5/01/2008

Aomori Prefecture

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Aomori

Aomori Prefecture (青森県, Aomori-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.

Aomori Prefecture is the northernmost prefecture on Honshū and faces Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait. It borders Akita and Iwate in the south. Oma, at the northwestern tip of the axe-shaped Shimokita Peninsula, is the northernmost point of Honshū. The Shimokita and Tsugaru Peninsulas enclose Mutsu Bay. Between those peninsulas lies the Natsudomari Peninsula, the northern end of the Ōu Mountains. The three peninsulas are prominently visible in the prefecture's symbol, a stylized map.

Lake Towada, a crater lake, straddles Aomori's boundary with Akita.

Like much of Tōhoku, the Aomori region remains dominated by traditional industries such as farming, forestry, and fishing.

Hirosaki Castle is most beautiful in spring with the cherry blossoms.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

- - - Eight local culinary specialties from Hirosaki

Kenoshiru
Miso-seasoned ingredients baked in a shell (Kaiyakimiso)
Hirosaki Igamenchi
Jappajiru
Tsugaru Buckwheat Noodles
Codfish dressed with salted cod roe (Tara-no-koae)
Green peppers pickled in a bottle (Namban-no-isshozuke)
Dengaku with bent bamboo shoots
- source : en.hkg.jp/local


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Nebuta festival floats

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ringo 青森りんご apples and Aomori

Aomori produces more apples than any other place in Japan, especially in the plains of Tsugaru at the foot of Mount Iwaki.
Apple Orchards near Hirosaki City
In spring they are pollinated by hand and later covered in bags to grow unharmed.

Right after the war, one of the most popular aongs in Japan was the "Apple Song" and people used apples to sweeten a lot of food.
Then bananas, strawberries and other fruit came to the market and Aomori apples lost some of their appeal, but later recovered when the type FUJI was marketed.

beni tsugaru 紅つがる "red apple from Tsugaru"
The fruit is oblong, without crowning. The flesh of the apple is creamy white, very juicy, lightly flavored, and moderately sweet. It has low acidity and very little browning.

ringo no shiozuke リンゴの塩漬け whole apples pickled in salt
ringo no shisomaki リンゴの紫蘇巻き apple slices in red perilla leaves
,,,, shisomaki ringo しそ巻リンゴ

ringomeshi リンゴ飯 rice cooked with apple pieces
This was often prepared during the war when people did not have enough rice to feed the children.



国光りんご

sekai ichi
san fuji
jona goorudo
Mutsu
Fuji (after 1969)
Hokuto 北斗

Ralls Janet
Starking Delicious

"Pedigreed apples" are shipped with a detailed cultivation record.



Hatoyama apples 鳩山 リンゴ
from Hirozaki, October 2009


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Dazai bentoo だざい弁当 lunchbox a la Dazai
- - - Dazai Osamu, 太宰治 Writer 1909 - 1948 - - -
at the train station
Goshokawahara station Aomori 青森県五所川原市
Includes all the local dishes which the author had loved, especially thin bamboo shoots (nemagaridake 根曲がり竹). Herring and scallops boiled in soy sauce and many other delicacies.

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Other lunchboxes from the station
「ストーブ弁当」stove lunchbox
「いなほ弁当」rice ears lunchbox
「さくら弁当」cherry blossom lunchbox

Dazai Lunchbox was made in the year 2009 to celebrate the 100 birthday of Dazai.


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makkoichi マッコ市 market with a present
On the second sunday in January (formerly it used to be the 15th, the "small New Year Day". Almost all stores in the town of Kuroishi give a special packet to the customers. The sales start at 5:30 in the morning, to give people time to go shopping before going to work.


