「創業は昭和5（1930）年と聞いています。90年以上の歴史があるんですけれども、ずっとこの場所で、ずっと地域のお店としてやってきたみたいですね。」（西尾真朋さん）
昭和の始めから地域の食卓を支えてきたスーパーやまにしは、当初建具屋として創業したという歴史があります。付知川の左岸、川東と呼ばれるエリアの農家で生まれ育った先代が、川西の付知銀座の一画、現在のお店がある所に建具屋を開いたのが始まりです。当時は隣の家が商店を営んでいたそうですが、やむを得ない事情で突然の閉店。困ってしまった近所の方々から引き継いでほしいとお願いされ、建具屋から商店へと業種を変えたそうです。
「まさかこんなに続いてるとは思ってないかもしれません」と笑う4代目の西尾真朋さんは、名古屋の老舗デパートでの修行を経て、平成14（2002）年頃にお店に入られました。現在のやまにしの店頭には、なかなか見かけないご当地アイスクリームやお菓子、乳製品、調味料など、セレクトショップさながらのこだわり商品が並びます。ここにしかない珍しい商品を求めて、遠方からお越しのお客様もいらっしゃいます。
真朋さんはデパートでの修行をするなか、一般に流通しないこだわりの商品に多く触れ、こうした商品を売りたい、紹介したいという想いが生まれたそう。しかし大都会と付知とでは環境が異なり、同じことをやっても無理だろうという気持ちもあったのだとか。それでも4代目としてお店に立つようになってから、少しずつ商品を置き始めたところ、地域の方々が大変喜んでくれたと言います。
「ちょっとずつそっちの方向に、10年ぐらいかけて、今やっとここまで来たっていう感じです。」（真朋さん）
お店のもう一つの売りは、昔ながらの作り方を継承する無添加の地味噌と地たまり（醤油）。創業当初より家庭用として作っていましたが、ちょうど真朋さんが付知に戻られた頃に商品として製造販売を始めました。かつては一般の家庭でも味噌や醤油が手作りされていましたが、次第に作り手が減り、売ってほしいという声が出ました。販売を始めると「もう家では作れないから使ってくれないか」と江戸や明治時代に作られた木樽を持ち込む方もいたそうです。味噌や醤油の味には地域性がありますが、やまにしの味噌・醤油は麹の強い香りが特徴です。
また、醸造した地たまりを使った郷土料理、鶏ちゃんも人気商品の一つです。やまにしでは恵那鶏という中津川のブランド鶏を使い、地たまりベースのタレで味をつけています。野菜と一緒に炒めるだけで、簡単に美味しい一品が完成します。
新鮮な野菜やお肉、手作りの美味しい惣菜、セレクト商品が並ぶ店内は、歩いて見て回るだけでもとても楽しく、地域で長年愛されてきた理由がよく分かります。観光で付知に訪れる方も、ぜひ立ち寄ってやまにしこだわりの商品をお楽しみください。
Yamanishi Supermarket with delicious side dishes
“I heard that it was founded in 1930. It has a history of more than 90 years, but it seems that it has always been in this place and as a shop for the local community.” (Mr. Masatomo Nishio)
Supermarket Yamanishi, which has been supporting local dining tables since the beginning of the Showa era (1926-1989), has a history of being originally founded as a joinery shop. Their predecessor, who was born and raised in a farmhouse in the area called Kawahigashi, on the left bank of the Tsukechi River, opened a joinery shop on a plot where the current shop is located in the Tsukechi Ginza. At the time, the house next door was running a store, but due to unavoidable circumstances, the store suddenly closed. Neighbors who were in trouble asked him to take over the business, so he changed the business from a joinery shop to a store.
The fourth-generation owner, Masatomo Nishio, started working at Supermarket Yamanishi around 2002 after training at a long-established department store in Nagoya. He laughed, saying, “The founder may not have expected this store to last for so many years. Today, Yamanishi’s storefront is filled with specialty products like a select shop, such as local ice cream, sweets, dairy products, and seasonings that are hard to find. Some customers come from far away to buy rare products that can only be found here.
During his training at a department store, He came into contact with many special products that were not generally distributed and wanted to sell and introduce such products. However, the environment in Tsukechi was different from that in the big city, and he thought that it would be impossible to do the same thing. Nevertheless, after he became the 4th owner of the store, he began to sell such products little by little, and the local people were very pleased.
“I feel like I’ve finally come this far after spending about 10 years moving in that direction little by little.” (Mr. Masatomo Nishino)
Another selling point of the store is the additive-free local miso and local soy sauce（Jidamari） inherited from the traditional way of making. Supermarket Yamanish has been making miso and soy sauce for home use since its establishment and started producing and selling them as products just around the time Masatomo returned to Tsukechi. In the past, miso and soy sauce were handmade by ordinary households, but gradually the number of people making them decreased, and there were requests for the store to sell them. When Supermarket Yamanish started selling them, some people brought in wooden barrels made in the Edo and Meiji periods, saying, “I can’t make miso and soy sauce at home anymore, so could you use these barrels to make them? ” The taste of miso and soy sauce varies from region to region, but Yamanishi’s miso and soy sauce are characterized by the strong aroma of koji.
Another popular product is “Keichan”, a local dish that uses fermented soy sauce(jidamari). Yamanishi uses Ena chicken, a brand of chicken from Nakatsugawa, and flavours it with a jidamari-based sauce. Simply stir-fry with vegetables to complete a delicious dish.
The store’s interior, lined with fresh vegetables and meats, delicious handmade prepared foods, and select products, is a lot of fun to walk around and look around, and it is easy to see why the store has been a long-time favourite in the community. If you are visiting Tsukechi for sightseeing, please stop by and enjoy Yamanishi’s specialty products.
