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00:00Ramen has been evolving since the beginning of the Reiwa era.
00:07It's a fierce battle between the best and the worst.
00:13One of the most important elements is the noodles.
00:17Do you know that there is a company that has achieved a revolution in this field?
00:25This is Suzuki Noodle Co., Ltd. in Okayama Prefecture.
00:31Ramen, udon noodles, and soba noodles.
00:34Suzuki Noodle Co., Ltd. has developed a machine that supports noodle production all over Japan.
00:38Its production volume is the highest in the country.
00:44The company has mechanized the process that was intended for craftsmen.
00:49Suzuki Noodle Co., Ltd. has brought about many innovations.
00:52There are various processes.
00:54The symbol of this is the hand-pulled noodles machine.
00:58It's very fast.
01:00The process of hand-pulling noodles was reproduced by machine.
01:03It's been more than 90 years since its development, and it's still active all over the country.
01:10Now we have to use the hand-pulling method.
01:15There was a strong desire to protect the bodies of famous craftsmen.
01:23The company has brought about changes one after another in the noodle boom of udon noodles, ramen, and soba noodles in Japan.
01:30This time, we're going to find out if that was the case with the company that mechanized the craftsmen's work.
01:45Kamogata Town, Asakuchi City, Okayama Prefecture
01:58Kamogata Town, Asakuchi City, Okayama Prefecture
02:04Suzuki Noodle Co., Ltd. has been passionate about noodle production for over 100 years.
02:14They mainly develop noodle machines that produce noodles such as udon noodles and ramen noodles.
02:20The company's goal is to mechanize the craftsmen's work.
02:27The story began in the 1920s when they started making hand-pulled noodles.
02:36It was more than 100 years ago.
02:39Kamogata Town is a place of clean water, setouchi salt, and high-quality flour.
02:50Hand-pulled noodles have been made here since the Edo period.
02:58Hand-pulled noodles are made with the traditional method of twisting the dough and stretching it.
03:04Delicate and uniform noodles are born.
03:10But at that time, most of the process was hand-pulled.
03:15In particular, the hand-pulling process put a great burden on the craftsmen's bodies.
03:22While struggling with stiff shoulders and back pain, they wrapped the dough on a stick for eight hours a day.
03:30The craftsmen kept challenging themselves to the limit.
03:34Now, let's see what this hand-pulling process is like.
03:43This process of carefully twisting the dough on a Japanese stick tests the craftsmen's skills and spirit.
03:52President Suzuki also did hand-pulling for this interview.
03:57President Suzuki himself did this.
04:00This process puts a great burden on the shoulders, back, and neck.
04:14The founder, Mr. Yaichi, who did this hard hand-pulling process himself, came up with an idea.
04:21He wondered if this process could be done by machines.
04:26One hand-pulling craftsman started to develop a machine in Asake City.
04:31I think people around me saw the development stage and thought,
04:37what is Mr. Yaichi doing? He has changed a lot.
04:48I thought that ordinary hand-pulling craftsmen couldn't make such a dream-like machine.
04:58However, no one imagined that this idea would continue to be used on the battlefield for more than 90 years.
05:10How did this dream come true?
05:17I love noodles, so I must have helped a lot while I didn't know.
05:22It's a machine made by a craftsman who wasn't an expert in making machines.
05:27I'm curious about that.
05:30We have President Suzuki of Suzuki Noodle Company in the studio.
05:33Nice to meet you.
05:36How long have you been in business?
05:38This is my fifth generation.
05:41I've been in business for 23 years.
05:45Is there a lot of companies in Kamogata that make noodles?
05:49Currently, there are more than 10 companies.
05:54When we first developed the machine, there were more than 100 noodle factories.
06:02It was a very famous production area.
06:06We started kneading at 1 or 2 a.m.
06:09We mixed flour and salt water and stretched it.
06:13Finally, the noodles were made at 5 or 6 p.m.
06:16We worked for 16 hours a day.
06:21You've been working all the time except sleeping.
06:24We always wanted to make delicious noodles in a short period of time.
06:33Before we started the noodle industry, we were in the production industry.
06:42First, we took out the string from the noodles.
06:45Then we wrapped the noodles in a wooden frame.
06:48I see.
06:50Then we applied it to the process of making noodles.
06:53I see.
06:55You mean you wrap the noodles in a wooden frame.
06:58That's right.
07:00I see.
07:02I see.
07:04This is the process of rolling the dough while twisting it.
07:10This is the process of rolling the dough while twisting it.
07:12By the way, why is twisting so important?
07:19If you don't twist the dough, the noodles will break while you stretch it.
07:25I see.
07:27Twisting the dough gives the noodles strength and elasticity.
07:32If you look at the cross section of the twisted noodles, you can see that the fine fibers are intertwined.
07:38This makes the noodles hard to cut and firm.
07:46If you stretch the twisted dough, it will not stretch and break.
07:57On the other hand, if you stretch the dough that is not twisted,
08:04It's completely different.
