WASHOKU - Japanese Food Culture and Cuisine

ENTER

2013-12-31T14:52:00.000-08:00

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Japanese Food SAIJIKI

和食歳時記　　

Washoku 和食, the traditional food of Japan, is famous for being pleasant to the eye and quite healthy.
Japanisches Essen, ein Augenschmauss!

Click HERE to have a first good look at Japanese food !

Like a good haiku,
washoku is dependent on the four seasons
for fresh ingredients.

Even the traditional sweets, wagashi (和菓子) have a seasonal component to it.

Click HERE to have a first good look at Japanese sweets !

Many poems have been written about it ...

The Japanese food needs its own English saijiki：
和食歳時記!

The Haiku Gourmet
The Senryu Gourmet

Gabi Greve, December 2006

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Seasonal words used as kigo in Japanese haiku !

WASHOKU .. JAPANESE FOOD SAIJIKI
. . . . . ABC-Index

Sweets from Japan (wagashi) 和菓子歳時記
The Japanese Sweets Saijiki

... Haiku Sweets haika 俳菓
Many tea sweets (chagashi 茶菓子) are named after famous short poems (waka 和歌　and tanka 短歌), but there are also some named after a famous haiku.

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Food-related Topics for Haiku

. . . Japanese Food as Haiku Topics . . .

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General Information

. . . Japanese Food Culture . . .

Food from the Sea, Food from the Mountains
Umi no Sachi, Yama no Sachi ... The Origin

From Hokkaido to Okinawa
REGIONAL DISHES 　
local dishes, regional specialities ...
kyodo ryori, kyoodo ryoori 郷土料理

Glossary . Vokabelliste

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My Daruma eating Buckwheat Noodles !

WASHOKU, a project of
The WORLD KIGO DATABASE

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My WASHOKU Discussion Forum

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. AKS ME
... any question about Japan ! 　　

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Washoku

2013-12-28T19:35:00.000-08:00

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Japanese Food ... Washoku 和食

"WASHOKU" is a term for the traditional Japanese cuisine, which usually includes Sashimi, Sushi, Tempura, fresh fish and a lot of seasonal vegetables.
It is sometimes also called "Nihonshoku" 日本食.
Considering the geographical position of Japan, it has a wide variety of regional specialities, form the North of Hokkaido to the subtropical cuisine of Okinawa.

Japanese kitchen, cooking Japanese, Japanese cuisine

I will try and show you the Japanese food culture in many aspects.

SHUN 旬の物 / 旬の味 Specialities of the Season

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quote
Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of Shogun rule. In the early modern era massive changes took place that introduced Western culture to Japan.

The modern term "Japanese cuisine" (nihon ryōri, 日本料理 or washoku, 和食) means traditional-style Japanese food, similar to what already existed before the end of national seclusion in 1868. In a broader sense of the word, it could also include foods whose ingredients or cooking methods were subsequently introduced from abroad, but which have been developed by Japanese who made them their own. Japanese cuisine is known for its emphasis on seasonality of food (旬, shun), quality of ingredients and presentation.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Japanese food -
a taste of home
in a winter night

Gabi Greve, Okayama, Japan 2005

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Japanese food !
the eyes are mightier than
the stomach

Nakayama Ishino, 中山石野, December 2006

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. . . My WASHOKU REFERENCE for further reading !

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WASHOKU ... Seasonal Dishes 　

WASHOKU ... Regional Dishes from North to South 　

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essen in Japan, Japanische Esskultur. Japanisch essen

WKD : Worldwide Food KIGO

***** Food from India

***** Spices from India

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NEWSLETTER 2011

2013-12-27T17:26:00.000-08:00

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Use SEARCH THIS BLOG ONLY on the right sidebar to find your keyword.
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NEWSLETTER ... latest additions

History of Japanese Food

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. . . . . December 2011

Sabappuru サバップル　apple pie with saba mackerel meat Aomori

. . Sakana 　魚　toys and amulets with FISH . .

Rice milk ライスミルク

Kamaboko Daruma かまぼこだるま

Sangaria サンガリア a drink for children

akamoku 鎌倉の新名産アカモク akamoku seaweed
new dishes from Kamakura beach

KitKat chocolate キットカット and Kit mail キットメール

Nokisaki Business 軒先.com

Edo - 100 favorite dishes

Asian Food Regulation Information Service

Food Crisis Worldwide

insutanto zooni インスタント雑煮 ready-made zoni soup
for the New Year

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Additions 2008

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Gabriele Greve, Gabi Greve, Japan
GokuRakuAn, Daruma Museum

Empty Lunchbox

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Net Super

2011-10-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

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Net Super - Online Shopping

quote from Japan Times
ONLINE SUPERMARKETS
'Net super' trend food for thought
By HIROKO NAKATA

Despite the economy's prolonged doldrums and the dim outlook for conventional stores, the online supermarket business is a rare bright spot in retailing, experts said.

Following are questions and answers about the trend:

What do Internet supermarkets offer?
The services offered by online supermarkets in Japan are basically the same as those offered in Europe and the United States. Consumers place orders for food, drinks and other daily necessities on websites, and the supermarket chains deliver them to the home.

The stores' major customers are housewives in their 30s and 40s, which similar to the shopping demographic for regular supermarkets.

But online supermarkets are gaining increasing attention in part because senior citizens find it difficult to go to the supermarkets in their communities because of limited mobility.

It is estimated there are some 6 million seniors nationwide who have difficulty purchasing daily goods, according to a trade ministry report in May. Many people live in huge housing complexes built around the 1960s, when the economy was booming. Others live in remote areas in the mountains. Since young people tend to move out of these communities, so, apparently, do retail outlets.

"Online supermarkets have been growing rapidly due to the widening area for services and an increasing number of customers," said a survey released in February by marketing and consulting firm Fuji Keizai Co.

Patronage is expected to increase because some supermarkets now accept orders via fax or telephone for seniors not conversant in the use of online services.

Fuji Keizai expects the scale of the online market to expand to ¥90 billion in 2012, from an estimated ¥78.1 billion in 2011 and ¥56.9 billion in 2010.

How have Internet supermarkets evolved?
The latest trend may be exemplified by Radish Lawson, which debuted Oct. 11, combining the convenience store giant Lawson with the Radish Boya grocery delivery system.

The new service offers fresh vegetables provided by Radish Boya, which has built a reputation for offering organic vegetables and other additive-free foods.

Radish Boya has contracts with more than 2,000 farmers so that consumers can trace each item to allay any concerns they may have about the vegetables.

"Unlike many other online supermarkets that pick up products from their outlets, Radish Lawson harvests vegetables soon after receiving the orders," said Lawson spokesman Yuki Takemoto. Food can be delivered as early as three days after an order is received, he added.

Radish Lawson had 16,000 online members as of Oct. 17, Takemoto said.

The company expects sales to reach ¥10 billion in three years and ¥50 billion in five years, he said.

The online trend has been picked up by all the major supermarket chains. Ito-Yokado, Aeon, Seiyu, Daiei and Summit each have websites for food orders, while others, including Maruetsu, Tokyu and Kinokuniya, maintain online shops on Internet shopping mall operator Rakuten.

Customers usually pay ¥100 to ¥500 for each delivery, but much less or even zero for bulk purchases.

Customers can also place online orders with grocery delivery firms, including Oisix, Radish Boya and Pal System, which is run by the Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union.

Although the delivery firms themselves are not supermarkets, they attract customers because many have strict standards of food safety. Delivery costs vary, with some charging ¥200 to ¥400 each time and others requiring an initial membership fee of around ¥5,000 and annual membership fee of around ¥1,000.

How are orders placed?
First one must determine if the supermarket of choice has a nearby outlet to handle online orders.
Usually, shoppers must register on the online supermarket's website.

Then it's merely a case of placing the order and designating the delivery time. Many grocery deliveries are on a weekly or bimonthly basis, and the timing may be less flexible.

Customers need to be careful because many supermarkets require payment even if an order is canceled. When an order is delivered, generally someone must be present to receive it. Some services require orders be placed no later than least three hours or half a day before the scheduled delivery time.

How do the services stay competitive?
Some lure customers by boasting their advantages and unique services. Ito-Yokado touts its huge lineup and network; it has about 30,000 items available and outlets that can take online orders nationwide.

Summit leaves deliveries at the buyer's doorstep if the customer isn't home. Its waterproof packages may be locked, and if cold items are involved, insulation is provided.

Daiei via its website offers customers appetizers and platter-style dishes for Christmas and other special occasions.

How did retailers expand online shopping?

"The impact Ito-Yokado had on the market's expansion was quite big," said Shigeru Yoshino, assistant manager in charge of food under Fuji Keizai's survey on internet supermarkets.

Until the major supermarket chain succeeded and logged profits in recent years, the domestic online retailing business was slumping. Other supermarkets started online services in the early 2000s, but they had trouble turning a profit due to delivery costs, Yoshino said.

Ito-Yokado found that once it had established repeat customers for fresh vegetables and prepared foods, all of which came with detailed product information, customers would increase and profits would follow, he said.

According to the survey by Fuji Keizai, other retailers followed suit and the overall online supermarket business grew by more than 35 percent in 2010.

source : www.japantimes.co.jp. October 2011

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Rice Milk

2011-05-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

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Rice in a bottle to drink

ライスミルク rice milk

It contains the rice of about one onigiri riceball, ca. 50 g, in liquid form, for easy consumption in summer. One bottle contains 200 ml and has 140 kcal.

It comes in four flavors
味はプレーンとライチ、マンゴー、木いちご

plain (tasts a bit like amazake)
lychee
mango
strawberry

This drink can be used for a quick breakfast, for the elderly, for children, before or arfer sports, and so on.
If it becomes a hit, it might help reduce the stored rice of Japan.

木徳神糧株式会社 from Kitoku Shinryo Co.
source : www.kitoku-shinryo.co.jp

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Related words

***** . Rice Reis, meshi gohan

WASHOKU
DRINKS SAIJIKI

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Kanpyoo dried gourd stripes

2011-03-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

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dried gourd stripes (kanpyoo)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: See below
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

kanpyoo, kampyoo 干瓢

The fruit of the "evening face" yuugao
yuugao 夕顔 (ゆうがお) bottle gourd (plant)

The plant contains large amounts of iron, phosphorous and calcium.

. Morning Glory (asagao).

Torii Tadateru brought them to Shimotsuki province in the Edo period.
From Tochigi along the Tokaido to Minokuchi.

The stripes are about 5 cm wide and 2 mm thick before drying in wind and sunshine, on a rainy day under plastic roofs. Hung up in the morning, they are done by evening.

They are cut off the large fruit with a special cutting device.

The local farm wives take the inner parts with the seed (nakago) and prepare simple dishes after cutting them to pieces and peeling off the seeds. Mixed with other vegetables, or with an ankake sauce or simply in miso soup are they a delicioud addition to the dinner table in the season.

In Minokuchi, a secial dish is prepared at O-Bon for the ancestors.
Kanpyo and green peppers (ao toogarashi) are boiled together and put as an offering on the family altar, with a prayer for a good harvest in the coming year.

. Dried food (kanbutsu) .

famous woodblock print by Hiroshige
about the kanpyoo perparations in Minaguchi,
along the Tokaido.
歌川広重「水口名物干瓢」 (Minakuchi)
getrocknete Kürbisstreifen

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KIGO for late summer

. kanpyoo muku 干瓢剥く (かんぴょうむく )
cutting small stripes of calabash .

(Lagenaria siceraria var. hispida). kampyo
... kanpyoo hagu 干瓢はぐ（かんぴょうはぐ）

kanpyoo hosu 干瓢干す（かんぴょうほす）
drying the calabash stripes

shin kanpyoo 新干瓢（しんかんぴょう）new calabash stripes
The calabash is cut in long stripes with a maschine or by hand and then dried, best in the sunshine. New stripes are offered to the ancestors for the obon festival.

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

The 53 stations of the Tokaido
Minaguchi is located in the modern city of Kooka (Koka) in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.

This postal station was developed as early as the Muromachi period, as its location was convenient for travelers going to the Grand Ise Shrine and the Ise Bay. On the eastern border of Minaguchi-juku, the road split into three paths.
On the western border, the post station also served as a castle town for Minakuchi Castle and was an important travel route.

. 50. Minaguchi-juku (Kōka) .

source :　web_ukiyoe

水口 Old Photo from 1910

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HAIKU and SENRYU

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Related words

***** - Summer Vegetables -

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Nokisaki Business

2011-01-17T18:07:00.000-08:00

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Nokisaki Business

***** Location: Japan
***** Season:
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

quote
.. capitalized on the Nokisaki.com website set up by Tokyo-based Nokisaki Co., a firm that acts as an intermediary for landowners looking to rent vacant "nokisaki" (edge of the eaves) spaces at relatively low cost and tenants wishing to lease such areas by the hour, day or week. Unlike regular property leasing, the contracts concern only the right to use nokisaki spaces.

Nokisaki.com has grown increasingly popular since its launch in April 2008, indicating rising interest in the use of such small, open spaces.

The locations include squares in front of office buildings in business districts, spots around stores that are unused outside business hours, and even parking spots at people's homes that would otherwise be left vacant.

The number of contracts concluded on Nokisaki.com totals about 350 a month in the Tokyo and Osaka areas.
source : Japan Times, Januray 18, 2011

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軒先.com

http://www.nokisaki.com/

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Edo Favorite 100 Dishes

2011-01-08T16:59:00.000-08:00

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100 Favorite Dishes of Edo
江戸料理百選

Copy the Japanese names and insert them . HERE .
to see the photos.

