The last batch of Marufuku Brand miso paste sits in barrels at the company's Kalihi factory. By end of the year, the 67-year-old firm will fill its final order and the oldest miso company west of the Mississippi will close its doors for good.

American Hawaiian Soy Co. has been producing miso paste since three families, headed by co-founder Harry Morita, cooked and fermented their first barrel in 1941. One of the families eventually branched out on its own, leaving the Morita and Yogi families to fend for themselves and compete with nearly 40 other miso producers at the time.

The firm thrived under the leadership of Morita and would be one of two surviving miso companies in the Islands, the other being Hawaiian Miso & Soy Co. Ltd. The two companies supply most of the local restaurants, grocery stores and food processing companies with the versatile Japanese soy bean paste.

But soaring costs and a change in tastes among residents began to take their toll on American Hawaiian Soy and profits began to decline. A few months ago, Morita's five children, who succeeded him after his death in 1991, decided they could no longer continue to suffer losses and agreed to call it quits.

"We had been talking about it for over a year. It was hard. It was a hard decision," said Ruby Ueda, the second of Morita's five children. "But with the growing expenses — and it is very expensive now — and we're losing money, for a couple of years it's been just expenses we're paying out."

Ueda said she and her siblings kept the company going after their father's death as a legacy to him and because there was a demand for locally made miso. But along with rising costs, the company also had to deal with increased competition from Japan and the Mainland, as well as an aging customer base.

"I know we have a lot of supporters out there, but it was time. When we made our decision, it was time to do it," she said.

Harold Higa, vice president at Hawaiian Miso & Soy, said he was sorry that his competitor will be going out of business. He agreed with Ueda that it is very difficult for a small, family-owned business to survive.

"It's been kind of hard for us too because of the cost, all of the materials going up," Higa said. "We understand what they're going through, being in a family business and all the challenges that they're going through. We're kind of going through the same things."

Higa's grandfather, George, was one of the partners with Harry Morita when they started Marufuku Brand. Harold Higa said his company likely will increase production when Marufuku shuts down, but not by much.

"We could go a little bit more, but we're just almost to the max now," he said.

Harry Morita immigrated to Hawai'i from Japan when he was about 11 years old. Despite his young age, he was sent to Maui to work on a plantation, a vocation he didn't really enjoy.

John Morita, Harry's youngest child, said his father would run away from the plantation and eventually lost his job and home. He took a job in a butcher shop and dreamed of owning his own store.

He moved to O'ahu, but a plan to open his own shop fell through and he went to work in a miso factory in Liliha and then at Marufuku, a Kalihi miso manufacturer that was run by the Fukuda family. The Fukudas sold the firm to a hui made up of the Morita, Higa and Yogi families.

John Morita said the new owners kept the Marufuku name because it meant "never-ending good fortune."

A few years later, the Higa family broke off and formed Hawaiian Miso & Soy Co., makers of Maru-hi miso. Although separate companies, the two maintained a relationship and even today Marufuku Brand buys its soy beans from Hawaiian Miso & Soy.

Morita ran the company until his death 17 years ago, when his children took over. John Morita said he and his siblings tried their best to carry on their father's passion for producing a quality product while providing sound customer service.

Morita said one thing they always did was treat a customer with respect. An example, he said, was if they received a complaint or question about their product, someone would often deliver a container of fresh miso to that person's home and also explain ways to use and keep miso fresh.

"We felt they were no different than a store," Morita said. "This is not the president of a company, but this is the president of the house, the lady of the house calling you, and you have to give them not just service, but you have to inform them. That's how you keep people using things."

Marufuku Brand has been at the same site on Kalihi Street since the beginning, but the Moritas have yet to decide what to do with the land and building once the business closes.

Ueda said one thing is certain is miso manufacturing won't be in the cards because the machinery is old and too expensive to repair.

"Between us and the machines, we're slowly breaking down," she laughed.

Morita, 57, said he will look for a new job. He said he will miss the work, his customers, and time with his brothers and sisters.

"The family gets together to work, share stories. It's almost like sitting down to dinner," Morita said. "So that's one of the reasons it's kind of sad because we won't be able to do that with the grandkids."