Naogen, the salt that speaks
When salt tells a story of sea and seaweed in Setouchi.
At Naogen, salt isn't just made. It's sculpted. Sea salt is hand-harvested from the Seto Inland Sea, then seasoned with kombu seaweed, dried shiitake mushrooms, and sometimes yuzu. Each flavor has its purpose: to enhance a product that's already perfect.
Naogen's story begins with an obsession: refusing industrial salt. In the 1980s, as major brands flooded the market with standardized fleur de sel, the company decided to go back to basics. Seawater drawn from the Seto Inland Sea, slow evaporation under the sun, low-temperature crystallization. Three steps, six weeks.
The story
The result: a moist, gray-white salt with a mouthfeel that no refined salt can produce. It is on this foundation that Naogen builds its signatures – kombu, shiitake, yuzu, ume plum. Each blend is macerated for two to three months before being packaged.
“Our salt doesn't want to be the hero of the dish. It wants to be the bridge between the product and the person eating it.”
The terroir
The Seto Inland Sea is a protected area between Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Shallow waters, gentle currents, high salinity. This is where the highest quality kombu seaweed, which provides umami without bitterness, is concentrated. Naogen works with three seaweed fishermen who deliver by hand.
The shiitake come from the mountains of Tottori, sun-dried on bamboo racks for 14 days. No additives, no smoking. They arrive intact, perfumed with the damp forest, ready to impart their essence to the salt.
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