08:05If you stretch the twisted dough, the noodles will break and it will not be a good product.
08:12How can we lighten the burden of this hard work?
08:17At that moment, the founder, Mr. Iaichi, took a bold challenge to mechanize his work.
08:26After five years of trial and error,
08:30Finally, one machine is completed.
08:34With this simple machine, can we really lighten the burden of this hard work?
08:41Even now, more than 90 years after its development,
08:44I visited a factory that is still in use.
08:50Look at this.
08:52It's moving at a great speed.
08:56It's a great speed.
08:58If you move the dough on a stick,
09:04When will it be twisted?
09:07In just a few seconds, two meters of dough was wrapped.
09:11If you look closely,
09:14There is a firm twist.
09:18At this factory, which makes four tons of noodles a day,
09:23This machine has been introduced more than 50 years ago.
09:27Now, it is a part of the machine that should not be part of the manual method.
09:34Otherwise, it is impossible to make the same amount of noodles as now.
09:42So how did he reproduce the twist?
09:47Here is the secret.
09:49This part where the noodles come out.
09:52Let's take a look at the black point and see it in slow motion.
09:57Wow, that's amazing.
10:00By rotating infinitely,
10:03The twist is added to the noodles.
10:08In this way, the twisting work of the craftsman
10:12Successfully reproduced by machine.
10:16The speed is completely different.
10:18This idea seems to surprise even the current employees.
10:23I don't think it's easy to come up with such an idea.
10:32I think it's a revolutionary idea.
10:36Due to this machine,
10:38The twisting work of 8 hours a day is reduced to just 1 hour.
10:44With dramatic efficiency,
10:46In the blink of an eye, it became popular among the noodles craftsmen around.
10:55In the meantime, Mr. Yaichi took a surprising action.
11:03He also provided this technology to other craftsmen.
11:10At that time,
11:12I think it was the beginning of cooperation.
11:15To make each other's production easier.
11:18At that time, there were more than 100 companies making noodles.
11:22I think it was the origin of everyone's excitement.
11:28This machine, which is indispensable for handmade noodles,
11:31It spread all over the country and grew until it was adopted in about 800 factories.
11:37Wow!
11:40I want to help people who make noodles and liven up the noodle industry.
11:45Without this invention, which greatly reduced the burden on the craftsmen,
11:49The history of noodles may have been different.
11:58After that, the company expanded its business to the noodle maker of udon and ramen, not just handmade noodles.
12:06While the factory was being expanded due to the rapid economic growth,
12:10The sales increased steadily.
12:13However!
12:18The price competition was declining as the noodle maker began to enter.
12:23The company's demand has declined dramatically.
12:26It's a desperate pinch.
12:31But in the meantime, a new chance will come.
12:36It was the arrival of Don Boom, which was involved in the opening of Seto Ohashi.
12:42I see.
12:44Now, if you make a machine like that, it's a privilege.
12:47It may be something to protect yourself.
12:51I want to help the craftsmen.
12:54It's great that the spirit is still there.
12:57Thanks to that, it's spreading.
12:59We've been able to get a lot of delicious noodles.
13:03It's been 90 years since the development of VTR.
13:06It's still being used.
13:08Is it still the same machine?
13:11It's the same function.
13:14It's a machine that repeats the model change every year due to noise problems, safety, and security.
13:23Are noodles made by other companies now?
13:25At first, a few companies that developed and sold the same thing came out.
13:33However, they graduated in 5 or 10 years.
13:38Currently, we are the only one.
13:41That's great.
13:44That means most of the noodle makers are using the machine of the company.
13:49That's right.
13:51I call it Miwa Somen.
13:52Miwa Somen also has this machine in all factories.
13:58All factories?
14:00Thank you very much.
14:02By the way, I'm a fan of Ibo.
14:06There are more than 400 factories.
14:08Several machines are used for one building, so we use several times as many machines.
14:14Thank you very much.
14:17That's great.
14:18That's great.
14:20That's how much we've helped the craftsmen.
14:24That's right.
14:26What is the craftsmanship that the company has used since the arrival of the udon boom?
14:35In the 1980s, large-scale manufacturers entered the life-sized market one after another.
14:42The company was involved in a fierce price competition.
14:47In terms of cost, it was impossible to compete, and the demand gradually decreased.
14:53It was at the bottom of the company.
14:56What should I start with? What should I do?
15:00I couldn't sleep.
15:04I had to do something about it.
15:09At that time, a new noodle boom came.
15:12In 1988, tourists from Kagawa prefecture flocked to Seto Owa City, and the udon boom came.
15:24Sanuki Udon became popular in a blink of an eye with its unique taste and flavor, and it became an explosive souvenir.
15:34That's right. It's a souvenir.
15:37However, in a noodle factory that makes udon for souvenirs, it was impossible to reproduce the unique waist of handmade noodles.
15:46That's right.