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. . . . . Tofu (touhu)

arare toofu 霰豆腐 "tofu like hail stones"
あられとうふ
The tofu is cut in little cubes like a dice. It may be deep-fried.

asaji dengaku あさじでんがく covered with umeboshi soysauce paste
浅茅田楽 . see Konome Dengaku.

atsuyaki toofu 厚やき豆腐 Thick fried tofu.

bekkau toofu べっかう豆婦 "tortoise shell tofu"
べっかうとうふ
(bekkoo toofu べっこう豆腐)
Cut in triangles, fried to a tortoise shell color.

chawan mushi 茶碗むし / 茶碗蒸 "steamed in a tea bowl"
A favorite in the winter months.

chikuwa toofu 竹輪豆婦 Tofu with chikuwa tubes.
ちくわとうふ

ebi toofu 苗埋菽乳 Tofu with shrimps.
えびとうふ

fuwafuwa toofu ふはふは豆腐 soft ground tofu with an egg
ふはふはとうふ
The mixture is put in boiling water to form a ball, sesame added for flavor.
tamago fuwafuwa 玉子ふわふわ boiled egg with dashi and irizake 煎酒, made from boiled down sake (to about 80%), with pickled umeboshi plums, bonito shavings and a bit of salt. This irizake (iri-zake, sake o iru, to boil down ricewine) was used until soy sauce became more readily available as a flavoring.

ganseki toofu 巖石とうふ "Tofu like a rock"
がんせきとうふ
Placed in a clear broth.

gookan toofu 合歓とうふ "Silk tree tofu"
One mochi is placed on top of the tofu.

gutsuni toofu ぐつ煮とうふ gently simmered tofu
With Saikyo miso or red miso. Flavored with mountain pepper.
Served in an earthen pot to keep warm.

hanpen toofu ハンペン豆腐 Hampen made from yam, tofu, water and a bit of salt. Served in a clear hot broth. Also called "shiratama 白玉", white ball

hiryauzu - kaku hiryausu "flying dragon head"
ヒリャウヅ -方ヒレウズ / 飛竜子 / 飛竜頭 / 角飛龍頭
ひりゃうず - かくひりゃうず / 飛竜頭豆腐
In Kanto it is called ganmodoki がんもどき.
In Kansai it is called hiryoozu ひりょうず.
Tofu with a lot of vegetables.

imokake toofu 薯蕷かけ豆腐 Tofu with thick sauce made from grated yam
いもかけとうふ
Served in a broth with katsuobushi.

ise toofu 五瀬豆腐 grind tofu, sea bream, yam and other ingredients, with an egg, simmered in a box, flavored with miso and sansho pepper.

ishiyaki toofu 石焼とうふ stone-fried tofu
Similar to sukiyaki, flavored with grated radish and raw soy sauce.

kamaboko toofu 肉ぼことうふ made in the form of small kamaboko
かまぼことうふ
Tofu and sesame are blended together and simmered into kamabako shape.

kaminari toofu 雷とうふ "Thunder tofu"
かみなりとうふ
Fast fried in sesame oil, so it makes a noise like thunder.

komon toofu 小もんとうふ tofu mixed with slightly grilled nori seaweed, wrapped like a bag
こもんとうふ
Served in hot broth.

konome dengaku, ko no me dengaku 木の芽田楽 Mountain pepper dengaku.
covered with miso paste.

koori toofu 玲瓏とうふ tofu in kanten jelly.
こおりとうふ
Served with a bit of Japanese mustard.
Sometimes brown sugar is added and the tofu eaten as a desert.

koozu yufoofu 高津湯とうふ Hot tofu a la Kozu
こうづゆとうふ
Kinugoshi tofu covered with a hot sauce of kuzu ankake. Also called
Nanzenji tofu 南禅寺豆腐

mino dengaku 簑でんがく "dengaku in a straw coat"
tamago dengaku 鶏卵でんがく egg dengaku
みのでんがく - たまごでんがく
The dengaku is flavored with hot pepper.
The egg dengaku is covered with soy sauce, an egg yolk and sprinkled with black poppy seeds.

misotsuke toofu 味曾漬とうふ Tofu with miso sauce.

mizore soba 霙蕎麦 "buckwheat dumplings in sleet"
みぞれそば
Oborodofu is boiled in dashi shooyu, then some sobakiri buckwheat dumplings are added. White leek, grated radish or wasabi for flavoring.

Ogasawara toofu 小笠原菽乳 Tofu simmered in arrowroot water (kuzuyu 葛湯)
おがさわらとうふ
Decorated with grated radish, thick arrowroot sauce and some katsuobushi.

osasa toofu, ozasa tofu 小竹葉とうふ fried tofu
おざさとうふ
Fried tofu is simmered in soysauce and mirin, a half-boiled egg added. Sesame adde extra flavor.
Cold it can also be used in a bento box.

rokujoo 腐軋 Rokujo Tofu
ろくじょう / 六浄豆腐
This tofu was first made in Kyoto, Rokujoo 京都六条.
It shows the theme of snow at the 88th night, before the first harvest of tea leaves.

Restaurant Dining in Edo

shin no udon toofu 真うどん豆腐 Tofu cut in thick pieces like udon noodles.
しんのうどんとうふ

shiran toofu 芝蘭菽乳 "white tofu"
しらんとうふ / ちーらん
White sesame seeds are ground finely, white miso added, white leek parts added. Heaped on hot tofu, with some grated radish.

sushini 酢烹 tofu cooked on a deep-fried sardine
すしに

tataki toofu 叩き豆腐 "beaten tofu"
たたきとうふ
Fried tofu is beaten (chopped) with a knife, an egg white added. The mixture is formed like a hamburger, wrapped in wheat flour and fried.
Best eaten cold.

toofumen 菽乳麺 somen noodles with tofu
とうふめん
Flavored with sesame oil.

tsutsumi age 包油煤 wrapped and fried tofu
つつみあげ

uzumaki toofu 渦まき豆腐 "whirl tofu"
うずまきとうふ
Rolled in a large seaweed leaf (Suizenji nori) 水前寺海菜, with some hardboiled egg-white and kanpyo.

uzumi toofu 埋豆腐 "burried tofu"
うづみとうふ
Flavored with mountain pepper, roasted sesame seeds, hot pepper powder, grated ginger and yuzu citron.
Miso is placed on the burried tofu and rice is placed on top of it.

yukige meshi 雪消飯 "snow-melt rice"
ゆきげめし
Short-cut udon-tofu covered with rice and grated radish. Served in a broth.

. WASHOKU
Tofu Dishes . Bean Curd 　

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. . . . . daikon 大根 large radish dishes

agedashi daikon 揚出大こん　Radish in hot broth
Radish fried in sesame oil, then served in a broth of soy sauce and garnished with mountain pepper

daikon mushi 大根蒸 broiled radish
だいこんむし
Made from dried kiriboshi daikon stripes. Sometimes fish is added to make a good broth.

daikon sanchuu ae 大こんさんちやう醤 radish mixew with other ingredients to a saladd
だいこんさんちゃうあえ
Kiriboshi radish stripes are used. Mixed with white sesame seeds, red miso paste and sake. A bit of wasabi is added before serving.

daikon shio zoosui 大根塩ざうすい rice gruel with radish and salt

daikon tooshunkin 大根都春錦 "radish parcel"
Peeled radish, wrapped in yuba, flavored with hot pepper or mountain pepper.

daikon yu namasu 大根湯なます
だいこんゆなます
Japanese style radish salad. Served cold.

Jooshuu Tatehayashi meibutsu daikon soba
上州館林名物大根蕎麦
じょうしゅうたてはやしめいぶつだいこんそば
Buckwheat noodles served with a lot of radish shavings.

Nooshuu meibutsu hoshi daikon meshi
濃洲名物干大根飯
Made from dried kiriboshi radish, a crunchy dish.

Rikyuu abe daikon 利休あへ大根り radish a la Rikyu
きゅうあへだいこん
Flavored with cinamon and sesame.

rinmaki oofurofuki daikon 林巻大風呂吹大根
radish cut like tree rings, boiled in dashi, served on a bed of miso paste, with a slice of yuzu on top.

sanshu awase daikon 三種合大根 radish with katsuobushi
さんしゅあわせだいこん

soomen daikon 素麺大根 radish like somen noodles.
そうめんだいこん
Cut in long strings, served with vinegar, as a mouth cleanser betewen other dishes.

. WASHOKU
Radish Dishes 　

................................................................................

. . . . . gohan, meshi 飯 rice dishes

aonori zoosui 青苔雑炊 rice gruel with green nori seaweed
あおのりぞうすい

daikon meshi 大根飯 with radishes
..... Echizen no daikon meshi 越前国大根飯
with radishes from Echizen

hidara meshi 乾呉魚飯 rice with dried cod
ひだらめし
Mentioned in a cookbook from 1802. The fish filets are dried over a medium heat and then cut in small stripes. They are then mixed with the cooked rice.
names of the cooking heat in Edo
bunka 文火（ぶんか） low heat/flame (yowabi 弱火)
bunbuka 文武火（ぶんぶか）medium heat/flame (chuubi 中火)
buka 武火（ぶか) high heat/flame (tsuyobi 強火)

hotarumeshi, hotaru meshi ホタル飯 "firefly rice"
ほたるめし / 蛍飯
During the hunger periods. 190 g rice was cooked with 4,300 g of starowort leaves (yomena) and mugwort (yomogi). The few white rice grains would look like fireflies in the green leaves mush.
((( Another way to make cooked rice last longer during a famine was putting more water into rice gruel, calling it "mirror rice" (kagami meshi 鏡飯) or omoyu おもゆ重湯】). )))

kadame meshi 海帯めし rice with wakame kelp.
かだめめし
kadame 加太和布 is a special kelp harvested in Wakayama, Kishu, in Kada town 加太浦.

kakimeshi 牡蛎飯　　rice with oysters
Cooking oysters would prevent the outbreak of indigestion and food poisoning in times without refrigerator.

. kokerazushi こけらずし kokera sushi 　　

konnyaku meshi 蒟蒻飯 rice with konyak devil's tongue

konoha meshi 木の葉めし"rice with tree leaves"
このはめし
Fresh sprouts and buds were mixed in spring food.

kotori, shookin zoosui 小禽ざうすい
rice gruel with "little birds"

mana zoosui 菁蕪菜雑炊 rice gruel with leaves of turnip
まなぞうすい

namakai meshi 石明魚飯 rice with fish
なまかいめし

nankin gayu なんきん粥 kayu. rice gruel with pumpkin
Pumpkin and red beans were cooked with the rice. It was a very warming slightly sweet dish in winter.

nasubi zoosui 茄子ざうすい rice gruel with eggplants

nattoo modoki 賽淡鼓 "looking like fermented beans"
なっとうもどき
modoki was a way to prepare vegetable dishes "looking like" fish or meat. It was often done in temples.

negi meshi 葱めし rice with leek
Many other vegetables can be added, also sweet chestnuts and shiitake mushrooms. Served in a hot broth 達失汁.
leek was grown in the fields around Edo, see Edo Vegetables below.

negi zoosui 葱ざうすい gice gruel with leek

nira zoosui 韮ざうすい rice gruel with nira leek
にらざうすい

leek dishes are all typical winter dishes.

Rikyuu meshi 利休めし rice cooked "a la Rikyu"
Sen no Rikyu (千利休, 1522 – 1591) was the founder of the tea ceremony.
Rice is cooked with hoojicha tea, then dashi broth is added. Some green stems of rape (na no hana) are added as topping.
This is a typical dish of spring.

. sakurameshi 桜めし "cherryblossom rice" 　

shijimi meshi 蜆肉飯　 rice with corbilula clams

shiso meshi 紫蘇飯　 rice with perilla
しそめし

soba meshi 蕎麦飯 with buckwheat noodles

someii, somei-i 染飯 colored rice
そめいい
Already mentioned in 1553. It is colored with kuchinashi gardenia and becomes a bright yellow color. It was popular in the tea stalls along the 53 stations of the Tokaido road. Gardenia extract was like a medicine against weak feet and brought back energy.

taimeshi 道味魚飯 -鯛飯 rice with slices of sea bream
たいめし - たいめし

toofu zoosui 菽乳雑炊 rice gruel with tofu

yamabuki meshi 山吹めし "yellow rice"
yamabuki is the yellow color of the plant "yellow rose", the color of coins in the Edo period and the color of egg yolk.
A hard-boiled egg is placed on the rice, served with broth, some grated ginger and a bit of salt.

yudoofu modoki 賽湯菽乳 "looking like hot tofu"
ゆどうふもどき
「賽（ゆ）湯菽（どうふ）乳（もどき）
Hot rice gruel with arrowroot sauce, some grated ginger and mustard for flavoring.

Some of the ingredients mixed with rice have their own entry in this BLOG.

. WASHOKU
Rice Dishes (meshi, gohan) 　

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. . . . . tai 鯛 sea bream dishes

kakitaimushi, kaki tai mushi かき鯛むし
steamed sea bream with oysters
かきたいむし

makitai 巻鯛 "rolled sea bream"
まきたい

sarasa tai さらさ鯛 "chinz sea bream"
さらさたい

Satsuma meibutsu koro iridai 薩摩名物ころ煮鯛
ころいりだい
simmered sea bream a la Satsuma

Satsuma satootsuke tai さつま砂糖漬鯛
さつまさとうつけたい
sea bream pickled in brown sugar, a la Satsuma

Satsuma tai no atsumejiru 薩摩鯛のあつめ汁
Rice soup atsumejiru with sea bream, a la Satsuma

sugiyaki tai 杉やき鯛 sea bream served in a box made of cedar wood.
Fish is flavored with miso paste.

taimaru ageni 鯛丸あげ煮 whole fried sea bream
A small fish is used. Flavored with soy sauce.

taimeshi 道味魚飯 - 鯛飯 rice cooked with sea bream
たいめし - たいめし

tai no koo no mono sushi 鯛の香物酢
たいのこうのものすし
sea bream pickled with vinegar

tai no soborojiru 鯛のそぼろ汁
doosuma ・同すましそぼろ
たいのそぼろじる・どうすま
small pieces of sea bream in hot broth

tai no tororojiru 鯛の青淵汁
たいのとろろじる
Soup with grated jinenjo yam and sea bream

. WASHOKU
Sea Bream Dishes 　

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. . . . . tamago 卵 egg dishes

aemaze あえまぜ a kind of fish salad, with vegetables and egg
嚮食交
Sometimes sake was used for a dressing.

isona tamago いそなたまご "beach flavor eggs"
磯菜卵
After boiling half-soft in vinegar and irizake, they are sprinkeld with nori from Asakusa or wasabi.

matsukaze tamago 松風卵 egg a la "wind in the pines"
まつかぜたまご
　　　　

Rikyuu tamago - Kurumi tamago 利休卵 / 胡桃卵
りきゅうたまご - くるみたまご
eggs "a la Rikyu" and walnut eggs
Simmered egg with ground sesame seeds (or ground walnut meat), falvored with soy sauce and sake.

shigure tamago 時雨卵 "winter drizzle eggs"
しぐれたまご
A kind of okonomiyaki omelette.

tamago dojoo たまごどじょう loach soup with egg
卵鰌魚
Yanagigawa nabe 柳川鍋（やながわなべ）

tamago hanpen 玉子半ぺん hampen with egg

tamago iridashi 玉子いり出し soup with egg

tamago kaiyaki 玉子貝焼 fried eggs with seashells

uzura tamago 鶉卵 quail eggs
うずらたまご

yosetamago 寄卵 eggs mixed with other ingredients
よせたまご

Food colored yellow with egg yolk was called yamabuki, for example
yamabuki kamaboko やまぶきかまぼこ yellow kamaboko fish paste.