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akahata mochi あかはたもち akahata fish mochi
aka hata 赤羽太 red grouper, Epinephelus morio

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banana バナナ
The people of Aomori eat the most bananas in Japan.

banana saidaa バナナサイダー drink, banana cider

banana monaka バナナモナカ waffles in the form of banana
they do not taste like bananas, but are made of white anko.
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chawanmushi 茶碗蒸し stocked egg and dashi
with sween chestnuts, kuri no kanroni 栗の甘露煮

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ensoo kyuuri no shooyuzuke 塩蔵きゅうりの醤油漬け
salted cucumber pickles
also with added garlic




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hariharizuke はりはり漬け
with kiriboshi daikon radish
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hokke no sushi ほっけのすし Atka mackerel sushi


hookaiori, hookai ori 法界折 lunchbox as offering for the ancestors
It is placed in front of the grave during the o-bon ancestoral festivities. Sometimes the whole family sits on a straw mat in front of the grave and all eat from the lunchbox after it has been offered to the ancestor's spirit.



hotategai no misoyaki ほたて貝の味噌焼 hotate scallops grilled with miso
The scallops from Mutsu bay have a special clear and delicous taste.


ichigo-ni, ichigoni いちご煮 "boiled strawberries"
seafood stew with sea urchins and abalones
eaten mostly in summer.
The name of this stew comes from its color. Sea urchins and abalone are put in hot water or a dashi broth and brought to a boil. It is seasoned with salt and a little soy sauce, and sprinkled with finely chopped green shiso leaves. The pink of the sea urchin is thought to evoke the color of strawberries in the dawn mist.
It is usually eaten on formal occasions along the coast of Tohoku.
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ikameshi イカ飯 squid with rice
ika soomen いかそうめん squid with somen noodles
ika no sushi いかのすし squid sushi. This is stuffed squid with vegetables and the legs squeezed in at last. There is no rice
and
ikazushi イカ寿司
without rice, see SUSHI



inarizushi いなり寿司 PINK Inari-Sushi from Tsugaru
made with sugar and is pink inside, because sweat vinegared pink ginger (beni shooga 紅生姜) is chopped finely and put inside.
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jappajiru, jappa jiru じゃっぱ汁 soup with codfish
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Available: November-March
Jappajiru is a traditional winter dish that is highly popular among the locals.
It is a one-pot dish (the variety called in Japanese 'nabe'), in which all the parts that get usually thrown away when cooking fish such as the head, bones, skin, and entrails are cut to the easily eatable size and cooked together with vegetables. This dish is a true gem of the wisdom of people of Hirosaki, who really know how to put whatever is at hand to the most effective use. The rich broth made with the head, bones, and skin of the fish is gives a taste so thick and rich, one simply cannot create if only the meat of the fish is used.
The soup is thickly seasoned with salt and bean paste, and is savored together with the bones covered with fish meat, which is said to be the most delicious part.
The peculiar name of the soup, Jappa-jiru, is said to derive from the word 'zappa' that is used to describe the unnecessary parts of the fish, while 'jiru' or 'shiru' mean soup.
- source : en.hkg.jp/local

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Joomon no maguro nabe 縄文のまほろば鍋
Oma Maguro (Ooma Maguro 大間まぐろ Tuna from Oma town


kaisoo raamen 海草ラーメン seaweed noodle soup

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kaiyaki miso 貝焼き味噌 clams and scallops fried in miso
fried in a pan with beaten egg, dashi soup stock and miso paste. Sometimes fish is added.
It is very healthy and was served to sick people in former times, where eggs were considered medicine. Served in a scallop shell it is most decorative.
Well loved in Shimokita and Tsugaru.
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kashiwa miso かしわみそ miso with chicken

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keiran けいらん lit: "chicken eggs" , a kind of mochi
Rice flour is made into a white dough, inside the round balls is azuki sweet bean paste. It comes as a soup, with a bit of soy sauce, flavored with konbu and shiitake mushrooms.
Usually served at celebrationsl


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ke no jiru, kenojiru けの汁 vegetable hodgepodge
From Tsugaru peninsula. Radish, carrots, goboo burdock, bracken, tofu and konnyaku are cut in small pieces and simmered in miso or soy sauce until a thick soup is done. Yakiboshi sardines are used to create a delicious dashi broth.
This dish is prepared in great quantity in a big pot and can be re-heated many days.
It was originally made by the housewife for the family to last while she was gone to visit her parents during the New Year period.
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kenchin けんちん

kinoko no shiokara きのこのしおから


WASHOKU : Kiritanpo (kiritampo) きりたんぽ skewers of mashed rice
Also a speciality of Akita.
um einen Stock geformter Mochi-Teig wird gebraten und zu Eintopf gegessen


koae, ko-ae 子あえ

kodai no sushi 小鯛の寿司

kogori mame こごり豆


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konnyaku 蒟蒻, musubi ito konnyaku むすび糸こんにゃく thread konnyaku bound together in a knot
to be eaten with hodgepodge, it is easier to grip with chopsticks.
It is all white in Aomori, because it is made from konnyaku flour.
There is a factory with a special maschine to bind these knots into the noodles.
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makaroni konnyaku マカロニ こんにゃく konnyaku in the form of italian macaroni
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Kuroishi town in Tsugaru

