Abstract
This paper explores the temporalities at play in the recent revitalisation of wooden barrel use within the fermentation culture of contemporary Japan. More than a decade ago, a group of soy sauce brewers and carpenters initiated a revival project aimed at protecting endangered brewing techniques and passing on “the authentic taste” of soy sauce to future generations. This article draws on ethnographic research with members of that project as they engage in numerous activities and events. It shows that the brewers are less concerned with the reinvention of an idealised past than they are with crafting the (uncertain) futures of wooden barrel soy sauce.