rise to even greater possibilities. Hello. Welcome. Are you Nakazato? Yes, I'm Nakazato. Nice to meet you. I'm Michael. This distillery produces awamori, the local liquor of Okinawa. It's a distilled spirit made from rice and a black type of koji mold. Drawing on his expertise in distilling awamori, Nakazato Akira has developed a line of rums, each made with a different type of kokuto. Oh, that's so good. It actually breaks down much easier. It's a very soft texture, and it has almost a fluffy type of flavor. Wow, it's got a much stronger bitterness to it, heavier flavor. This one actually kind of reminds me of molasses. This is Okinawa's terroir. Michael tries the rum made with kokuto from Aguni. It has a mellow sweetness. It's got a buttery type of aroma to it. It's really smooth. It's a little bit of a higher alcohol content, so it's got a bit of a spiciness to it. But it doesn't have any aggressive tones in it. Very nice melt. Nakazato's passion has given rise to a new line of Okinawan liquor. Wow, this place is beautiful. Thank you. Bartender Sugiura Satoshi has a growing international reputation. He's developed a range of spiced rums, that combine Nakazato's kokuto rum with flavors drawn from Okinawa's food tradition. This is another approach to the kokuto, to see the kokuto's potential. Wow, it's completely different. Actually, this main flavor comes from the asa, which is like a sea lettuce in Okinawa. It's quite an important ingredient for Okinawan cuisine. Ah, sea lettuce. Asa, or sea lettuce, is a local seaweed that is harvested in the early spring. So we just try to let them stop. We just use it for the distillation. Oh, so rather than it being wasted, you decided to turn it into delicious alcohol. Exactly. That's our point. Other examples include shikwasa limes, which are mostly discarded after being squeezed for juice, or local bonito flakes, which are facing a drop in consumption. Sugiura is promoting his kokuto rums abroad as a way to support Okinawa's food producers. Tomizu Okinawa soba. Wow, absolutely incredible. He also adds a playful touch to some of his creations. The inspiration for this one is Okinawa soba noodles. It's made with rum flavored with bonito flakes. Mmm. Wow. That's so good. There's depth and there's so many different flavors. A little bit of sweetness, sour, and that umami coming through. So much happening at once. My mouth is surprised. I just work in the big city. This is my first challenge to work in a local bar. But I realize it's quite easy to connect with our first industry. See, like a master distiller, Akira-san, like local factory, like local farmers, and we decided to support them in somehow what we can do as a bar team. We have like a strong connection to the world. So we just want to support them for introduce how Okinawa has a great product in here. That's beautiful. Thank you. The roots of kokuto culture run deep in Okinawan society. In the old days, each village had its own small refinery producing its own local kokuto, even on the Okinawa mainland. Toguchi Suguru is one of the few kokuto artisans left on the main island. He continues the tradition passed down by his grandfather. He also offers hands-on kokuto workshops. I hear that you have to squeeze the juice and then boil it. Yes, you have to squeeze the juice first and then boil it. If it's summer, you have to boil it for 20 minutes to get that sour smell. Toguchi goes to great lengths to capture the flavor of the fresh sugar cane. He pours about 25 liters of juice into his cauldron and simmers it down over a wood fire, reducing the liquid fast. It smells almost like roasted marshmallows. As he works, he draws on his memories of the aromas and textures he learned from his grandfather. He was a true artisan and he taught Toguchi everything he knows. Toguchi worked as a salaryman until his 30s. But after his grandfather died, he quit his job and became a kokuto craftsman. I'm proud of it. I'm proud that I can make something that only I can make. Were you afraid of your grandfather? Yes, I was terrified. My parents can't speak properly. He's an old craftsman. But when he makes something, he smiles when he eats it. I'll never forget his face. I understand how he feels. When he says it's good, it's good. When he says it's good, it's good. It's wonderful. After just an hour and a half, it's done. Please listen. If it makes a sizzling sound like oil, it's done. Okay. Once the pot is removed from the fire, the thick syrup has to be stirred constantly as it cools. Is it hard? Yes, it's hard. If you make it two or three times, it will be three times heavier. Yes, it is. Is it still hot? Yes, it's still hot. It's getting hot, so I'll move it to the iron plate. Okay, let's do it. It's still really warm. It's bringing that really nice rich aroma. All that's left is to cool it down. Yes. While we wait for it to cool down, there's something we can only eat at this time. Let's eat. Kokuto, when it's still only half hardened, it's a very special treat. Let's eat. Yes. It's all made from sugarcane. It's really delicious. Kokuto is always reminding me of the southern Japanese islands, but I never pondered exactly why. On this journey, I learned that the connection between sugarcane and Okinawa goes deeper than the soil in which it is grown. Historically, it has helped sustain the society here thanks to its ability to be grown in difficult conditions. And culturally, I learned that to this day, it is still tightly woven into the fiber of the locals' lifestyle. And this can be easily seen in the food culture as well as in Yui Maru, or a community of mutual support. And I hope that this culture continues for future generations. From Tokyo, flights to Naha take around three hours. To reach Iejima, it's about 30 minutes by ferry from Motobu Port in the center of Okinawa's main island.