Choosing in One Table: White or Red? Koikuchi or Usukuchi? (選び方を1表で)
The two decisions beginners actually face, settled in one table each - strength and colour, not brands.
| Miso decision | Delicate soup or dressing: white. Everyday soup and cooking: awase. Strong soup, glazes, Tokai dishes: red or soybean |
|---|---|
| Shoyu decision | General use: koikuchi. Light-coloured dishes: usukuchi (use a little less) or shiro. No wheat: certified tamari. Finishing luxury: saishikomi |
Tables beat essays at the shelf. For miso: match the miso's strength to the ingredient's strength - white miso disappears behind oily fish, and Hatcho crushes a clear soup - and when a recipe from Japan names no type, awase is the assumed middle.
For shoyu: colour is the first question (must the dish stay pale?), wheat is the second, and concentration is the third. The five type pages give each bottle's full story; this page exists so the story can be skipped at the shop and read later.
See also
Red and awase misoRelated page in this guide.What is shoyu?
Related page in this guide.
Sources: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), 'Traditional Foods in Japan'; JAS soy sauce standards; Umami Information Center; Kikkoman official information; Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Checked 6 November 2026.