Noshiume Honpo Satoya

Satoya was founded in 1821 (Bunsei 4) at its current location in Tokamachi, Yamagata City. At the time, Yamagata bustled with travelers on the Dewa Sanzan pilgrimage and prospered as a post town along the Ushu Road. What had been passed down as "ki-zuke yaku" (revival medicine) to ease travelers' fatigue eventually transformed into the confection "Noshi-ume" using fully ripe plums.

Inheriting the name "Sato Matsubei" through generations, Satoya has continued making the famous fully ripe plum confection for over two centuries. With the opening of railways, it spread nationwide as a Yamagata souvenir, and still today the unchanged production method is used to craft Noshi-ume.

The current eighth-generation owner, Shintaro Sato, with the motto "Japanese sweets, a little freer," takes on neo-Japanese sweets that express contemporary sensibility through traditional technique. New famous confections that speak Yamagata's "now" have been continuously born — including "Tamayura" combining noshi-ume with chocolate, "Libre" with lemon, Western liquor, and brown sugar yokan, and "Sora no Mukou" evoking the night sky.

When department stores and souvenir shops closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, sharing on social media became a catalyst to launch an online shop — nurturing the EC as a place to respond to customers' voices saying "I want to buy but can't." Despite being long-established, the desire to be a "young long-established shop" that constantly keeps moving is the driving force behind Satoya's confectionery making and communication.

The originator of the fully ripe plum confection "Noshi-ume"

Founded in 1821 (Bunsei 4). Starting from "ki-zuke yaku" (revival medicine) for travelers on the Dewa Sanzan pilgrimage, through trial and error the brand has continued to make "Noshi-ume" — the famous fully ripe plum confection now completed in its current form.

The motto is "Japanese sweets, a little freer"

While centered on traditional technique, the brand continuously creates neo-Japanese sweets incorporating contemporary sensibilities — such as "Tamayura" combining chocolate and noshi-ume, "Libre" with lemon, Western liquor, and brown sugar yokan, and the breathtakingly beautiful yokan "Sora no Mukou."

A young long-established shop telling Yamagata's "now"

From the signature "Noshi-ume" to fully ripe plum confections, seasonal fresh sweets, and baked / Western sweets. With sweets that reflect Yamagata's ingredients and scenery, the brand continues to evolve as a young long-established shop conveying the land's appeal and the "current Yamagata."