Saikyo Miso (西京味噌)
Saikyo miso is the common name for a whitish yellow sweet miso containing a high proportion of malted rice made mainly around the Kinki region; and the main characteristic of this miso is that while miso usually used for miso soup contains 12% salt, Saikyo miso contains only about 5% salt.
It is often called Shiro miso (white miso) as opposed to "Hacho miso" (red miso).
This miso is indispensable for making Ozoni (soup containing rice cakes, meat and vegetables) at New Year in the Kansai region and it is also processed into su-miso (miso with vinegar and soy sauce), dengaku miso (miso with sake, mirin and sugar) and ingredients for confectionary (miso matsukaze). Saikyo pickles made by pickling seasonal fish and meat in saikyo miso extended with mirin are widely enjoyed.