Kuroishi no yakisoba 黒石のやきそば fried noodles
Started after the war as a snack for children.With rather thick, flat noodles 太麺 and a sweet hot sauce. Fruit juice is used in the sauce.
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Kuroishi no tsuyu yakisoba 黒石のつゆやきそば
fried noodles in soup
Started in Showa 30, when hot soup was poored over the fried noodles.
Rather special and not eaten in other areas of Japan.
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other noodles from Tsugaru

Tsugaru chuuka zarusoba 津軽中華ざるそば
Tsugaru miso raamen 津軽みそラーメン
Tsugaru no shina soba 支那そば
. . . with soya sauce soup 醤油スープ

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Yakisoba-no-Machi Kuroishikai
(Yakisoba City Kuroishi Association)

Yakisoba-no-Machi Kuroishikai is a community volunteer group committed to promoting Kuroishi Yakisoba and Kuroishi Tsuyu Yakisoba as regional brands (specialty dishes of Kuroishi) throughout Japan, and contributing to the revitalization and development of the region.

Kuroishi Tsuyu Yakisoba is served with Kuroishi Yakisoba (pan-fried noodles) sprinkled with tsuyu (Japanese broth) and topped with deep-fried tempura batter and scallions. The thick and flat noodles take on a unique, chewy texture, especially when mixed well with Worcester sauce. Only after eating Yakisoba, will you realize the uniqueness of these pan-fried noodles. Please try Kuroishi Tsuyu Yakisoba--we are certain you will find it pleasingly delicious.
- source : www.aomori-gourmet.jp


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matagi meshi マタギ飯 bear hunter's rice and other dishes
see: mori no megumi


Minmaya maguro 三厩まぐろ tuna fish from Minmaya town, Tsugaru
It is one of the most expensive. Each is caught with a single line and then shipped in his own box (looks amost like a coffin), filled with ice.
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naga-imo no suitonjiru 長芋のすいとん汁




nebutazuke ねぶたづけ/ ねぶた漬け "Nebuta"-pickles
made from the benefits of the sea (fish roe, surume squid and kombu kelp) and the benefits of the mountains (radish, cucumbers). They can be heaped on a bowl of white rice to make a good meal (gohan no tomo).
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NEBUTA are the famous floats for the festival, made from paper with huge illustrations.



Ooma no meguro ryoori 大間のまぐろ料理
Ooma (Oma) is the most famous port in the North.


oden, natsu oden 夏おでん oden hodgepodge eaten in summer
to keep warm after bathing.
It is eaten with shooga-miso, shoogamiso しょうがみそ/生姜みそ miso paste mixed with grated ginger.


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Ōwani (大鰐町, Ōwani-machi)
popular for its many hot springs (Onsen).

Oowani onsen moyashi 大鰐温泉もやし bean sprouts from Owani
They are raised in hothouses with hot water pipes in the ground. The beans, kohachimame, are soaked in hot water and then grown for one week. The final sprouts are cleaned in hot water from the onsen ... They are very long and said to be healthier than normal moyashi.
This has been done since 300 years, when the local daimyo ordered the production to bring it to Edo as payment.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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saba 鯖 mackerel is a speciality of the port town of Hachinone.



sabappuru さばっぷる / サバップル apple pie with saba mackerel meat
Mackerel meat is shredded in very small pieces, fried with salt, spices, a lot of cinamon and yuzu juice, then put as an upper layer in the pie.
The baker has to be able to cut and prepare the fish as well as preparing the apple pie.
This is a newly created food from a girl of the local high school in Hachinohe town. It won the first prize in a competition for "creative food", because it combines the two specialities of Aomori, mackerels and apples. She also thought of the name and thus became quite a celebrity in town.
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sake no meshi sushi さけの飯寿し

sakura nabe 桜鍋 hodgepodge with horse meat

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same no atama サメの頭 head of a shark
It is boiled for about 15 minutes, then the eatable parts picked out, mixed with grated radish and miso to make
sukume サメすくめ a side dish, even served for the New Year.
Eaten in winter in the Tsugaru peninsula.
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To eat the head of a fish is considered auspicious. And in winter, the type
Aburatsuno-zame or Abura-zame あぶらつのざめ is found in great numbers in Tsugaru.