. WASHOKU
Egg Dishes 　

tamago hyakuchin 「卵百珍」（たまごひゃくちん）
100 dishes with eggs
cookbook from 1785

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Illustrated Book
www.unizon.co.jp

. Reference : 江戸料理百選

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Books about the food culture of Edo

江戸食百珍

external link

Banquets against Boredom
Eric C. Rath, University Kansasfae

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Things found on the way

Edo, The City That Became Tokyo
. The town of Edo 江戸　大江戸　

. Edo-Vegetables (Edo yasai 江戸東京野菜) 　

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HAIKU and SENRYU

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Related words

***** . Miso culture in Japan (みそ or 味噌) . 　

. WASHOKU
Dishes from Tokyo

***** WASHOKU : General Information

***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes

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Asian Food Regulation Information Service

2011-01-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]
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Asian Food Regulation Information Service

quote
Welcome to Asia's first comprehensive food regulation website.

This website aims to create a database for food regulations across Asia. It is a big task given the fact that a lot of the Food Acts, regulations and standards are not easily obtainable. Understanding food laws and related issues will not only enable companies to maintain regulatory compliance but also keep track of consumer related issues.

Our geographical area of coverage is from Pakistan to Japan, from Mongolia to Timor. Some countries within this area may have very limited or no food laws but are still listed in our menu bar. Over time, we believe, this will change and we shall be ready to list their food laws alongside their neighbours.

Where we are able and the regulations are in English, we shall provide the documents free of charge. For those laws and regulations that are not in English and need to be translated or are not easily accessible, we charge a fee.

As of January 2011, we have nearly 1000 documents listed on this website. Yet this is by no means comprehensive and we shall continue to upload documents as we grow. So in order to make this website a success, we need your feedback. Please see our SERVICES page for additional, specialised services we provide.

http://www.asianfoodreg.com/

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Asia - Japan

Withdrawal of 80 Food Additives from List of Existing Food Additives. - 18/05/2010

List of GM Products having undergone safety assessment and listed in the official Gazette - 12/05/2010

List of GM Products under consideration - 15/04/2010

Development of Imported Food Monitoring & Guidance Plan for FY 2010 - 29/03/2010

. . . . . and more about

Food Law Code / Regulations / Standards
Labelling / Additives

http://www.asianfoodreg.com/asia.php?id=10

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Food Crisis

2010-12-30T16:52:00.002-08:00

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Food Crisis Worldwide

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India
December 2010

Prices of onions had more than doubled in the past week due to a shortage caused by unusually heavy rain in growing areas.

The agriculture ministry on Monday banned exports until Jan 15, and will import onions from Pakistan, as retail prices jumped to 80 rupees ($1.77) per kg from 35 rupees per kg last week, media reported.

source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
December 21, 2010

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Sri Lanka
Oct 23, 2010 (LBO)

Sri Lanka coconut prices hit new highs amid trade protection

Sri Lanka's fresh coconut prices hit a new high at this week's auction in Colombo, compounded by state interventions that restrict trade and keep prices of substitutes at higher than global levels.

In Sri Lanka staple food supplies are insecure because of heavy state intervention in markets, and prices can also be more volatile as well as higher than the rest of the world.

The high volatility in coconut prices comes from state interventions that block market forces from working due to excessive agriculture protection.

Because of high import taxes even rice, a staple food, can shoot up above world market prices. Meanwhile the state also blocks access to close substitutes like wheat with high import duties.
Sri Lanka's poultry farmers have also been hit by high prices of maize, which is a key feed ingredient as imports have been blocked to 'help maize farmers.'

Protein prices including fish are now at record highs. Sri Lanka's city retail shops even ran out of chicken amid price controls a few months ago, a phenomenon not seen since the 1970s.

Coconut is another staple whose prices are high and volatile due to taxes on close substitutes.
source : www.lankabusinessonline.com

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Shufu Housewife

2010-12-28T20:49:00.008-08:00

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Housewife (shufu)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

shufu 主婦 / 主夫 ... housewife, homemaker

This word is rather new, used since about 1880.

sengyoo shufu 専業主婦 "specialized housewife"
full-time housewife
she does not work outside the home.

Before the advent of modern times

okugata 奥方 the lady of the house
"the one in the back"
Madam

okusama 奥様 wife, first wife
Of a daimyo, aristocrat or high class family.

おくさまの餠（もち）の形（かた）
okusama no mochi no kata
A "first wife", but only by name.

Today we say

Yamada san no okusama 山田さんの奥様　Mrs. Yamada

karisuma shufu カリスマ主婦 charisma housewife
A new word for a talented housewife, who saves money, cares for the family and maybe even handles the job of writing about it. Some are quite popular in Japanese TV.

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ryoosai kenboo 良妻賢母 good wife and wise mother

This ideal is painted in the magazine.

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主婦之友 Shufu no Tomo "Friend of the housewife"
One of the oldest magazines for the housewife, since 1917.
Since 1954 it is spelled 主婦の友

Shufu to Seikatsu 主婦と生活

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fujin 婦人 woman, lady , wife
Often used for a high-class woman.

婦人之友 Fujin no Tomo
Magazine for the Lady

Fujin Seikatsu 婦人生活

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Worldwide use

Hausfrau

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Things found on the way

Modern Japanese cuisine:
food, power and national identity
By Katarzyna Joanna Cwiertka

source : googlebooks

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HAIKU and SENRYU

Woman Haiku Poets 女性俳句の世界
Well, Takahama Kyoshi called their works
"kitchen haiku" !

. Kitchen Haiku 台所俳句 .

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Suzuki Sea Bass

2010-12-10T22:14:00.000-08:00

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Sea bass (suzuki)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Animal / Humanity

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Explanation

Sea bass 鱸（すずき）Japanese sea bass
Japanese sea bream, Japanese sea perch
Lateolabrax japonicus . Meerbrasse

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SUZUKI (Japanese Seabass)
inhabit seashores and estuaries. Many Japanese cities have developed near these places since ancient times. Suzuki have shiny white flesh with an easily recognizable broad-flaked structure and a mild flavor. They have traditionally been one of the most popular targets for Japanese anglers. In the Kanto area, including Shizuoka Prefecture, it is called Seigo when under 25 cm. At 3 years of age, when it has attained a length of near 60 cm, it is called Fukko or Suzuki.
Because their name changes as they grow, the Japanese have associated it with advancement in life and believe that SUZUKI (Japanese Seabass) is a luck-bringer fish.

Like hirame flounder, suzuki makes an elegant paper-thin sashimi, suzuki usu zukuri, which is as pleasant to pronounce as it is to eat. Suzuki sashimi is often served with ponzu, a citrus-flavored mild soy sauce, or served in the summertime on a bed of ice cubes with tangy shiso leaf and a scattering of red pepper flakes.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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humanity kigo for spring

. torimochi ajiro 鳥持網代 ( とりもちあじろ / 鳥持ち網代)
hunting fish in traps with the help of water fowl
fishing for sea bass, sea bream and others

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humanity kigo for all summer

. arai suzuki 洗鱸（あらいすずき）　
arai preparation, "washing fish" for raw consumption

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animal kigo for all autumn

suzuki 鱸 (すずき) sea bass
..... koppa 木っ葉（こっぱ）
..... seigo せいご, bukko ふっこ

kawasuzuki, kawa suzuki 川鱸（かわすずき）
sea bass swimming upriver

umisuzuki, umi suzuki 海鱸（うみすずき）
sea bass in the open sea

suzukitsuri, suzuki tsuri 鱸釣（すずきつり）fishing for sea bass
suzukiami, suzuki ami 鱸網（すずきあみ）net for fishing suzuki

. . . . .

humanity kigo for all autumn

. Suzuki namasu 鱸膾 (すずきなます)
vinegared sea bass 　

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animal kigo for early winter

ochi suzuki 落鱸 (おちすずき) sea bass coming down
futobara suzuki 太腹鱸（ふとばらすずき）
"sea bass with a big belly"
..... harafuto はらふと "big belly "

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animal kigo for all winter

okisuzuki, oki suzuki 沖鱸（おきすずき）Ara
Niphon spinosus
..... ara あら
..... ara 阿羅（あら）
araami, ara-ami あら網（あらあみ）net for ara fishing

It grows about 80 cm in length. It is bigger than normal suzuki, but has less scales.
Small ones are fished with nets, larger ones with one line, especially in Kochi. They are quite delicious, but usually eaten in the region and not sold in markets.

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

One of the seven tastes of Lake Shinjiko
. WASHOKU
Specialities of Lake Shinjiko 宍道湖

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HAIKU and SENRYU

sea bass and beltfish
crowd the buyer's eyes -
bountiful catch

Willie Bongcaron. Philippines 2008

Fish market in Manila . Haiku

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Related words

***** . "Career Fish", promoting fish (shusse-uo 出世魚)
fish that change their name as they grow larger.

***** . Tilapia from the Philippines

***** WASHOKU : FISH and SEAFOOD SAIJIKI

. ANIMALS in all SEASONS
SAIJIKI

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DECEMBER NEWS

2010-12-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

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December　。。。 juunigatsu 十二月

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December 18, 2010

Taiwan: Radium-Kagaya Grand Opening

Chairman of Radium-Kagaya. said:
“Radium-Kagaya is the first hotel with Japanese-style butler service introduced in Taiwan, and we hope to bring customers the top and authentic Japanese-style hotel experience. We have done a great job in the testing operation, and we believe the grand opening will increase the tourism business, bring back the prosperity of Beitou district and improve the overall tourism industry service standards.”

President of Japan Kagaya said:
"We decided to bring the traditional Japanese culture into the hot spring hotels in Taiwan. Most importantly, we would like to bring Kagaya’s true spirit of hospitality and butler service to the people of Taiwan. During the experience, we hope to promote cultural exchanges between Chinese and Japanese services. "

source : www.taiwannews.com.tw

I watched a special on TV about the training of the nakai personal room service . . . It was quite tough on the teaching side of Japan.

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December 05, 2010

Ministry Launches "Sato-Umi" Website
to Promote Sustainable Coastal Village and Fisheries Ecosystems

Japan's Ministry of the Environment launched a new website July 22, 2010, called Sato-Umi Net. The term "sato-umi" refers to coastal areas where the livelihoods of a community and nature coexist and intersect closely.
Sato means "home" and "umi" means ocean. The website supports activities to create harmonious interaction between people and the ocean, by explaining the concept and importance of sato-umi, as well as information on the topic, both domestic and international.
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/030439.html

. WASHOKU
Satoyama 里山

satoumi net 里海ネット

http://www.env.go.jp/water/heisa/satoumi/
http://www.env.go.jp/water/heisa/satoumi/en/index_e.html

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High Percentage of Food Waste
from Hotels in Food Service Industry in FY2009

Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced on August 6, 2010, an overview of the results by the Statistical Survey on Food Waste from the food service industry for fiscal 2009. According to the survey, waste per amount of food served (excluding beverages) was 3.2 percent for cafeterias and restaurants, 13.7 percent for wedding receptions, 10.7 percent for banquets and 14.8 percent for accommodations.
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/030416.html

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December 30, 2009

11th Eco-Products 2009 Exhibition
「エコプロダクツ2009」

December 10th to 12th
http://eco-pro.com/eco2009/english/

. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Tokyo International Exhibition Center,
"Tokyo Big Sight," in Ariake, Tokyo
Reference

エコプロダクツ東北2009
http://www.e-products.jp/2009-1/index.html

Some products introduced

kattobashi カットバシ / カット箸 / かっとばし
chopsticks made from old baseball clubs
The naming is a play of words with KAT .. KATSU .. to win or meaning "a super homerun". From each baseball bat they make about 5 pairs of chopsticks. Since there are so many broken bats in Japan, this is quite a number after this kind of "re-use".
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Itoen, a Tea company 伊藤園 / 伊東園
http://www.itoen.co.jp/

Makes insoles out of the left-over tealeaves ! They are deodorizing and antibacterial in a natural way.
お茶殻入りインソール ochagara-iri insooru
http://item.rakuten.co.jp/kaiketu/10001048/

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.......... December 05, 2008

New varieties of potato reaching marketplace
jagaimo　じゃがいも
At Koganezaki Farm at the foot of Mt. Iwaki in the Tsugaru region of Aomori Prefecture, workers have started harvesting many varieties of potatoes - red and purple spuds with skins that are either unusually bumpy or quite smooth.
The garden farm, which is operated by Koganezaki-farm, produces about 30 varieties of potato and sells them as a package containing five to 10 different types under the name of Tasting Potato, including such unfamiliar names as the Destroyer and Shadow Queen.

"Each type has a different taste, so we want consumers to select the appropriate variety depending on the dishes they are preparing," said Katsuko Nakamura, in charge of sales at the farm.

The Japanese potato market has long been dominated by two varieties - Danshaku and May Queen - in sharp contrast with other fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, apples and strawberries, for which new kinds are created all the time.

However, the situation has begun to change recently. Varieties called Cynthia, Chérie and Inka-no Mezame (or Inca's awakening, a seed potato from the Andes) are among the newcomers whose output has been increasing rapidly over the past several years. "A number of new varieties will be developed in the future," said Kimio Sasaki, who is responsible for overseeing operations at the farm.

The most promising of all is the Cynthia - an egg-shaped potato with a very smooth skin, thanks to the fine starch it contains. It is also easy to peel and quick to absorb seasonings, but does not become mushy when boiled. In March 2000, Kirin Agribio Co. and Koganezaki-farm jointly set up Japan Potato Corp., which sells seed potatoes including for the Cynthia and Chérie varieties.

Production of the Cynthia variety this fiscal year is estimated at about 3,000 metric tons, up 25% from a year earlier, and is expected to reach 4,500 tons next year, accounting for only a small percentage of total output. "We want Cynthia to grab about half the market shares from May Queen and Danshaku in 10 years," said Takao Aoki, chief executive officer of Japan Potato.
source : 　www.nni.nikkei.co.jp

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.......... December 07, 2008

Samurai Cooking

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.......... December 09, 2008

Drop of imported Australian beef of about 30%.
Family restaurants and expensive coffee shops are closing down, whereas McDonalds is gaining about 13%. ... We are in a recession all right!

Quote from the Japan Times
Ice maker fearing a global thaw
By KO HIRANO
MINANO, Saitama Pref. — Tetsuo Asami in Nagatoro
As many as 100,000 people from Japan and abroad visit Tetsuo Asami's shaved ice parlor every summer in Minano, a small town in the Chichibu region of Saitama Prefecture, seeking out his products that use naturally frozen ice and are known for their rich taste.
Although Asami, 58, is happy with the thriving business, the threat of global warming makes him unsure whether he will still be able to make natural ice a decade from now.

"I think our customers travel all the way to Chichibu for shaved ice because they sense that they may not be able to eat it in 10 years' time given rising temperatures and deterioration in the environment of the mountains" which generate nutritious water for natural ice, Asami said.
Running the 117-year-old family business, Asami is one of only four existing natural ice makers in Japan, down from some 100 around the 1930s. The three others operate in Tochigi Prefecture.

