Softsilica (Yazawagi White Clay)

The origin of Soft Silica Co., Ltd., "Yazawagi white clay," is a white clay mineral mined in the Yazawagi area of Yokote City, Akita. Classified mineralogically as 2:1-type montmorillonite clay, it bears the academic name "soft, porous, highly silicified silicate white clay" — a geological resource unusual even in Japan. It was once prized as a secret remedy for diarrhea and wounds, and has been called the "king of soils" and the "magic white clay."

Soft Silica Co., Ltd. is the company that focused on this Yazawagi white clay and contributed to postwar food production and livestock health management. Its "Million" series of soil conditioners — which, mixed into soil, creates an aggregate structure, makes fertilizer work without waste, and increases resistance to drought and cold damage — has been used across a wide range of settings, from professional farmers to home gardens.

In recent years it has expanded its lineup by use, as Softsilica for horticulture, livestock and fish farming. In horticulture, many enthusiasts of roses, clematis and more adopt it as a soil conditioner; in livestock, mixing it into feed improves palatability and helps alleviate the odor of excrement and promote drying. For fish farming, it has won support as a mineral supplement useful for water quality and health management in aquaculture fields such as nishikigoi and eel.

The online shop also offers higher-grade products such as Yazawagi White Clay Premium and Precious, as well as large-volume sets for commercial use. A wholesale product list is also available, and together with diverse partners — garden shops, materials stores, agricultural cooperatives, livestock operators, fish farms and more — it delivers materials that are "kind to the environment and kind to life" across Japan.

Japan's only "soft, porous, highly silicified silicate white clay"

Yazawagi white clay is considered Japan's only geological material composed of 2:1-type montmorillonite clay, with the unique property that its colloidal particles adsorb impurities while releasing beneficial minerals.

Aggregating soil to create an environment where roots can breathe

Through its swelling capacity and porous structure, it guides single-grain soil toward an aggregate structure, improving the balance of water retention, drainage and aeration. While reducing the risk of root rot, it supports soil-making that lets crops put down deep roots.

Boosting fertilizer efficiency and supporting healthy growth with bacteriostatic action

By temporarily holding fertilizer components such as phosphoric acid and nitrogen and releasing them at the needed timing, it curbs excess-fertilizer damage while sustaining their effect. At the same time, its bacteriostatic action — which suppresses the activity of unwanted bacteria — keeps the soil and water environment clean.

"A thousand uses," from horticulture and farming to livestock, aquaculture and living spaces

It is used for a wide variety of purposes — soil improvement for home vegetable plots and rose growing, and root-rot prevention for rice, vegetables, fruit trees and houseplants, as well as improving feed efficiency and controlling odor in livestock settings, improving water quality in fish ponds, and deodorizing and humidity control in living spaces.