Bereits in den Überresten prähistorischer Siedlungen in Aomori aus der Jungsteinzeit (Jōmon-Zeit, ca. 5000–300 v. Chr.) fanden sich Knochen von Haifischen, insbesondere der Arten Dornhai (Aburatsunozame) und »Sternen-Haifisch« (Hoshizame).
Die kulturelle Bedeutung von Haifischfleisch für die Japaner belegt, dass seit jeher am großen Schrein von Ise, dem höchsten Shinto-Heiligtum, getrocknetes Haifischfleisch zu den Opfergaben für die Gottheiten gehört.
Es gibt mehr als 250 Haifischarten unterschiedlichster Größen in den Weltmeeren. In den japanischen Gewässern wurden bis zu 150 Arten gezählt. Die Rückenflossen und die Schwanzflosse der Blauhaie werden am häufigsten verarbeitet. Der Yoshikirizame-Blauhai wird bis zu vier Meter lang und wiegt bis zu 200 Kilogramm. Die männlichen Fische leben in südlichen Gewässern um Japan, die weiblichen ziehen nach Norden und kehren erst wieder zurück, wenn sie ausgewachsen sind.
In zoologischen Aquarien sind Haifische beliebte Ausstellungstiere. Kinder und Eltern können den scharfen Kiefern hier gefahrlos nahe kommen. Das große Aquarium im Sea Paradise auf der Insel Hakkeijima vor Yokohama hat sogar ein Grabmal für Haifische angelegt, das einmal jährlich von einem buddhistischen Priester besucht wird, der für die Seelen der im Aquarium verstorbenen Tiere betet.

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sarada kanten サラダ寒天 jellied salad
with agaragar kanten. People in Aomori put a lot of food in a jellied mix with sugar and eat it as oyatsu for the afternoon break. Here it is a salad with cucumbers, carrots and other vegetables, lots of mayonnaise and then ... sugar and agar-agar kanten. Udon noodles are also prepared as "udon kanten" うどん寒天.
These kinds of preparations have started to become popular since 1975.


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senbeijiru せんべい汁 soup with Nanbu Nambu senbei 南部煎餅 waffles
in the southern Nambu area and Iwate

. Nanbu senbei, Nambu senbei 南部せんべい
from Morioka, former Nambu province .
  

Die berühmten Nambu-Waffeln kommen aus der Stadt Hachinohe, die in der heutigen Präfektur Aomori liegt, einst die Domäne Nambu. Früher dienten die Waffeln als haltbare Nahrungsmittel für die langen Wintermonate.
In den Supermärkten von Hachinohe finden sich endlose Regale mit über 40 Sembei-Sorten, allein zehn davon mit Sesam. Meistens werden sie in kleinen Familienbetrieben von Hand gebacken, sodass jede Sorte ihren einzigartigen Geschmack erhält.
Bei ganz einfachen Waffeln besteht der Teig lediglich aus Weizenmehl, Salz und Wasser. Die Sembei werden in Waffeleisen mit langen Griffen über glühenden Holzkohlen oder in einem elektrischen Heizgerät gebacken. Die Temperatur für Waffeln ohne Füllung sollte 130 °C betragen. Der Bäcker muss darauf achten, sie ständig zu wenden, damit sie nicht anbrennen. Mittlerweile wurden auch spezielle Maschinen zur Waffel-Herstellung entwickelt, die in Kleinbetrieben bis zu 3000 Waffeln täglich backen können. Die Bäcker allerdings müssen stets wachsam sein, da gleichzeitig Teig in die Formen gegossen und Waffeln aus den Formen herausgenommen werden mussen.