"Given the major climate change I have seen in recent years, such as warm winters, it has become increasingly difficult to make decent natural ice," Asami said, citing his family records that show average temperatures in January in Chichibu have risen 3.5 degrees over the past 40 years.
Records by Asami's father from 1960 to 1991 show that there were many days in winter when temperatures hit minus 12 to minus 15 at 6 a.m., allowing him to "harvest" ice in December and then once again in January every year.
But since Asami took over the business in 1992, he has seen only three days or so when local temperatures fell below minus 10, making it difficult for him to harvest ice twice a season.
The declining quantity of ice has forced Asami to halt the shipment of natural ice to bars, hotels and department stores in Tokyo. Today, he only serves shaved ice at his parlor from March through November.

Natural ice forms only when it becomes very cold. Snow, meanwhile, damages the taste of the ice. With its favorable climate, the Chichibu area has long been an ideal place for making ice, in which workers form ice in ponds after drawing water from mountain streams.
"I'm very worried about the future of natural ice-making if the climate continues to change at the current pace," Asami said.

Asami believes the leadership of the United States — the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter along with China — is vital if the world is to address global warming.
source : 　japantimes.co.jp/ December 10, 2008

WASHOKU : fresh clear water !

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Related words

JANUARY ... ichigatsu 一月

FEBRUARY ... nigatsu 二月

MARCH ... sangatsu 三月

APRIL ... shigatsu 四月

MAY ... gogatsu 五月

JUNE ... rokugatsu 六月

JULY ... shichigatsu 七月

AUGUST ... hachigatsu 八月

SEPTEMBER ... kugatsu 九月

OCOTBER ... juugatsu 十月

NOVEMBER ... juuichigatsu 十一月　

DECEMBER ... juunigatsu 十二月　

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Okaeri Yasai

2010-11-19T21:08:00.000-08:00

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Recycled vegetables (Okaeri Yasai)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

okaeri yasai おかえりやさい
"Welcome home, vegetables!"

A recycling project from the city of Nagoya, started in 2008.

Food leftovers from supermarkets in the city are collected and made to compost at Bio Plaza Nagoya.
The compost is used on fields of group members to produce vegetables.
Chives, bean sprouts, onions and many more are grown in this way.

Local schools also get the vegetables for their school lunch and as education material for the children.

Okaeri nasai　お帰りなさい

this is the normal greeting for a person coming back home.

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. Reference : おかえりやさい

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

okaeri yasai -
see you again
on the dinner table

Gabi Greve

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Related words

***** WASHOKU :
YASAI . Vegetable SAIJIKI

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Worlds of Flavor

2010-11-17T22:03:00.000-08:00

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CIA Worlds of Flavor

2010 Worlds of Flavor ®
Conference November 4–6, 2010

The theme of this year

Japan: Flavors of Culture

テーマは「日本の味と食文化」

This annual three-day forum is widely acknowledged as one of our country's most influential professional forums on world cuisines and trends. Each November, the Worlds of Flavor® Conference showcases the gold standards of world cuisines that are reshaping American palates and the U.S. foodservice industry.

The 13th Annual Worlds of Flavor Conference will represent one of the largest and most significant American professional conferences ever held dedicated to the flavors and food culture of Japan. Interest in Japanese food and culinary traditions has seen phenomenal growth among American consumers in recent years.

Sushi has moved from the exotic to the mainstream, Japanese noodle soups are regularly included in volume foodservice operations, Japanese fine dining restaurants claim top tier ratings, and Japanese flavors and culinary aesthetics influence the menus and ambience of even non-Japanese restaurants. At the same time, Japan is often less familiar to Americans than Italy, France or other European countries. American food professionals sense that we are only at the beginning of our discovery and understanding of the "gold standards" of Japan and Japanese food culture.

"Japan: Flavors of Culture,"
will both celebrate the increasing interest in Japanese flavors in American foodservice as well as provide access to an unprecedented gathering of culinary talent from Japan—talent who represent mastery in their respective areas of endeavor. The conference faculty will include more than 60 leading chefs and other experts on the food and culinary traditions of Japan. Participating chefs from Japan will represent a variety of Japanese regional culinary traditions and types of cooking from casual to high cuisine and from traditional to modern. American chefs and operators will discuss how they are adopting and translating Japanese flavors for a range of new-generation U.S. foodservice concepts.

Highlighted themes will include traditional Japanese techniques for farming and fishing, the Japanese heritage of preserved foods from soy sauce to miso and nori, the world of Japanese noodles from soba and udon to ramen, sushi and sashimi traditions, Japanese cooking techniques from tempura to the Japanese live fire kitchen, an insider's view of the legendary kaiseki kitchens of Japan, the philosophy and art of Japanese cooking and food presentation, Japanese kitchen tools, Japanese desserts, Japanese green tea, sake, beverage pairings, and much more.

source : www.ciaprochef.com

. Rererence .

Worlds of Flavor conference adds Japan to its menu
Japan Times, Nov. 18, 2010

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料理界のハーバードと言われる米国の名門料理大学
CIA（The　Culinary　Institute　of America）
では毎年11月上旬の3日間にわたり、世界最大級の料理会議“
World of Flavor Conference &Festival（WOF）”を行っている。全米から集まる料理人や料理研究家をはじめ、世界の食に携わるプロフェッショナルやそれを支えるさまざまな分野の人を対象とした、料理の世界に大きな影響を与えると評価される国際会議とされている。

source : 英文イベント概要）

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Music and Food

2010-11-15T13:53:00.000-08:00

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Music and Food

Some people think that animals and plants grow better if you let them listen to soothing music for some time every day.

Mozart seems to be a favorite among the classical music showers.

Music is also played to food that needs a period of ripening, like fruit, soy sauce, miso paste, mushrooms and even the dough for a good bread.

A good sake might spend some time with classical music, as they to in Fukushima, at Ohara Shuzo.

. Chicken, Hinaidori and other local brands 　

. Cows, beef and music ... Wagyu 和牛　
Matsuzaka Beef

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Mozart Bananas モーツアルトバナナ
from Toyoka Chuo Seika, Hyogo prefecture
兵庫県の豊岡中央青果

The unripe bananas from the Philippines are ripened in a store room with Mozart music playing for them.

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Harada Star Drop Tomatoes
原田　星のしずくトマト
source : ~ha-ra-da

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Mozart's growing influence on food

The music of Mozart happens to be rich in such frequencies (1/f noise, pink noise) above 8,000 Hz - which is why sound and music therapy both tend to use it.
source : The Japan Times, Nov. 25, 2010

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Shiratama white dumplings

2010-11-09T17:22:00.000-08:00

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Shiratama white dumplings

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: All summer
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Shiratama 白玉 (しらたま) Shiratama Dango
"white treasure, white pearls"

They make you feel cool in summer and are often served in a glass bowl to enhance the cool feeling. They are a snack taken between meals, sometimes as a desert. Sweet brown-sugar syrup is poored over the chilled dumplings.
They can be combined with fruit, red azuki beans, ice cream or jelly. They usually imply a snack during the daytime.
Most popular is a serving in sweet azuki soup (shiruko).

They are made from special flour, Shiratamako 白玉粉.

glutinous rice flour. It is quite lumpy when dissolved in water and must be kneaded thoroughly for making dumplings.

. WASHOKU
Dumplings of all kinds

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shiratama uri 白玉売 vendor of Shiratama

from the magazine Morisada Mankoo 守貞漫稿

In Edo, these vendors walk along, selling Shiratama and cold water (hiyamizu 「冷水（ひやみず）). The vendor scoops cold water from a well in the morning and starts his business. The dumplings were made of kanzarashiko flour 寒晒粉 (another name for Shiratamako). They were put in a bowl, covered with cold water and some brown sugar then sprinkled on top of them.
One bowl was sold for 4 mon.
Walking along the streets, the vendor would call

ひやつこいひやつこい hiyakkoi hiyakkoi
Here comes the cold delight !

Some vendors sold only cold water with sugar
satoo mizu uri 砂糖水売り

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夕涼花火賑 : 歌川国周画
http://www.kabuki-za.com/syoku/2/no114.html

On this woodblock from 1870 by Utagawa Kunichika you can see three men enjoying the firework display at the bridge Ryogokubashi. They are three actors, the name of each one is mentioned.
From the left they are Ueo Kikugoro 五代目尾上菊五郎、
Nakamura Shikan 四代目中村芝翫 and Sawamura 二代目澤村訥升.

Kikugoro is dressed in the robes of a vendor of Shiratama.

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

白玉にとけのこりたる砂糖かな
shiratama ni toke-nokoritaru satoo kana

on the Shiratama
it has not yet dissolved -
this sugar

. 高浜虚子 Takahama Kyoshi

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白玉や愛す人にも嘘ついて
shiratama ya aisu hito nimo uso tsuite

sweet rice dumplings---
even to my love
a little white lie

Suzuki Masajo 鈴木真砂女
1969　

CLICK on the thumbnail
to see the image and text of Nakamura Sakuo.

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Related words

***** . hiyashi shiruko 冷し汁粉（ひやししるこ）sweets with red beans

***** WAGASHI
Sweets Saijiki

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NOVEMBER NEWS

2010-11-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

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NOVEMBER ... juuichigatsu 十一月
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.............. November 27, 2009

Fugu without poison
Farmed in Ainan Town 愛南, Ehime prefecture
Thrill-seeking gourmets have long lusted after the poisonous "torafugu" blowfish, a winter delicacy in Japan that can be lethal ...
Optima Foods Corp. has succeeded in farming 50000 non-poisonous fish of the "takifugu rubripes".
Reference, Japan Times November 27

©　More TAKIFUGU in the WIKIPEDIA !

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November 27 (Fri) & 28 (Sat), 2009

International Film Festival on Organic Farming (English)

国際有機農業映画祭 (日本語）

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.............. November 10, 2009

BioFach Japan and Natural Expo 2009:

* 242 exhibitors at BioFach Japan and Natural Expo 2009
* Satisfied visitors despite smaller area

242 exhibitors from altogether 18 countries presented their latest product developments and trends to 13,690 visitors in the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre from 7–9 October 2009. Although the 1,461 m2 occupied by BioFach Japan and Natural Expo this year was less than the year before, this did not adversely affect the satisfaction of the exhibitors. Due to the strong trend to natural personal care and eco-textiles, special areas had already been created for these ranges in 2008. In 2009, 24 exhibitors presented their latest creations from the textile segment in Cotton Street and the Natural Personal Care Area attracted 28 exhibitors of natural cosmetic products. Around 30 winegrowers enhanced the event with their wines from certified organic grapes.

The next BioFach Japan and Natural Expo take place in the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre from 21–23 September 2010 .

“Organic is not a label, it is an attitude. This quote from one of our exhibitors clearly confirms that organic is a question of attitude and organic customers remain loyal – even at times of crisis. The Japanese organic event convinced exhibitors and visitors for what is meanwhile the ninth time.

source: www.biofach-japan.com

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.............. November 7, 2008

Zuwaigani ずわい蟹 (ずわいがに ) snow crab,queen crab
Chionoecetes opilio
This is the first day of the official crabbing season. About 120 male snow crabs and 4,000 female snow crabs were hauled in at a Toyooka port in Hyogo. 兵庫豊岡
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Schneekrabbe

Yamaguchi
kawarasoba, kawara soba 瓦そば "noodles cooked on roof tiles"

Okayama Tenobe Soomen 岡山手延素麺 has started to sell these handmade noodles in a set for easy home cooking. Also chasoba 茶蕎麦 "tea noodles".
During the war in South-West Japan 1877 the castle of Kumamoto was sourrounded by the troups of Satsuma. The Satsuma soldiers used roof tiles to prepare their vegetables and meat. This is the origin of this food preparation.

岡山県浅口郡里庄町新庄平井1887-1 : 手延べ麺

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.............. November 8, 2008

Kyoto farmers started pickling thinly sliced turnips (senmaizuke　千枚漬). They will pickle about 500,000 turnips until April 2009.

© PHOTO :　Japan Times

.............. November 8, 2011

Kyoto marks winter with turnip pickling
The pickling of turnips, known as "senmaizuke", began in Kyoto on Tuesday, the first day of winter according to the traditional Japanese calendar.
One of the city's culinary specialties is made from shaved "Shogoin" turnips. The turnips get sweeter as nighttime temperatures start to drop around this time of year.
Workers at a pickle factory peeled the turnips, which are 20 centimeters in diameter and weigh about 2 kilograms each, and shaved off slices as thin as 2.6 millimeters using special planes.
They arranged the shaved turnips in wooden barrels in fan shapes, and then sprinkled salt on them. The turnips are taken out of the barrels after 3 days and soaked in a soup stock with kelp.
A typhoon in September delayed the seeding of the turnips, but a good harvest came in this year.
The factory's foreman says the work is hard because the entire process must be done by hand. He says he hopes that the pickles will become more delicious as temperatures drop and sweeten the turnips.
The peak of pickling will come next month.
source :　NHK world news

うすら氷(ひ)のせんまいずけを切にけり
ursura hi no senmaizuke o kiri ni keri

now cutting
the slightly frozen turnips
for pickles

Taiki Koosaku 瀧井孝作（たきいこうさく)
1894 - 1984

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.............. November 9, 2008

Unicul Festival 2008 ゆにかる祭
The festival is being held to raise awareness toward building a multilingual and multicultural community. Ethnic food, including rice cakes, Portuguese churassco, Mexican tacos, and Indian curry will be sold, as well as folk crafts and handmade accessories. There will also be live performances of Philippine songs, dances, Peruvian folk dances, and workshops on African dances and balloon art.
The venue is Okazaki Park, which is a 10-minute walk from Higashiyama Station on the Tozai subway line.
Japan Wire

Wankosoba Taikai (wanko soba) わんこそば (わんこ蕎麦 / （椀こそば)
The winner today ate 383 cups of buckwheat noodles.
わんこそば全日本大会

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.............. November 13, 2008

Aso's fish slip gives game away
By REIJI YOSHIDA

Prime minister adds to his image of wealthy, aloof politician out of touch with common people

But he probably revealed his true colors Monday while talking about meals at cheap "izakaya" pubs in Tokyo, drawing strong reactions from thousands of pro- and anti-Aso users of 2channel, the country's largest Internet forum.

"Meals (at the pub) were something like 'hokke no nitsuke,' " Aso told executives of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party during a meeting Monday, according to major daily Mainichi Shimbun and Kyodo News.

"Hokke" is a kind of mackerel that is rather cheap but quite substantial, and therefore a favorite of those trying to fill their stomachs with low-budget pub fare.

"Nitsuke" means fish simmered in soy and sugar, a home-style dish for common folks.

