Nagato, Yamaguchi Pref. –
Once I arrive at salt grasp Yuzen Inoue’s atelier in Yuya Bay in Yamaguchi Prefecture, the tranquil soundscape of seawater trickling by the frames of his salt-making equipment is punctuated solely by the occasional splash of bora (mullet) leaping from the adjoining bay waters.
Inoue, 53, is a salt maker who started his operations following Japan’s full repeal in 2002 of its practically century-long governmental salt monopoly, which took management of salt manufacturing in 1905 and banned conventional salt fields in 1971 (solely uncooked imported salt was allowed then).
