Food · Fermented seasonings

Shiro Soy Sauce (White Soy Sauce)

白醤油 (Shiro shōyu)

Also known as: White Soy Sauce, Shiro Shōyu

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At a glance

Category	Food
Japanese labeling name	しろしょうゆ
Common Japanese notations	白醤油, しろしょうゆ
Origin	Fermented (mostly wheat with a small amount of soybeans, salt, water; short fermentation)
Typical functions	Pale, transparent finishing seasoning, Color-preserving sauce for delicate dishes (suimono, dashimaki tamago), Specialty regional cooking soy sauce
Regulatory status in Japan	Standardized under the JAS standard for soy sauce. Production is the smallest of the five varieties — less than 1%. Concentrated in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture.

Shiro shōyu (白醤油) — 'white soy sauce' — is the lightest-colored of the five JAS soy sauce varieties, almost transparent amber compared to koikuchi's dark brown. It is brewed predominantly from roasted wheat with only a small amount of soybeans, fermented for a short period at low temperature to suppress color development. The result is a sauce with a sweet, malty profile and a high sugar content from the wheat. Hekinan in Aichi Prefecture is the historic and modern center of shiro shōyu production.

Classification

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Product applications

Functions

Flavoring

Regulatory tags

Culinary ingredient

Origin

Used in (typical product categories)

Finished-product categories that commonly include this ingredient in Japanese-market formulations.

Aichi-region cooking soy sauce
Kaiseki and ryōtei specialty cuisine supply
Specialty bottled retail SKU

What it is

Shiro shōyu is the inverse of tamari in raw-material composition: where tamari uses almost exclusively soybeans, shiro uses predominantly roasted wheat with only a small soybean fraction (typically 80–90% wheat). The koji is inoculated and mixed with brine for a short fermentation period (typically 2–3 months) at carefully controlled low temperature to suppress the Maillard browning that gives koikuchi its dark color.

Because the fermentation is short and cool, shiro retains more of the original wheat sugars than other soy sauce varieties. The finished sauce is pale amber to light tea-colored, with a sweet, malty character and lower amino-acid (umami) content than koikuchi or tamari.

Production is concentrated in Hekinan and the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture. Shiro shōyu is the rarest of the five JAS varieties — less than 1% of total Japanese soy sauce production.

Typical uses in Japanese products

Shiro shōyu is used in dishes where preserving the natural color of ingredients is paramount — clear soups (suimono), dashimaki tamago, simmered eggs, light-colored osuimono — and in some specialty kaiseki preparations. The sweet character also makes shiro suitable for chawanmushi and similar delicately-seasoned dishes.

It is rarely used in everyday home cooking; most home cooks use usukuchi when a lighter color is wanted. Shiro is more often a professional ingredient.

For OEM, shiro shōyu is used as the seasoning component in finished products where a pale visual character is essential — clear noodle soups, certain dashimaki tamago products, or specialty osuimono SKUs.

Regulatory classification in Japan

Shiro shōyu is one of the five JAS-defined soy sauce varieties under the Japanese Agricultural Standard for soy sauce.

JAS specifies a lower total nitrogen content (umami compounds) than koikuchi for shiro, reflecting the wheat-dominant raw materials and shorter fermentation. Salt content is typically similar to or higher than koikuchi.

Allergens: wheat and soy must both be declared even though wheat is the dominant raw material.

Regulatory classification in other markets

EU	Imported as a fermented soy sauce. The high wheat content makes shiro distinct from gluten-free tamari positioning; allergen labeling for wheat and soy required.
USA	Imported under FDA standard food procedures. Allergen labeling for wheat and soy required.
China	Imported under GACC rules for fermented condiments. Less culturally established than koikuchi in Chinese retail.
Korea	Imported as a fermented soy sauce; specialty rather than mainstream category.

Example products

Example finished products will be added after verifying producer's wheat-dominant brewing specification.

All brand names and product names referenced anywhere on this site are the property of their respective owners. Example entries are provided for informational purposes only and do not imply endorsement.

Related ingredients

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From the same origin

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FAQ for OEM buyers

Q. How is shiro soy sauce different from usukuchi?

Both are paler than standard koikuchi, but they're produced very differently. Usukuchi uses approximately the same soybean–wheat ratio as koikuchi (50:50) but with higher salt and shorter, cooler fermentation to suppress color. Shiro uses a dramatically wheat-dominant ratio (80–90% wheat, 10–20% soybeans) and a very short, cool fermentation. Shiro is paler than usukuchi, sweeter, lower in umami, and rarer.

Sources · Last reviewed: 2026-04-28

JAS standard for soy sauce — varietal compositional differences

Q. Is shiro soy sauce gluten-free?

No — the opposite. Shiro is the most wheat-dominant of the five JAS soy sauce varieties (typically 80–90% wheat content). Buyers seeking gluten-free Japanese soy sauce should look at tamari, not shiro.