Zur Geschmacksverfeinerung wird häufig schwarzer Sesam mitgebacken, der den Waffeln einen unverwechselbar aromatischen Geschmack gibt. Einige Hersteller bestellen das unverzichtbare Salz für den Teig sogar aus den Hochebenen von Tibet, weil dieses Natursalz dank seines Mineralgehaltes dem Gebäck überraschenderweise eine gewisse natürliche Süße verleiht.
Für andere Sorten werden klein gehackte Erdnüsse mit etwas Zucker eingebacken. Andere Mischungen ergeben sich aus Äpfeln und Kürbissen, Süßkartoffeln und Shiso-Blättern. Auch verschiedene Getreidesorten werden beigemischt. Für einen herzhafteren Geschmack kommen Zwiebeln, Sojasauce, Chili, Tintenfisch oder Jakobsmuscheln mit in den Teig.

Der bei der Herstellung am Rand herausquellende Teig wird nicht entfernt, sondern mitgebacken, und in Körben gesammelt. Viele Kunden lieben diese von den Japanern »Ohren« genannten Reststücke als Zutat für die tägliche Suppe. Sie kommen daher auch in den Verkauf. Ebenfalls als Suppenzutat, und zwar für Eintöpfe im Winter Senbeijiru, werden weiße Sembei gebacken. Sie sind sehr hart und lösen sich im heißen Wasser nur langsam auf. Weitere Zutaten dieses Eintopfs sind Hühnerfleisch, Wintergemüse, Pilze – und alles, was der Familie schmeckt.

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shitogi mochi しとぎもち / しとぎ餅 fried or uncooked rice cakes
shidoge / shitogi 粢



First made as offerings for the deities, later eaten by the family.
During the 12th lunar month (now december) daily offerings of these mochi and a bit of sake are made.
Sometimes a bit of soy been an paste is used as filling and they are fried just a bit before eating.

. shitogimochi and クニチ,シトギマワシ Kunichi September 9 .
shitogi mawashi シトギマワシ


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Shirakami Man, Shirakami Manju 白神まん, 白神まんじゅう
sweet buns from the Shirakami Mountain area
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shotsuru nabe しょっつる鍋, shottsuru nabe

sobakakke そばかっけ

sujiko すじこ (筋子) , sushiko すしこ red fish eggs
salted salmon roe
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sutamina gen tare  スタミナ源タレ from KNK. sauce for grilled meat, put on other dishes like cold tofu, salad, white rice
with apples and garlic from Aomori


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taratama,tara-tama たらたま dried cod fish with a raw egg
The dried fish pieces (hoshidara 干し鱈) are dipped in a bowl with a raw egg mixed with soy sauce.
From Tsugaru.




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Tsugaruzuke 津軽漬け
made of kazunoko fish roe

Tsugaru soba, nama soba 生そば

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tsutsuke kakke つつけ(かっけ)

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uguijiru, ugui jiru ウグイ汁 ugui soup
ugui 鰔 Japanese dace

The fish is cut finely, bones and all, and mixed with miso, katsuobushi and eggs (almost like a hamburger) and then formed into small balls to be put in the soup.

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unimeshi うに飯 rice with sea urchins



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yakiboshi 焼き干し "grilled and dried" small sardines
for dashi broth, when they are cooked later.
They are made along Mutsu Bay at the Tsugaru peninsula. The head and entrails of small sardines are quickly taken off, the sardines washed in a bamboo basket until the scales are washed off and the back of the fish shimmers. Then they are "sewn" on a long bamboo stick, with the backbones all showing on the upper side, and grilled (broiled) over charcoal for about 8 minutes. Finally the grilled fish are dried in the sun and salty wind of Mutsu bay.
In winter the fish are not so fat and just right for this preparation.
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For grilling they are stuck in the pebbles around the fire with a tilt, so that the fat does not drip on the charcoal but rund down the fish and babmoo skewer.

They are the most expensive fish for dashi broth, one kilo costs more than 100 Euro.