15:48When craftsmen make noodles, they stretch the dough while rotating it, and the dough overlaps in a complicated way, creating a strong waist and elasticity.
15:58That's right.
16:00However, it was difficult to reproduce the waist of handmade noodles just by stretching it in one direction with a machine.
16:08I see.
16:10Sanuki udon is known as Konba Sanuki.
16:14I was told that I wanted to shape it.
16:20Sanuki udon is the biggest boom in the past.
16:24It was a big chance for me.
16:26It was a difficult task, but if I could solve it, it would be a big chance for me.
16:37The company continued to challenge the difficulty of reproducing the waist of Sanuki udon by machine.
16:47How can we reproduce that strong waist by machine?
16:52The company focused on how to twist the dough on the board.
16:57After three years of planning and trial and error, this machine was finally completed.
17:07It's a big machine.
17:12The dough on the board is twisted and folded on the board.
17:16The dough is twisted and folded on the board.
17:20At last, the dough is twisted and folded on the board again.
17:27This process is the key to reproduce the waist and elasticity of noodles.
17:33By twisting the twisted dough on the board, we can re-create the horizontal structure vertically.
17:44By overlapping the twisted dough on the board and stretching it on the board again, the dough can be stretched in various directions.
17:56This is the waist.
17:58With this, we can reproduce the strong waist, which is close to hand-made even by machine.
18:03This factory, which introduced the machine of the company eight years ago, produces noodles, but not only does it reproduce the waist of noodles, but also improves productivity.
18:20The noodles are weak overall, so I want to make a solid noodle.
18:24By using this machine, the noodles are firm and less likely to break.
18:29This is a solid noodle.
18:31Mr. Iyashima and Mr. Masuda, please experience the waist of noodles made by machines.
18:39We have prepared the noodles of solid noodles made by the machine of the company.
18:45Please try it.
18:47The noodles are thinner than what we think.
18:51Yes.
18:53In fact, the noodles of the factory take about 20 minutes to boil.
18:58It is difficult to ask the noodles to boil for 20 minutes at home, so the noodles are slightly thinner.
19:05How long does it take to boil?
19:07It takes about 12 minutes.
19:09It's about the same time as pasta.
19:12Let's eat.
19:13Yes.
19:20The noodles are thinner than I imagined, but they have a firm waist, so I don't feel uncomfortable.
19:25It's delicious.
19:27I used to buy solid noodles as a souvenir, but I'm very grateful for the waist of noodles.
19:35I think it's important to eat noodles with a strainer.
19:38There is also a way to eat noodles with a throat.
19:41Eat noodles with a throat.
19:43I think there are few cases where noodles are expressed with a throat.
19:47It was delicious. Thank you very much.
19:50Next is ramen.
19:52What is the machine developed by the company?
20:01Ramen is a trend of noodles since the 1990s.
20:07It's delicious.
20:09Ramen has become so popular that it has become a unique drink.
20:20What attracted attention was not only the soup, but also the noodles.
20:29Many shops sell homemade noodles.
20:36The machine developed by the company in 2007 is this small noodle machine.
20:44It is developed as an innovative noodle machine that can do all the processes in a space of about a square meter.
20:53I often see this machine.
20:57This machine was introduced by a noodle restaurant in Okayama City.
21:05The space that used to be a warehouse has been converted into a noodle room.
21:09He kneads the dough by himself and stretches it.
21:15The biggest feature of this noodle machine is that it is easy to make the ideal noodles of each shop.
21:22It is a machine that can accurately reproduce the particularities of the craftsmen.
21:25This is a smooth texture of medium-thick noodles that is perfect for spicy soup.
21:34It's delicious.
21:36The surface has a glossy finish, which leads to smoothness.
21:42It is very helpful.
21:44Suzuki Noodles has brought revolution to the noodle culture in Japan.
21:49We have grown together while solving the problems of the craftsmen.
21:56We will continue to support the future of noodle culture.
22:01We have grown together while solving the problems of the craftsmen.
22:06We will continue to support the future of noodle culture.
22:14Noodle is indispensable in our culture.
22:20There is a program like a noodle machine in a shop, and we go there.
22:26I thought I had seen it.
22:29It's Suzuki Noodles.
22:32Some people say that wheat flour is not good.
22:39For example, gluten-free flour.
22:42Is there anything for gluten-free flour?
22:46We have developed a tool to make rice noodles.
22:55For gluten-free people, we have developed a tool to make rice noodles.
23:02We have developed a tool to make rice noodles.
23:11Let's make everything into noodles.
23:15I'm looking forward to it.
23:16We will continue to develop a new style for 120 or 130 years.
23:37Mr. Ayashima, please tell us about today's topic.
23:42Today's topic is...
23:45Mechanization of craftsmanship is a craftsmanship.
23:51Noodle was originally made by a craftsman.
23:58I was impressed that there was a lot of handwork in mechanization.
24:08I learned today that there is a lot of merit in advancing such a technology.
24:18I'm looking forward to it.
24:22Thank you very much for today.