But at a pub, at least in the Kanto region, hokke is usually grilled and never nitsuke style.
Thus the combination of hokke and nitsuke that Aso mentioned sounded very strange to many people, and gave the impression that, while pretending to understand the cuisine of common people, Aso has no actual experience of eating such food at inexpensive pubs.
snip
"Do you judge (the value) of a prime minister by hokke no nitsuke or bars at hotels? It's stupid," said another anonymous message on 2channel posted Tuesday.
　© Japan Times

Australian beef exports to Japan dropped about 8% from a year ago in October.
Meat and Livestock Australia. MLA

bluefin tuna catch quota
Japan plans to call for halving bluefin tuna catch quota in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean at an annual meeting next week of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, government officials said Thursday.
The plan comes after the ICCAT scientific committee in October ruled that 28,500 tons of bluefin tuna catch quota in the waters for 2008 is excessive and recommended that the quota for 2009 be halved to less than 15,000 tons to prevent a fast decline in tuna stocks.
The 50 per cent cut in the quota is expected to affect Japanese consumers. Japan's bluefin tuna catch quota in the ICCAT-regulated waters for 2008 total 2,430 tons and could be reduced to 1,300 tons in 2009 under the Japanese plan.
source : Kyodo / news.tradingcharts.com

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.............. November 17, 2008

ボジョレー・ヌーヴォー : Beaujolais Noveau hits Japan

Here is a headline about it ...

Hello Kitty Beaujolais Nouveau in Plastic Bottles Arrives in Japan ...
11 Nov 2008

Online Reference

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.............. November 18, 2008

Chinatown in Ikebukuro　東京池袋の中華街 ?
Tokyo Chinatown, 東京中華街
A local group is trying since April 2007 to organize the 200 Chinese enterprises around the West exit of Ikebukuro station to form an official Chinatown. Many Chinese students live in this area since 1980.
But many Japanese store owners oppose this plan.
source : www

WASHOKU : Chinatowns in Japan

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.............. November 20, 2008

Worldwide Water shortage

Half the world's population could face a shortage of clean water by 2080 because of climate change, experts warned Tuesday.
Wong Poh Poh, a professor at the National University of Singapore, told a regional conference that global warming was disrupting water flow patterns and increasing the severity of floods, droughts and storms — all of which reduce the availability of drinking water.
Wong said the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that as many as 2 billion people won't have sufficient access to clean water by 2050. That figure is expected to rise to 3.2 billion by 2080 — nearly tripling the number who now do without it.
　source : www.iht.com

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.............. November 21, 2008

Sake brewing starts in Asahikawa, Hokkaido

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.............. November 24, 2008

Manju are named after famous politicians

Koizumi manjuu 小泉まんじゅう
Koizumi Junichiro

Ozawa manjuu おざわまんじゅう, 小沢饅頭
小沢一郎 Ozawa Ichiro

similar to dadacha manjuu.
いっちゃんまんじゅう Ittchan Manju

Shinchan manjuu 晋ちゃんまんじゅう

安倍晋太郎(あべしんたろう) Abe Shintaroo

Aso manjuu with chocolate
生チョコ大福・麻生まんじゅう

麻生太郎首相 Aso Taro

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September 2009, after the elections

take a bite
from the political pie -
Hatoyama bisquits

Hatoyama sabure / 鳩山民衆サブレー / 鳩山サブレー

Hatoyama bisquits / Yukio Hatoyama Yukio
maybe the next prime minister ...
鳩山由紀夫, born 1947
CLICK here for PHOTOS !

Hatoyama Apples
政権交代紅白まんじゅう seiken kootai koohaku manjuu
and more HATOYAMA snacks !

Fujikawa Yuri 藤川ゆり
ゆりたんの美味しすぎる りんごケーキ
Yuritan Apple Cake . Yuri Fujikawa

Politician from Hachinohe, Northern Japan

Kenchan Manju 健ちゃんまんじゅう
千葉県の森田健作知事 Morita Kensaku from Chiba

Aso Taro 2009 Manju
秘密の太郎ちゃん from Akihabara 秋葉原名物
Manju to change Japan 日本をかえるまんじゅう

. . . CLICK here for Photos about polititians and Manju sweets !

. Prime Minister Fukuda 福田首相 . Daruma Senbei

Here is a special treat

Obama Manju, OBAMAまんじゅう / オバマ饅頭

Obama Burger made from fish meat

From the town Obama in Japan 福井県小浜市.

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.............. November 25, 2008

Echizen Kurage 越前クラゲ monstrous jellyfish
Their number has greatly fallen this year from 6800 sightings in November last year to only 128 this year. The reason is unclear, dirt in Chinese waters, global warming or not enough food left for them.

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.............. November 27, 2008

Fukumitsuya Sake Boutique
Two new drinks of a shochu liqueur with carrots and apples.
"kutsurogi no onboratto" おんぼらっと
Already available are plum, yuzu, mango
source : 　www.fukumitsuya.co.jp
source : 　くつろぎのおんぼらぁと
　〒920-8638　石川県金沢市石引二丁目8番3号

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.............. November 30, 2008

Japan begins to import whale meat from Iceland.
Rererence

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Related words

December　。。。 juunigatsu 十二月　

***** WASHOKU ... SEASONAL DISHES SAIJIKI

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Renkon (lotus root)

2010-10-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

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Lotus root (renkon)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Various LOTUS, see below
***** Category: Plant, Humanity

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Explanation

renkon 蓮根 lotus root
kigo for all winter

It is not really the root, but but an underground stem with many holes.
There are alwasy one small hole in the middle, two smaller ones on the top side and all around the middle one are seven other ones, altogether nine holes around the middle. Air is funneled through these holes to the plant.

It is an auspicious food,since you can see through the holes of the root "into the future", saki ga mitooseru　先が見通せる, which is lucky. Therefore lotus dishes are always prepared for auspicious situations, festivals and the New Year food.

renkon no hasami-age れんこんのはさみ揚げ
Renkon no Hasami Age
Lotoswurzel mit Hackfleischfüllung

Lotus, Lotos (hasu) ... all KIGO
and all about the symbolism of the lotus blossoms.
The flowers of lotus play an important role in Buddhist philosophy.

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Renkon is well loved and prepared as a speciality in some prefectures.

. Kaga renkon 加賀レンコン/ 加賀れんこん
Lotos roots from Kaga, Ishikawa 　

The story of the ailing daimyo of Kumamoto, Hosokawa Tadatoshi,
細川忠利 and how he got well with
. karashi renkon 辛子れんこん lotus roots with mustard 　
and
karashi renkon chippusu 辛子れんこんチップス
Karashi Renkon Chips
from Kumamoto

. renkon katsudon れんこんカツ丼
cotelette with lotus root on rice 　
from Gifu

. renkon no ni-ae れんこんの煮和え
simmered lotus root salad 　
from Aichi

. renkon no su no mono と\れんこんの酢の物
lotus root pickled in vinegar 　
from Iwakuni, Yamaguchi

. Urajima renkon 連島レンコン
lotus roots from Urajima town 　
renkon shooshuu レンコン焼酎 schnaps
from Okayama

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hasumeshi 蓮飯 lotus with rice

kigo for early autumn

Hiroshige, Eating Lotus at Shitaya Hirokoji, Ueno

In the background is the pond Shinobazu no Ike in Ueno, famous for its lotus and the island with a shrine of Benten. Parties for "lotus blossom viewing " (hasu no hanami 蓮の花見) were quite popular.

A party of writers of comic verse (kyooku 狂句) in 17 syllables is having a party after the poetry meeting.

One of the dishes is Lotus with Rice 蓮飯 hasumeshi,
prepared with lotus seeds and leaves and salted rice.

There is also hasu no ha meshi, kayoohan (荷葉飯はすのはめし）,
rice with lotus leaves, with the rice wrapped in a lotus leaf.
The rice is cooked with this wrapper.

Other recipes prefer to boil the lotus seeds and leaves and use the broth to cook the rice.

. Reference : 荷葉飯

. Benten, Benzaiten 弁天　弁財天　

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Worldwide use

Lotoswurzeln.

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Things found on the way

hasu no mi　蓮の実 fruit of the Indian lotus
Nelumbo nucifera

It is used as medicine against sleeplessness and also helps with diarrhoe.
It can be served in soup or as a sweed desert.

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HAIKU and SENRYU

塩魚の塩こぼれけり蓮の飯
shiozakana no shio koborekeri hasu no meshi

the salt of this
salted fish spills over . . .
rice with lotus

Kaya Shirao 加舎白雄 (1738-1791)

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Related words

***** WASHOKU :
YASAI . Vegetable SAIJIKI

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Lodgings (hatago)

2010-10-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

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Lodgings, inn (hatago)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Hatago (旅籠, 旅篭)
were Edo period lodgings for travelers at shukuba (post stations) along the national highways, including the Edo Five Routes and the subroutes. In addition to a place to rest, hatago also offered meals and other foods to the travelers.
They were also called hatagoya (旅籠屋).

Hatago means "traveling basket."
The word itself originally derived from baskets that contained food for horses and were carried by travelers. From there, it became a tool with which travelers were carry their own food and goods. Shops that began preparing and selling food for travelers gained the suffix ya (屋), meaning "shop," but this was eventually shortened to just hatago.

Because many post stations along the Tōkaidō, Nakasendō and other historical routes have been either preserved or rebuilt, there are many traditional hatago still in existence today. While some have only been preserved as public buildings and museums, others have continued to operate for the past few hundred years.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Tokaido, Akasaka by Hiroshige

meshimori hatago 飯盛旅籠（めしもりはたご)
lodgings serving food (and women)

Travellers could ask for food being brought by women who would serve them "anything".

A good traveller would walk about 40 kilometers (10 ri 里), a woman made about 30 kilometers (8 ri).

Tokaido, Goyu 御油(ごゆ) by Toyokuni

Goyu was about 298 km from Edo and 195 km close to Kyoto. Now it is in Toyokawa.

Of course reservations could not be made in the Edo period. Travellers arrived at any time and stopped when they got tired of walking.
A licensed hatago would provide two meals, breakfast and evening meal.

Other lodgings (yadoya, yado 宿屋) more popular with the poor travelelrs would only provide the firewood for self-cooking (kichinyado, kichin yado 木賃宿).
The cost was about 3000 yen (300 mon) for a hatago. A yado would charge about 500 yen (50 mon).

Travellers would often have to share a simple room with others.

When entering a hatago, travellers could wash their feet in a wooden basin (tarai たらい) and sometimes a woman servant would carry their luggage up to a room.

Some hatago would provide local delicacies to entertain the travellers with food and local sake. Some where quite famous for this, for example in Odawara they served kamaboko fish paste.
One meal consisted of a pot of soup, two sidedishes of vegetables and rice 一汁二菜. The price varied with the quality of the food.

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Tokaido, Hiratsuka, by Hiroshige

Hiratsuka is still quite close to Edo, only about 60 kilometers on the road. It was a stop at the crossing of river Banyuugawa 馬入川, now Sagamigawa.
For a slow traveller, Hiratsuka was the second stop-over on the trip.

Here you can see the servants carrying trays with food. The smaller girl carries the pot with cooked rice (meshibitsu 飯櫃).
On the tray there are a bowl of soup, a bowl for rice, a plate with a fish (fried or boiled fish was common), a covered bowl with cooked vegetables (sometimes even lily roots or yuba soy skin, shiitake mushrooms) and a small plate with pickled vegetables.
This is quite a delicious evening meal. Fish was not served in the morning.

. Reference : 旅籠 in 江戸 .

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

Modern Hatago and Food 旅籠料理

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

ryokan 旅館 Japanese inn

Many ryokan take great pride in a long history of "motenashi no kokoro" おもてなしのこころ, entertaining the guests with utmost care.

honjin 本陣 feudal lord's lodging in the Edo period
... waki honjin 脇本陣

hoteru ホテル hotel

minshuku みんしゅく【民宿】simple guesthouse, bed and breakfast,
a private home providing meals and lodging (for tourists)

shukubo, shukuboo 宿坊 lodging in a temple

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HAIKU and SENRYU

かすむ日や大旅籠屋のうらの松
kasumu hi ya oohatagoya no ura no matsu

misty day--
behind the big inn
a pine

Kobayashi Issa
(Tr. David Lanoue)

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時の日や昔旅籠の掛時計　
toki no hi ya mukashi hatago no kakedokei

time memorial day -
this wall clock
in the old inn

Sankei 山渓

. toki no kinenbi 時の記念日 (ときのきねんび)
time memorial day, time day

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Related words

. Restaurants 　

. Train Station Lunch Box (ekiben) 　

. Palanquin, sedan chair (kago 篭 or かご) 　

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Japan Foodways

2010-10-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

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Japan Foodways, Past and Present

304 pages

The first English-language compilation of research
on Japanese cooking and food culture

Spanning nearly six hundred years of Japanese food culture, Japanese Foodways, Past and Present considers the production, consumption, and circulation of Japanese foods from the mid-fifteenth century to the present day in contexts that are political, economic, cultural, social, and religious. Diverse contributors--including anthropologists, historians, sociologists, a tea master, and a chef--address a range of issues such as medieval banquet cuisine, the tea ceremony, table manners, cookbooks in modern times, food during the U.S. occupation period, eating and dining out during wartimes, the role of heirloom vegetables in the revitalization of rural areas, children's lunches, and the gentrification of blue-collar foods.

Framed by two reoccurring themes--
food in relation to place and
food in relation to status --
the collection considers the complicated relationships between the globalization of foodways and the integrity of national identity through eating habits. Focusing on the consumption of Western foods, heirloom foods, once-taboo foods, and contemporary Japanese cuisines, Japanese Foodways, Past and Present shows how Japanese concerns for and consumption of food have relevance and resonance with other foodways around the world.

Contributors are Stephanie Assmann, Gary Soka Cadwallader, Katarzyna Cwiertka, Satomi Fukutomi, Shoko Higashiyotsuyanagi, Joseph R. Justice, Michael Kinski, Barak Kushner, Bridget Love, Joji Nozawa, Tomoko Onabe, Eric C. Rath, Akira Shimizu, George Solt, David E. Wells, and Miho Yasuhara.