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yakiboshi raamen 焼き干しラーメン
noodle soup with special broth of yakiboshi sardines


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External LINKS:

More are here:
Aomori 郷土料理ガイド

More are here:
- source : japantravel-guide.com


More are here:
Aomori : Various culinary specialties


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way



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HAIKU


きりたんぽ焼くやどの子も憎からず   
kiritanpo yaku ya dono ko mo nikukarazu

roasting kiritanpo ...
no more hatred among
the children  
 

Nawadaya Roro (Rooroo) 縄田屋朗々


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Related words

***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes


March 11, 2011
. Japan - after the BIG earthquake -   

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Ainu Food

. Ezo, Emishi 蝦夷 エゾ Ainu Culture アイヌの文化 .
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Ainu Food アイヌ料理 - Hokkaido


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Explanation

The origins of the Ainu have not been fully determined. They have often been considered Jōmon-jin, natives to Japan from the Jōmon period. "The Ainu lived in this place a hundred thousand years before the Children of the Sun came" is told in one of their Yukar Upopo (Ainu legends).

Ainu culture dates from around 1200 CE and recent research suggests that it originated in a merger of the Okhotsk and Satsumon cultures. Their economy was based on farming as well as hunting, fishing and gathering.

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Full-blooded Ainu are mostly fair-skinned, with the men generally having dense hair development. Many early investigators proposed a Caucasian ancestry although recent DNA tests have found no traces of Caucasian ancestry.

FOOD

Their traditional cuisine consists of the flesh of bear, fox, wolf, badger, ox or horse, as well as fish, fowl, millet, vegetables, herbs, and roots.
The Ainu searched for food amongst nature, and were always careful to 'preserve' the source of the food, never gathering it to extinction. Seasonal plants and animals were steamed, boiled, or roasted. They never eat raw food.

Their traditional habitations were reed-thatched huts, the largest 20 ft. (6 m) square, without partitions and having a fireplace in the center. There was no chimney, only a hole at the angle of the roof; there was one window on the eastern side and there were two doors. The house of the village head was used as a public meeting place when one was needed. Instead of using furniture, they sat on the floor, which was covered with two layers of mats, one of rush, the other of flag; and for beds they spread planks, hanging mats around them on poles, and employing skins for coverlets.

The men used chopsticks when eating; the women had wooden spoons. Ainu cuisine is not commonly eaten outside Ainu communities; there are only a few Ainu-run restaurants in Japan, all located in Tokyo or Hokkaidō, serving primarily Japanese fare.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Individual plate with Ainu pattern, Asahigawa
© PHOTO : www.tomiya-s.com


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Archaeological finds

The archeological grain from Sakushukotoni-gawa ("gawa" means river), as the campus site is known, dated to A.D. 700 to 900. The site is contemporaneous with the medieval Japanese to the south, who had been forging a nation-state for several centuries. The immediate predecessors of the Ainu, who are the native people of northeastern Japan, occupied the site. Many archeologists consider the Ainu to be the last living descendants of the Jomon people, who lived throughout Japan from as early as 13,000 years ago.

The Jomon are known for their elaborate earthenware, which they often decorated with cord (rope) impressions, and for their stone tools, pit-house villages, and, by 1500 B.C., elaborate cemeteries marked by stone circles or high earth embankments. To a large degree, the Jomon relied on hunting, fishing, and collecting plants and shellfish for their subsistence.

Archeologists and historians have long described the Ainu, like the Jomon, as hunter-fisher-collectors and, because the two peoples lived in the same region, they had few qualms about assuming the Ainu were living representatives of Jomon culture. However, the Ainu, at least in the last few centuries according to historic records, lived in above-ground, rectangular dwellings and used metal tools as well as wooden and ceramic bowls, pots, and dishes.
These characteristics contrast with those of the Jomon, but in the minds of historians and archeologists it was the lack of agriculture in both cultures that forged the link between the Ainu and Jomon cultures.

Read the full article here:
source :  Gary Crawford

The Ainu believe that the world rests on the back of a giant trout, that otters caused human beings to be flawed, and that seeing an owl fly across the face of the moon at night is cause for great trepidation.
Find out the basis for such beliefs, along with what Hokkaido's Ainu have traditionally thought about the crane, the bear, the flying squirrel, and a host of other creatures.
Ainu Legends about Animals / Gary Crawford


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The AINU MUSEUM

Food
Animal meat, such as of bear and deer, was boiled in pots, dried in the sun, further dried and smoked on racks above a fireplace indoors. Smoked meat was wrapped with birch bark in bundles and put in storehouses.
Fish, such as salmon and trout, were unheaded, halved lengthwise along the backbone, and smoked as was the animal meat and put in storehouses. Salmon which had spawned and became unfatty were used for smoking. As trout were very fatty and apt to spoil, they were grilled and dried.
Wild plants and agricultural products were dried in the sun or boiled and dried to be put in storehouses. Ubayuri (a lily) bulbs pounded in a mortar were soaked in w ater to obtain starch. This starch was dried for storage. Sometimes it was dried outdoors in pairs of disc-like dumplings, one made from starch and the other from its residues, then hung indoors for storage.