"A pathbreaking volume on Japanese culinary history with great depth and scope."
--Merry Isaacs White, author of Perfectly Japanese: Making Families in an Era of Upheaval

"Required reading for anyone interested in Japanese history, food, and foodways. I couldn't put this book down!"
--Samuel Hideo Yamashita, author of Leaves from an Autumn of Emergencies: Selections from the Wartime Diaries of Ordinary Japanese

Eric C. Rath
is an associate professor of history at the University of Kansas and the author of The Ethos of Noh: Actors and Their Art.
Stephanie Assmann
is a lecturer at Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, and the author of Value Change and Social Stratification in Japan: Aspects of Women's Consumer Behaviour.

source : www.press.uillinois.edu

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Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan

Eric C. Rath

December 2010
ISBN: 9780520262270

How did one dine with a shogun?
Or make solid gold soup, sculpt with a fish, or turn seaweed into a symbol of happiness? In this fresh look at Japanese culinary history, Eric C. Rath delves into the writings of medieval and early modern Japanese chefs to answer these and other provocative questions, and to trace the development of Japanese cuisine from 1400 to 1868. Rath shows how medieval “fantasy food” rituals—where food was revered as symbol rather than consumed—were continued by early modern writers. The book offers the first extensive introduction to Japanese cookbooks, recipe collections, and gastronomic writings of the period and traces the origins of dishes like tempura, sushi, and sashimi while documenting Japanese cooking styles and dining customs.

source : www.ucpress.edu

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Related words

***** REFERENCE - External LINKS and Resources

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Gopan Bread Maker

2010-07-13T19:24:00.000-07:00

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Gopan Bread Maker

quote
SANYO Announces the World First
Rice Bread Cooker "GOPAN"
that Can Easily Bake Rice Bread from Rice Grain at Home

Tokyo, July 13, 2010 -
SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (SANYO) is pleased to announce the release of the world first rice bread cooker "GOPAN " that can easily bake rice bread in every home from rice grain. The product will be released for sale on October 8, 2010.

The Gopan looks similar to a rice cooker. Just add 220 grams of rice, 210 grams of water, sugar, salt and shortening in the bread pan, and gluten and dry yeast in the unit's automatic dispenser, and the machine grinds the grain, and kneads and bakes the dough in about four hours.

Rice is the principal food in Japan. However, the consumption of domestic rice has decreased by half compared to 1962. It is feared that the decreasing rice demand may negatively impact the development of technology in the agriculture field, and therefore slow improvement in the taste of rice, which will further contribute to the domestic consumption decrease. Meanwhile, the number of people concerned about the reliability of food has increased. Also, more and more people are checking farm producer's information before buying cooking ingredients.

世界の人々に健康で楽しい、お米ライフを提案する
おうちのお米で、毎日手軽に「パン」がつくれる
世界初！ライスブレッドクッカー「GOPAN（ゴパン）」を発売
source : sanyo.com/news

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GOPAN is a play of words with

GOHAN, cooked rice
and
PAN, Japanese for Bread

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

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Related words

. WASHOKU
Bread (pan) Brot

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Nanuka no on-sechiku

2010-07-07T17:44:00.001-07:00

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Seasonal feast on the
seventh day of the seventh lunar month

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Early Autumn
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

nanuka no on-sechiku 七日の御節供
(なぬかのおんせちく)
Official seasonal feast on the
seventh day of the seventh lunar month

sakubei 索餅（さくべい） Sakubei-noodles
..... sakobei, rice brittle

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noodles, sakubei さくべい　索餅

The oldest form of the noodles, sakubei, produced by adding rice powder to flour and twist them like a rope, was introduced from China in the eighth century. Now we have udon and soomen nodles.
Sakubei are also served during the New Year Feast

Ganjitsu no Sechi-E 元日節会

Sakubei-noodles were also called "wheat ropes" (muginawa 牟義縄（むぎなわ）) in China. These noodles later developed to Somen-noodles 素麺（そうめん）in Japan

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During this ritual, offerings are made to the deities and later eaten by the participants of a feast.
To eat the Sakubei-noodles would ward off evil and disease (okoriyamai 瘧病) for the coming months of the year.
details see below

Samurai and townspeople wore white katabira official robes, eat these Sakubei-noodles and later Somen-noodles and congratulate each other for their good health.

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Worldwide use

. nanuka no sechi-e なぬかのせちえ【七日の節会】
Seasonal Feast on the seventh day (of the New Year)
hakubasai 白馬祭（はくばさい） Festival of the White Horse
aouma no sechi-e 青馬(あおうま)の節会(せちえ)
ao-uma no matsuri 青馬祭 (あおうまのまつり)

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

索餅に魂なぐさめん高辛氏
sakubei ni tamashi nagusamen Kooshin shi

with Sakubei-noodles
we try to pacify his soul -
Emperor Koshin

Sada Kane 貞兼

According to Chinese legend, the child of the legendary emperor Koshi 高辛 (also called Koshinshi) died on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, and became a revengeful demon (霊鬼神). This demon brought feaver-diseases to the people (okori yamai).
To appease this demon and ward off feverish diseases, people started to offer Sakubei-noodles for him., because they were a well-loved food of the child.

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Related words

***** Food of the New Year Season, O-Setchi Ryori
(osetchi ryoori おせち料理, 御節料理 )

. Star Festival (Tanabata) 　
On the Seventh Day of the Seventh Lunar Month

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JULY NEWS

2010-07-01T10:36:00.000-07:00

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JULY ... shichigatsu 七月

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.............. July 12, 2010

Announces Japan-wide Sale of
Pizzas made from Domestic Rice Flour

Pizza Hut Inc., a major pizza delivery chain with branches all over Japan, has been selling pizzas made using domestic rice flour since May 2010. In support of the activities of "Food Action Nippon," which runs national campaigns to improve Japan's food self-sufficiency, and its Rice Flour Club, which promotes rice flour consumption, Pizza Hut has begun using rice flour in its pizza dough.

Pizza Hut has refined its dough recipe to maintain its unique texture and flavor over the past three years, as this was the company's highest priority regarding the introduction of rice flour. To ensure safety and reliability, as well as consistency in the quality and quantity of rice, the company opted to use Koshihikari brand rice from contracted farmers in Tainai City, Niigata Prefecture, and succeeded in creating good rice flour by milling the Koshihikari using two-step milling technology.

Pizza Hut became a partner in the "Food Action Nippon" promotion in September 2009, aiming to promote domestic agricultural production. It has also joined the Rice Flour Club as part of its sale of pizzas made from rice flour. Pizza Hut now aims to develop other rice flour products in order to act as a bridge between rice producers and consumers.
source : www.japanfs.org

ピザハットでは、国産米粉を使用したピザ生地4種類

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.............. July 3, 2009

　"The Niigata Sake Book"
新潟県酒造組合 (編集)
Translated from Japanese, publisher: Japan Times
"Niigata Seishu Tatsujin Kentei Koshiki Tekisuto Bukku"
「新潟清酒達人検定」
Japanese published in 2007

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Tobacco Cafe / Cafe Tobacco 喫煙カフェ新宿
Near Shinjuku station

Since most places in Tokyo are now non-smoking areas, this is an oasis for smokers.

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.............. July 4, 2009

宮崎ビーフバーガー Biggest Burger at Miyazaki Seagaia

The world's biggest hamburger.
It weighs 136.2 kilograms -- bigger than the world record of 84.14 kilograms. Here is is at Sunbeach Hitsotsuba in Miyazaki on Saturday, July 4. The burger was made by 15 Phoenix Seagaia　宮崎シーガイア Resort chefs over eight hours, using 70 kilograms of beef and 30 kilograms of pork. It will be submitted for registration in the Guinness Book of Records if one sells over the next year. It sells for 150.000 Yen a piece.
source : yummy-honey.cocolog-nifty.com

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.............. July 3, 2009

OKUTA,
an environmentally conscious home renovation company based in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, started procuring organic rice for its employees in March 2009. The objective of its Komé-Mamé Project (Komé-Mamé (kome mame) means rice and beans) is to increase employee interest in food and agriculture while supporting organic farmers within Saitama.
Shimosato farm in Ogawa, Yoshinori Kaneko
source : www.japanfs.org

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.............. July 9, 2009

Ramen robot replaces fleshy chef at Yamanashi eatery
桃園ロボットラーメン

Yamanashi -- "Momozono Robot Ramen," a ramen shop that opened here in November last year, is gaining popularity not only for its delicious ramen noodles, but for its robotic chef.

The ramen-making robot was built by 60-year-old shop owner Yoshihira Uchida, who spent about 20 million yen on its construction. Customers can place their orders on a computer in the shop, customizing various aspects such as the levels of soy sauce, salt, and richness of the soup. Uchida says there are 40 million different flavor permutations.

The noodles themselves are cooked by a human, with the robot creating a perfectly blended soup which is then delivered to the human chef via a conveyor belt, who adds the noodles and toppings. The whole process takes only about two minutes, a minute shorter than instant cup noodles. Prices of ramen per bowl are 500 yen for regular size and 300 yen for small size.

Uchida developed a love of electronics during elementary and junior high school, which he went on to study at the Musashi Institute of Technology (now Tokyo City University) and the University of Toyama's graduate school, focusing on electronic circuits and motors. After graduating, Uchida worked on noodle-packing machines at a food manufacturer until he retired from the company last year.

While working for the company, Uchida, a huge noodle lover, opened a soba noodle shop 10 years ago. He later started to make ramen -- which received mixed comments from friends, with some saying the taste was strong, and others too weak. In the end, Uchida hit upon the idea of creating a robot that can allow customers to choose the flavor they want.

source : (Mainichi Japan) July 4, 2009

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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.............. July 13, 2009

Suntory Holdings Ltd and Kirin Holdings Co

Japan's top two beverage makers, Kirin and Suntory, are considering merging their operations, a Suntory spokesman said Monday.
A merger would help the companies overcome a saturated domestic market with an aging population and compete more strongly with large international brands.

source : Mainichi Shinbun, July 13

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.............. July 18, 2009

Miele Guide
The Miele Guide is a regional guide book to restaurants in Asia.
It is published by Singapore-based Ate Media, and officially sponsored by the German home appliance maker Miele.
They will launch a charity month in Asia, with more than 50 hotels participating.
They promise to donate 15 percent of this to the United Nations World Food Program.

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International Tokyo Toy Show 2009
Jul 17, 2009 - Jul 19, 2009
The International Tokyo Toy Show kicked off Thursday at Tokyo Big Sight.
Cooking toys are a great hit this year.
Reference

WASHOKU : Toys and Food

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.............. July 24, 2009
Beer for 100 Yen !
Sapporo Beer, Ebisu Stout Creamy Top
エビス　スタウト　クリーミートップ
Yebisu Creamy Top Stout

イオン１００円ビール

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.............. July 29, 2009

Chewing gum FITs (フィッツ)ロッテ Fit's ミックス / ロッテ Fit's シトラス
in three flavors and easy out of the box
CLICK here for PHOTOS !
Lotte

Reference

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Related words

JANUARY ... ichigatsu 一月

FEBRUARY ... nigatsu 二月

MARCH ... sangatsu 三月

APRIL ... shigatsu 四月

MAY ... gogatsu 五月

JUNE ... rokugatsu 六月

JULY ... shichigatsu 七月

NOVEMBER ... juuichigatsu 十一月　

DECEMBER ... juunigatsu 十二月　

***** WASHOKU ... SEASONAL DISHES SAIJIKI

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Tsuchinoko

2010-06-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

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"Hammerspawn" (tsuchinoko )

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Japanese Resource
with many illustrations according to the sightings in parts of Japan
http://www.d1.dion.ne.jp/~k_nozaki/maborosi.htm

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The Tsuchinoko (ツチノコ or 槌の子)
literally translating to "hammerspawn," is a legendary snake-like cryptid from Japan. The name tsuchinoko is prevalent in Western Japan, including Kansai and Shikoku; the creature is known as bachi hebi (バチヘビ) in Northeastern Japan.

Tsuchinoko are described as being between 30 and 80 centimeters in length, similar in appearance to a snake, but with a central girth that is much wider than its head or tail, and as having fangs and venom similar to that of a viper. Some accounts also describe the tsuchinoko as being able to jump up to a meter in distance.

According to legend, some tsuchinoko have the ability to speak and a propensity for lying, as well as a taste for alcohol. Legend also records that it will sometimes swallow its own tail so that it can roll like a hoop, similar to the mythical Hoop snake.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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History
Drawings resembling tsuchinoko on stoneware dating back to the Jomon Period have been discovered in Gifu and Nagano. An encyclopedia from the Edo Period contains a description of the tsuchinoko under the name yatsui hebi. Accounts of the tsuchinoko can also be found in the Kojiki.

In 1989 the town of Mikata, Hyogo Prefecture offered a reward of 330 square meters of land to anybody who could capture a tsuchinoko and, in 2001, it put a large black snake on display under the claim that the creature was a tsuchinoko.

Theories
Excluding Hokkaido and the southern Japanese islands, tsuchinoko sightings have been reported all over Japan. As an actual tsuchinoko has never been formally cataloged by science, there is some speculation that other animals have been mistaken for the creature. Some believe the tsuchinoko legend to be based on encounters with snakes that recently swallowed a meal. The blue-tongued lizard, which became legal to own in Japan in the 1970s, also seems to be easily mistakable for a tsuchinoko; its only major difference in appearance is its four legs.

source
http://www.monstropedia.org/index.php?title=Tsuchinoko

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Findings of these mythical reptiles have been made is some parts of Japan, for example in Mikata, Hyogo prefecture and Yoshii, Okayama prefecture.

tsuchi no ko are already mentioned in the old records of the Kojiki.

Towns where these snake-like reptiles have been found were soon producing many artefacts and even food in the name.

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tsuchinoko goheimochi つちのこ五平餅

source
http://www.47news.jp/topics/b-gourmet/2009/05/

from the "Tsuchinoko Festa" 「つちのこフェスタ」
岐阜県加茂郡東白川村神土426-1, Gifu Prefecture, in May 2009
The Town of Higashi Shirakawa has even opened a small museum,
tsuchinoko kan つちのこ館.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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chokoeggu tsuchinoko チョコエッグ　ツチノコ
chocolate eggs "tsuchi no ko"
from Furuta

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tsuchinoko wain つちのこワイン "tsuchinoko wine"
from Akaiwa city　赤磐
Akaiwa City, located in southeast Okayama Prefecture
http://www.city.akaiwa.lg.jp/tutinoko/syohin.html

and from Yoshii Town, in Okayama, where this animal has been sighted too, we have

tsuchinoko senbei つちのこせんべい
Sembei a la Tsuchinoko

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tsuchinoko manjuu つちのこまんじゅう bean paste cakes
From Itoigawa, Niigata

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It seems this littel monsterlin has spawned a lot of gourmet thinking.

槌の子 Tsuchi no Ko

Character from GEGEGE no Kitaro
http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/kitaro/charactor/subchara.html

. Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎) and Daruma San

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

tsuchi no ko ya
do I find you in my garden
or in my kitchen ?

Gabi Greve, June 2010

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : General Information

. Japanese Monsters and Ghosts

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JUNE NEWS

2010-06-01T01:04:00.000-07:00

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JUNE ... rokugatsu 六月

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.............. June 7, 2010

MSC-certified Pole-and-Line
Skipjack Tuna Goes on Sale

Organic food delivery services provider DAICHI WO MAMORUKAI (in English, The Association to Preserve the Earth) started on March 29, 2010, to sell Tosakatsuo Suisan's pole-and-line skipjack tuna products, certified by the international Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The seafood produced by the local fishery group from Kochi Prefecture is the first of its kind allowed to use the MSC's seafood eco-label.

The MSC is a UK-based global organization that supports environmentally friendly and well-managed fisheries through its certification and eco-labeling program for sustainable seafood.

The practice of pole-and-line fishing, a traditional and environment-conscious technique, is in decline nowadays, as less-expensive imported fish dominate the market. Through marketing of the skipjack tuna products, DAICHI WO MAMORUKAI intends to inform consumers about the importance of the fishing practice, a proud tradition among Japanese fishermen since ancient times.
source : www.japanfs.org

世界初、鰹漁業にMSC認証。
漁師の誇り「一本釣り」を守るため、大地を守る会で取り扱いスタート

CLICK for Japanese Text

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.............. June, 2010

Beer Festival
Great Japan Beer Festival 2010 is planned to be held in Tokyo, Osaka, and Yokohama. The Tokyo event takes place at Ebisu Garden Place on June 5 and 6, 2010.
There are over 120 kinds of Japanese craft beer and imported beer available at each event.
July 17-19: Kyosera Dome Osaka 9F
source : gojapan.about.com

日本最大のクラフトビール・フェスティアバル
「beerfes! 2010」ジャパン・ビアフェスティバル2010
http://www.beertaster.org/gjbf/date.htm

. WASHOKU
jibiiru ... local regional beer

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.............. June 9, 2009

FOOMA
(International Food Machinery & Technology Exhibition)
　。国際食品工業展
Japan Food Machinery Manufacturers' Association (FOOMA).

Food manufacturing and processing, cooking machinery (bread and confectionery, meat and sea products, noodles, prepared food, beverages and dairy products, agricultural products, tofu, brewing and distilling, other food), food materials processing, food preservation, quality maintenance, engineering, production control systems, packaging and distribution, storage, conveyance and transfer, measurement, analysis and inspection, food sanitation control, environmental protection, conservation and recycling, equipment, machineries, engineering parts, food materials, processed foods, information services ...
source : www.foomajapan.jp

Okonomiyaki Robot お好み焼きロボット
by Toyo Riki Co.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Sushi Robot 寿司ロボット
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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.............. June 3, 2009

vegetable factory

Vegetable factories in Japan
They grow in artificial light,usually in outdated factory rooms. Everything is controlled, humidity, temperature, carbon dioxid emission and all. The produce is about double the price than other natural grown stuff, but it is the same throughout the year.
There are now about 30 of this kind, but the ministry wants to encourage more than 150.

Reference

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.............. June 25, 2009

KFC
The statue of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Sanders had been recovered in March from a river in Osaka, 24 years after frenzied Hanshin Tigers fans threw the statue into the river when the baseball team won the Central League championship. The statue is 180 cm high and weighs 26 kg.
It has been consecrated in a Shinto Shrine in Osaka.
Fans of Japanese baseball’s Hanshin Tigers hoped to exorcize a 24-year “curse” today by honoring a statue of Colonel Sanders at a local shrine. A turnaround by the team might aid business in the region, as economist hope.
　Reference

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Michael Joseph Jackson
August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009

Michael Jackson マイケル・ジャクソン

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.............. June 30, 2009

Cola Shock
by Kirin Beer Company

Mixing vodka with Coca Cola for an alcoholic drink with 5% alcohol.
Sold in cans of 350 or 500 ml. Starting to sell on July 8.
RTD ... Ready to Drink

大人の夜コーラ（コーラ×ウォッカ）
Cola for the Night of Grown Ups

キリンコーラショック
http://www.kirin.co.jp/brands/colashock/index.html

Green Tea Coke
CLICK here for PHOTOS !

Shiso Pepsi Shiso (since June 23)
CLICK here for PHOTOS !
Shiso (Veggie) Pepsi / Veggie Pepsi

Pepsi Ice Cucumber
CLICK here for PHOTOS !

Nihon Coca Cola / 日本コカ・コーラ
http://www.cocacola.co.jp/
Coca-Cola Museum
http://www.cocacola.co.jp/study/museum/

Nihon Pepsi Cola 日本ペプシコーラ販売
http://www.pepsi.co.jp/menu.html

WASHOKU
koora, kokakoora コーラ, コカコーラ Coca Cola, coke KIGO for Summer

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Related words

JANUARY ... ichigatsu 一月

FEBRUARY ... nigatsu 二月

MARCH ... sangatsu 三月

APRIL ... shigatsu 四月

MAY ... gogatsu 五月

JUNE ... rokugatsu 六月

NOVEMBER ... juuichigatsu 十一月　

DECEMBER ... juunigatsu 十二月　

***** WASHOKU ... SEASONAL DISHES SAIJIKI

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Gyaru ... Gals and Food

2010-05-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

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Gyaru Gals, Girls

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

noogyaru 農ギャル /　ノギャル　 no gyaru, farming girls
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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ugyaru 魚ギャル / ウギャル fishing girls

some are even trying to grow oysters in Iwate.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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quote
The idea was to promote local farming by bringing in some city girls to do a spot of harvesting. The word nogyaru is a combination of nogyo (農業 - agriculture) and gyaru. Well, you might be interested to know that the fishing industry has decided that the farmers had the right idea and have now launched the Ugyaru Project.
The "u" of ugyaru comes from uo (魚 - fish, also read as sakana) and umi (海 - sea). Fisherman are frustrated that females have been forsaking fish in favour of fast food and want to foster fashionable faith in traditional folk food culture.

The new face of fish is charisma model Lie (rhymes with rye), who also seems to be known as Kei (rhymes with ray) as you can see here where she copies Lady Gaga's styling for the "No Wig, No Life" section of Gal Research Press. Lie will aim to counter the impression that fish is difficult to prepare and eat as well as encouraging more young people to work in the fisheries industry. There are plans is to arrange tours for gyaru mama - gyaru with kids - launch lines of stylish fishing workwear and set up classes to teach proper fish preparation. Lie herself has been working with restaurant chefs learning how to cut fish which is why she is pictured holding some slabs of maguro.
source : www.fuckedgaijin.com

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Sex and Food

2010-05-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

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Sex and Food

Read this first !

. Penis Festivals
for a bountiful harvest 　

Honen Matsuri (Hoonen Matsuri 豊年祭)

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Special food is prepared for these festivals.

Penis and vagina candy

penis for 600 yen
pussy for 600 yen

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Penis Lollipops

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Daikon Radish Penis

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fuufu mochi　夫婦餅 His and Hers Mochi

MORE : penis souveniers
www.loneleeplanet.com

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

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Related words

***** . Temple and Shrine Festivals and Food

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Suizenji Nori

2010-05-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

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Suizenji nori (Suizenji nori)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: All Summer
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

Suizenji-nori 水前寺のり / 水前寺海苔
an edible blue-green alga (cyanobacterium)
suizenji 水前寺（すいぜんじ）
shikon nori 紫金苔（しこんのり）"purple golden nori"
jusen nori 寿泉苔 "nori from the well of long life"
akizuki nori 秋月苔（あきづきのり） "autumn moon nori"

Aphanothece sacrum
Aphanothece sacrum (Suringar) Okada
スイゼンジノリ / ずいぜんじのり

a kind of blue algae that grows in fresh water 水生藍藻
It is now a natural treasure 天然記念物指定.

Along the upper regions of the river Koganegawa, along about 500 meters, water is divided into small shallow rivulets, where the alga grow on especially planted grass. They need a lot of mineral in the water and a temperature of about 18 - 20 degrees centigrade.
Most of it floats in the water as small black pieces, until it catches some grass to grow larger. It is rather wobbely and jelly-like when harvested.

It was allowed to be harvested by the lord of Akatsuki Domain, who gave a written report to a family in Asakura, which still harvests and produces it in the traditional way by hand. So it has a tradition of more than 250 years.

About one kilo of the mashed laver is spread on earthen tiles, about 1 cm thick, and let dry naturally. After that the rather flat pieces are now put on wooden planks, smothered with a bit of water into perfect shape (about A4 sixe plates) and let dry again.

Before eating, it can be put into water to gain back its thickness.

Put in soup or as tsukudani, it is a welcome source of minerals.

Suizenji Nori Salad with sanbaizu vinegar or Tosa Vinegar.

九州の一部（熊本／福岡）
熊本市の上江津湖

dating back to the Hosokawa lord of old domain of Bingo 肥後細川藩
http://suizenjinori.com/

100 grams of dried nori contain
21,8 g protein
1200 mg calcium
68,8 mg iron
1,39 mg vitamin B1
1m38 mg vitamin B2

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Photo from Kisendo 喜泉堂

Fukuoka prefecture, Koganegawa, Asakura town
福岡県の黄金川（こがねがわ）
福岡県朝倉
River Koganegawa belonged to the former domain of Akitsuki han 秋月藩.

The nori have been found near the temple Suizen-Ji 水前寺 at lake Ezuko 江津湖.
These sweet-water nori are the first plants to bring oxygen to the earth in early times.

They are black when swimming in the water and contain two color components
青色のフィコシアニン green phycocyanin
赤色のフィコエリスリン red phycoerythrin
http://www.kisendou.com/

Products
http://www.kisendou.com/order.html

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Worldwide use

Blaualge

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

吸物はまづ出来されし水前寺　
suimono wa mazu dekasareshi suizenji

the soup
was served first -
Suizenji

Matsuo Basho
On his trip to Higo Kumamoto, where he was eager to savor the nori, which were already famous in his days.
Soup is usually served at the end of a meal, or sometimes eaten during a banquet. Basho found it amazing to get the soup first when he wrote his haiku about it.

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Related words

***** egonori 恵古苔 (えごのり) egonori laver
egoten えごてん jelly made from egonori
ego konnyaku えごこんにゃく konnyaku made from egonori
okiuto おきうと "okiuto weed"
Campylaephora

It grows in Hakata bay and is a local souvenier. It has been collected by woman divers (ama) of the Genkai Sea for more than 200 years. Local people eat it with soy sauce for breakfast.
It is low in calories and became a popular diet food in recent years.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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***** . Seaweed (kaisoo) Japan Including laver (nori), 　

***** WASHOKU :
YASAI . Vegetable SAIJIKI

WASHOKU : INGREDIENTS

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Fruit Wine

2010-05-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

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Fruit wine (furuutsu wain)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

furuutsu wain フルーツワイン Fruit Wine

From Kurume Town, Fukuoka Kyushu.
久留米
An old winery ワイナリー has started to test various fruit of the region to make deliciuos wine.
林田伝兵衛 Hayashida Denbei is the main soul behind this project.

amaou あまおう / 甘王　Amao strawberries
rather big, round and very sweet. They are a new variety of the area.
Lit. "Sweet King".
They are also used for various types of sweets and pies.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !　

ichigo wain 苺ワイン、イチゴワイン　strawberry wine
When made from Amao strawberries, the stems are also used, to give it some extra strong taste.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !　

kaki wain 柿ワイン Persimmon wine
This is also produced in other regions of Japan.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !　

kiui wain 　キウイワイン kiwi wine
. . . CLICK here for Photos !　

natsumikan wain　ナツミカンワイン　・夏蜜柑ワイン mandarine wine
みかんワイン
. . . CLICK here for Photos !　

ukon wain ウコンワイン tumeric wine,
curcuma wine
This is rater bitter and more of a medicine. But certainly good for your health.

yasai wain　野菜ワイン vegetable wine
from seasonal mixed vegetables, like carrots, radish, shiitake in winter.

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Hakata amao 博多あまおう / 甘王 Amao strawberries
from Hakata, Fukuoka Prefecture
福岡県産

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uirudo buruuberii ワイルドブルーベリー blueberry wine

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Worldwide use

Obstwein

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

Obstweinprobe -
der dicke Mann trinkt
für zwei

Astrid Abendrot

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Related words

***** WASHOKU :
YASAI . Vegetable SAIJIKI

***** WASHOKU
DRINKS SAIJIKI

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Mitsu-imo sweet potato

2010-05-07T20:46:00.001-07:00

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Honey Sweet Potato (mistu-imo)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Mid-Autumn
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

mitsuimo, mitsu imo 蜜芋 "honey sweet potato"

This is a new, or rather old, type of the satsuma sweet potatoes.

It has been grown in Tanegashima for many years, trying to breed it back to the origins of this kind of potato.
It is rather round, not long as the satsuma potato. And its color when boiled is pure gold, just so delicious !

When you roast it in the oven, the sweet juices, like honey, squeeze out of the peel.

Tanegashima Annoo Imo 種子島あんのう芋 / 安納芋
shizen no suiito poteto 天然のスイートポテト

Tanegashima is one of the oldest growing areas of this potato. Its sugar content is about two times more than that of normal satsuma potatoes. So it is a natural "sweet desert".

You can eat it just like that, baked in the microwave or in the oven.

It is also used for other sweets, like pound cake or cookies.

夢のまた夢
http://www.mitsuimo.com/
http://www.mukashi-mitsuimo.jp

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

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Related words

***** . satsumaimo 甘藷さつまいも sweet potato 　

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Kajoogui Ritual

2010-05-03T21:28:00.000-07:00

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Kajo-gui Food Ritual (kajoogui)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late Summer
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

kajoogui 嘉定喰 (がじょうぐい) Eating on the Kajo-Day
..... katsu-u かつう「嘉通」が「勝つ」
..... katsu-u no iwai かつうの祝（かつうのいわい）

kajoosen 嘉定銭（かじょうせん）16 coins for Kajo
to bus as much cakes as you could get for that amount of money.

kajoo choodai 嘉定頂戴（かじょうちょうだい）
lords giving kajo-cakes to their vassals

kajoo nui 嘉定縫（かじょうぬい）sowing on kajo-day
sodedome 袖止（そでどめ） "shortening the sleeves"

kajoogashi 嘉定菓子（かじょうがし）Kajo-cakes

The emperor Ninmei にんみょうてんのう【仁明天皇】 (833 - 850) once had an inspirational dream on the 16th day of the sixth month, when the Gods told him to offer 16 sweets to prevent him from getting ill in summer. The period name of this dream was kajoo 嘉祥, which was then used for the offerings.

The emperor Gosaga ごさがてんのう【後嵯峨天皇】 (1242 - 1246) was initiated as Emperor on the 16th day of the 6th month and had food purchased for 16 coins of the Kajo-period.

This more popular food ritual started in the Muromachi period.
On the 16th day of the 6th month, people at the court (and later the common folk) would eat 16 different pieces of small rice cakes (mochi) and sweets to ward off infectious diseases (ekibyoo 疫病). These cakes were first put on the God's shelf as an offering and later eaten.

In the Edo period, this evolved so that each regional lord gave sweets to his retainers. Poor people bought sweets for 16 mon coins and all had to eat them without laughing while eating.
During the Edo period, sugar was introduced via Nagasaki and more sweets could be produced.
In the great hall of Edo castle, with 500 tamatmi-mat size, more than 20000 pieces of cake would be placed and the Shogun gave them to his retainers.

This is also a play of words with katsu 「嘉通」and 「勝つ」, to win.
kashoo no hi 嘉祥の日（かしょうのひ）Kasho-Day

sodetome cake

In the Edo period, it was custom on this day to sew the sleeves of young girls of the age of 16 to a shorter lenght (sodetome そでとめ【袖止め／袖留め】 ). This showed they were now ready to do the work of a woman.

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During the Meiji-Restauration, the practise of giving Kajo-cakes to retainers was abolished. But in 1979, it was kind of revived by the sweet makers industry.

Nowadays, the 16th of the 6th month is also the day of Japanese sweets.

六月一六日は和菓子の日。

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Things found on the way

Sweets from the Edo period and Daruma san

source
http://blog.livedoor.jp/sunting1/archives/51636904.html

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HAIKU and SENRYU

Kobayashi Issa　and his children
source : David Lanoue, About Issa

1763, Issa is one year old

1816, Age 54
Fourth Month, 14th day, a son, Sentaro, is born.
Fifth Month, 11th day, he dies.

1818, Age 56
Fifth Month, 4th day, a daughter, Sato, is born.
1819, Age 57
Sixth Month, 21st day, Sato dies of smallpox.

1820, Age 58
Tenth Month, 5th day, his second son, Ishitaro, is born.
1821, Age 59
First Month, 11th day, Ishitaroo suffocates while bundled on his mother's back.

1822, Age 60
Third Month, 10th day, his third son, Konzaburo, is born.

1823, Age 61
Fifth Month, 12th day, his wife, Kiku, dies.

1827, Age 65
Eleventh Month, 19th day, he dies of a stroke

. . . . .

子のぶんを母いただくや嘉定喰ひ
ko no bun o haha itadaku ya kajoo gui

the portion of the child
is eaten by the mother . . .
eating on Kajo-Day

This would mean the mother ate cakes for 32 mon worth of money.
Maybe the baby was still too small to eat the cakes and mother tried to "eat good fortune" for both of them.

more kajoo-haiku, all written in 1825 文政八年句帖)

御礼する袂になるや嘉定銭
o-rei suru tamoto ni naru ya kajoosen

二人前してやりにけり嘉定酒
futarimae shite yarini keri kajoozake

乳呑をば銭いたゞ[か]せけり[嘉定]喰

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Related words

***** .SAIJIKI ... OBSERVANCES, FESTIVALS, RITUALS
Kigo for Summer 　

WAGASHI ... Sweets SAIJIKI

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Karakki

2010-04-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

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Karakki - a mascot for RED HOT food !

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

The Mascot Karakki からっキー

京都向日市激激辛商店街
Kyoto, Mukoo shi, Gekikara Shootengai

Extra hot shopping mall

The whole town uses this mascot for its promotion.

Hot soup, hot noodles, hot fried rice, even sweets with six degrees of hot pepper are offered !

During a life reportage everyone was coughing because of the pepper dust in the restaurant. The cook was wearing a mask in another restaurant., because he could not bear the biting fumes from the various pepper powders he was mixing for his soup.
In another restaurant, the cook and his helper were coughing, and all guests coughed and had tears in the eyes ... quite a remarkable reportage.

The reporter could not speak any more for a while, obviously in pain ...

Yet this hot pepper keeps the shopping mall alive !

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BLOG
http://www.kyoto-gekikara.com/gekiouen/

達磨正宗古酒激辛天国 Daruma Masamune

ハバネロ　アイスクリーム

チーズケーキ　フロマージュウキャラクター柄ケーキ

信州限定キットカット

Check out the complete list of extra hot meals and drinks !
http://www.kyoto-gekikara.com/

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

Karakki ya
to see the whole town
in "hot" tears

Nakayama Ishino

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes

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sooshoku Grass-eaters

2010-04-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

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Grass-eaters and meat eaters

sooshoku otoko 草食男子 "men who eat grass" (vegetables)
grass eaters, as opposed to meat eaters

nikushoku onna 肉食女 "meat-eating girls"

sooshoku is a word used for herbivorous animals, sooshoku doobutsu 草食動物.

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"'I am a grass-eater,' an in-vogue expression for a person who avoids stress, controls risk and grazes contentedly in home pastures.

Once a voracious consumer of American higher education, Japan is becoming a nation of grass-eaters. Undergraduate enrollment in U.S. universities has fallen 52 percent since 2000; graduate enrollment has dropped 27 percent.

It is a steep, sustained and potentially harmful decline for an export-dependent nation that is losing global market share to its highly competitive Asian neighbors, whose students are stampeding into American schools."

New Type of Metrosexual Men

Japan's 'grass eaters' turn their backs on macho ways

Japanese youngsters are crazy about categorizing themselves into
“grass-eaters” (not-agressive in attracting the opposite sex) and
“meat-eaters” (agressive in attracting the opposite sex).

Reference : Grass-eaters of Japan

and then there are the

“meat-eating girls”

sooshoku-kei otoko 草食系男子

source . nikkeibp.co.jp

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU and SENRYU

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Leek and nira haiku

2010-04-11T21:20:00.000-07:00

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Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村

was very fond of negi leek　葱　 (nebuka) and also of
nira 韮 , Chinese garlic chives.
The translation is sometimes LEEK for both words.

冬ざれや小鳥のあさる韮畠
fuyuzare ya kotori no asaru nirabatake

withering plants in winter . . .
little birds search food
in the nira leek fields
Tr. Gabi Greve

Winter bareness--
Small birds foraging
Among the leeks.
trans. John M. Rosenfield
(in "Mynah Birds and Flying Rocks: Word and Image in the Art of Yosa Buson.")

Winter bareness--
little birds seeking food
in the patch of green onions.
trans. Sawa & Shiffert

Winter desolation;
Small birds fossicking*
In the scallion garden.
trans. Blyth

*fossicking: an unusual word, primarily used to mean prospecting for gold in Cornish English and Australian English. In the OED, the second meaning is: To rummage or hunt about; to search. And the third meaning is: To dig out, to hunt up (something).

Of the English words used to translate 'asaru':
"search," "seeking," "fossicking," and "foraging," I prefer "foraging." In fact, my Random House Japanese-English / English-Japanese Dictionary defines "asaru" as meaning: "rummage; forage; search for."
Larry Bole
Translating Haiku Forum

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ふゆざれや北の家陰(やかげ)の韮(にら)をかる
fuyuzare ya kita no yakage no nira o karu

Winter bareness;
in the north shadow of the house
cutting green onions.
trans. Sawa & Shiffert

. WASHOKU
Garlic chives, Chinese chives (nira) 　

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葱買うて枯木の中を帰りけり
nebuka katte kareki no naka ni kaeri keri

I buy some leek
and then walk home
under bare trees . . .

Here Buson contrasts the brown dreary color of the withered trees and the fresh green he carries home to his wife and children for a delicious hot leek soup.
Tr. Gabi Greve

Buying leeks
and walking home
under the bare trees.
trans. Hass

negi koote kareki no naka o kaerekeri

Buying leeks
and then between withered trees
having returned.
trans. Sawa & Shiffert

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うら町に葱うる声や宵の月　
ura machi ni negi uru koe ya yoi no tsuki

in the nearby village
the voice of the leek sellers ...
moon of tonight

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易水にねぶか流るる寒さかな
Ekisui ni nebuka nagaruru samusa kana

A leek,
Floating down the Ekisui,--
Ah, the cold!
Tr. Blyth

According to Blyth:
Keika, of the kingdom of En, who intended to kill King Shi, of the kingdom of Shin, 222-206 B.C., parted from Prince Tan, of En, at this river in North China. (He failed, and was himself killed).

Buson has taken this long, cold leek and put it in a place a thousand miles away, and at a time of two thousand years ago. What a long way to go to express the apparently simple sensations of whiteness and cold!

in the "Biographies of the Assassins" in Sima Qian's
"Records of the Grand Historian", where we find the famous verse,
易水歌
"風蕭蕭兮易水寒，壯士一去兮不復還！

The wind whistles and the River Yi runs cold
He'll never return again, this hero so bold!.

source : Jan Walls / facebook

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kusare jusha nira no atsumono kurai keri

Corrupt Confucian
Drank a brew of
Hot leek soup.
trans. Rosenfield

Rosenfield says of this haiku:
"...Buson employed the particularly harsh term 'kusare' (rotten, smelly, putrid, corrupt) to characterize a Confucian scholar...

"This hokku refers to an ancient ritual in which Confucians drank a certain kind of soup, but the verse was based on one by Du Fu that attacks false Confucians and not the presigious caste itself. Unflattering or ironic references to the Buddhist clergy appear in some of Buson's verses. More, however, contain expressions of piety and respect."

. WASHOKU
Garlic chives, Chinese chives (nira) 　

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There is also a special ramen soup with extra leek in memory of Buson

Buson Raamen ＋ negi 蕪村ラーメン＋ねぎ Buson Ramen
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Buson-An sells
negi miso senbei 蕪村庵のねぎみそせんべい
rice crackers with Kujo negi

ねぎみそ煎餅

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More Leek Haiku by Basho and others

葱白く洗ひたてたる寒さ哉
nebuka shiroku araiagetaru samusa kana

deep-rooted leeks
washed pure white:
so cold
trans. Barnhill

Barnhill's note:
Winter: onion; cold. 1691-92 (around the 10th of Tenth Month; November 29). Basho drew a painting of three leeks on a cutting board to accompany this hokku. The Tarui area, where this was written, was known for leeks with an underground stem that was white and up to a foot long ('nebuka' literally means "deep root").

Other translations of this haiku:

deep-rooted leeks
washed spotlessly white--
how cold!
Tr. Ueda

deep-rooted leeks
when finished washing
the coldness
Tr. Jane Reichhold

An exerpt from Reichhold's note:
[Basho] gave [the picture] to the Priest Kigai of Honryuuji Temple at Tarui in Mina Province.

The leeks
Newly washed white,--
How cold it is!
Tr. Blyth

Blyth's comment:
Even in summer the leeks would look cool, but in winter, after having been washed, they look like snowy icicles: This verse is not objective, as if written:

Washed,
How chill
The white leeks!

It is not subjective, as if written:

The white leeks
Washed,
How cold I am!

Basho feels himself to be a white leek, newly washed, and stood there next to the others. But he does not say anything as absurd as this, nor does he think it.

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白葱のひかりの棒をいま刻むを
shironegi no hikari no boo o ima kizamu

white leek
turned into light beam
now being cut up

Momoko Kuroda
Tr. Ueda

cutting
the white leeks
like shafts of light
translator unavailable to me

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negi sagete roojo boai ni hitorigoto

carrying leeks
an old woman in misty dusk
whispers to herself

Kayoko Hashimoto
Tr. Higginson

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Matsuo Basho wrote

今朝の雪根深を園の枝折かな
kesa no yuki nebuka o sono no shiori kana

snow in the morning -
long leek are the signposts
in the vegetable garden

Matsuo Basho
at age 36

「根深」とは葱のこと。朝起きてみると大雪が積もっている。菜園のいたるところに雪が積もり、何処がどこだか分からない。そんな中にネギだけがちょこんと顔を出している。これが菜園の枝折のようだ。枝折は道しるべのこと。
source : itoyo/basho

After morning snow
onino shoots rise in the garden
like little singposts

reggeli hóban
csak a zöldhagymák
jelzik a kerti utat

. Reference .

A morning of snow
Only the onions in the garden
Blaze the trail

Tr. Jane Reichhold

facebook, march 2011

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. WASHOKU
Negi, nebuka 葱 Leek

. WASHOKU
Garlic chives, Chinese chives 韮 nira

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Wasabi Distro

2010-04-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

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Wasabi Distro ワサビディストロ

zines/fanzines / ミニコミ誌

http://www.wasabi-distro.com/

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Zinedom

Zinedom is a mostly underground world that usually flies under the radar of the mainstream media. Only once in a while a zinester gathers enough followers to grab briefly the attention of some major publication or TV channel. However zine-making is a global phenomenon with thousands of practitioners who sell and trade their small (sometimes micro) publications at specialized stores and through the mail.

Born around the mid-1800s when the first small home-printing machines allowed people to produce their own journals cheaply, zines are unadulterated, unfiltered purveyors of creative ideas and honest opinions.

100+ Nieves Zines exhibit at Zine's Mate

Keisuke Narita
at Irregular Rhythm Asylum (IRA),
a tiny radical info-shop in Tokyo
1-30-12-302 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku

source : www.tokyoartbeat.com

Going Nowhere in Nagoya
orga{ni}sm

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DIY publishing

doojinshi 同人誌 self-published comic books

. . . CLICK here for Photos : Japan Zines!

angura　アングア　underground literature

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

Daruma Wasabi
. Wasabi in Japanese Culture 　

. WASHOKU
Japanese Horseradish (wasabi) 　

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HAIKU and SENRYU

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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APRIL NEWS

2010-04-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

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APRIL ... shigatsu 四月

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.............. April 22, 2010

7th World Instant Noodle Summit

Did you know that instant noodle – or Malaysians prefer to call it Maggie Mee – is so popular that there’s a world summit for it? Yes, in fact Malaysia is hosting the 7th World Instant Noodle Summit this year in Kuala Lumpur from April 20th to 22nd. Little do we know about the origins of our all-time favorite snack that a World Instant Noodle Association (WINA) really exist and has been around since 1997.

source : www.timeoutkl.com

世界ラーメンサミット
http://www.nissinfoods.co.jp/com/

. Momofuku Ando (安藤百福 ) 　
the Taiwanese-Japanese founder and chairman of Nissin Food Products.

His son, Koki Ando, proposes to use cup noodles as a relief food for disaster victimes. The soup should have less salt and be more healthy than now.

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.............. April 30, 2009

Food Exhibition Osaka
Shoku Hakurankai Osaka 食博覧会・大阪
People can taste food from around the world and also Japanese food from Hokkaido to Okinawa.
From April 30 for 11 days.
http://www.shokuhaku.gr.jp/

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Related words

JANUARY ... ichigatsu 一月

FEBRUARY ... nigatsu 二月

MARCH ... sangatsu 三月

APRIL ... shigatsu 四月

MAY ... gogatsu 五月

...

DECEMBER ... juunigatsu 十二月　

***** WASHOKU ... SEASONAL DISHES SAIJIKI

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UPDATE Heda no shio

2010-03-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

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Heda no shio 戸田の塩 salt from Heda, Izu peninsula

It has a long tradition of more than 1000 years.
The salt is boiled and stirred constantly in a long process to make salt. Now a group of local ladies and their husbands keep it up. The men get the water out in large tanks from the deep sea of the Bay of Suruga. From each large yellow container of water they get about 14 kilo of salt.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

One delicacy is a simple
shio musubi 塩むすび rice ball with salt
Salt is also used as a dip for sashimi, instead of soy sauce.

Salted Winter Food

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