Cooking

Animal meat was cooked in pots to make soup. The Ainu rarely ate raw meat. However, they ate sliced raw internal organs of bear and deer. The Ainu ate grilled fish on skewers. Dried fish was cooked to make soup. They also ate frozen salmon in winter.

As for wild plants, the Ainu ate fruits raw. They ate meat or fish soups with stalks, Ieaves, roots or greens. They also ate porridge and rice mixed with these wild plants.

Meals
The Ainu basically ate breakfast and dinner. Sometimes they ate lunch.
The staple of the Ainu diet was a soup called "0haw" or "rur." A side dish was "sayo" (porridge) . Ohaw was divided into various shapes depending on ingredients : "kam ohaw"(meat soup ), "pukusa ohaw" (garlic soup) , and "pukusakina ohaw " (anemone soup) .

Sayo was a gruel of grain simmered in pots. Sayo was also divided into various shapes depending on ingredients : "piyapa sayo " (barnyard grass soup) and "munchiro sayo" (millet soup) . Besides the aforementioned foods, the Ainu diet included boiled wild plants and vegetables called "ratashkep" and ceremonial dishes of cooked grain.

These meals were seasoned with animal or fish fat, salt and other spices. However, such spices as soybean paste and soy sauce were not used.

The Ainu Museum, popularly known as "Porotokotan" was established in 1976 as the Shiraoi Foundation for the Preservation of Ainu Culture.

Ainu Museum Wakakusa



Ainu museum in Asahikawa, Hokkaido
Kawamura Kaneto Ainu Kinenkan 川村カ子ト(かねと)アイヌ記念館
Kawamura Kaneto Ainu Museum
One of the most impressive aspects of the museum is the wall lined with photographs that visually document the Ainu in their realm as an unassimilated people in their beautiful traditional garments.

. . . CLICK here for Museum Photos !

. . . CLICK here for English Photos and Information !


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- quote
Ainu Religion
Ainu religion is pantheistic, believing in many gods. Traditional belief held that the god of mountains dwelled in the mountains, and the god of water dwelled in the river. The Ainu hunted, fished, and gathered in modest quantities in order not to disturb these gods. Animals were visitors from the other world temporarily assuming animal shapes. The bear, striped owl, and killer whale received the greatest respect as divine incarnations.

The most important god in the home was the female god of fire. Every house had a firepit where cooking, eating, and rituals took place. The main offerings made to this and to other gods were wine and inau, a whittled twig or pole, usually of willow, with shavings still attached and decoratively curled. A fence-like row of taller inau stood outside between the main house and the raised storehouse. Outdoor rituals were observed before this sacred altar area.

Ainu Food
Traditional staple foods of the Ainu were salmon and deer meat, in addition to millet raised at home and herbs and roots gathered in the woods. Millet was largely replaced by rice earlier in this century. Fresh salmon was cut up and boiled in soup. A rice porridge called ciporosayo was prepared by adding salmon roe (eggs) to boiled grains.

As in other cold regions, Ainu children used to enjoy making maple ice candy. On a late March or early April evening when a cold night was expected, they made cuts in the bark of a large sugar maple and placed containers of hollow sorrel stalks at the roots of the tree to collect dripping syrup. In the morning, they found the sorrel cylinders heaping with frozen white syrup.
source :  www.everyculture.com



Emishi 蝦夷

This site is dedicated to bringing together research from both sides of the Pacific about the Emishi people.
- source : emishi-ezo.net

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- quote - Japan Times 2014
. . . early May in Hokkaido, and it is high season to pick sansai, or edible wild mountain plants. Among them, the Alpine leek — kitopiro in Japanese and pukusa in the native Ainu language — is the most attractive.

With its intense garlic-like flavor, the plant is an important ingredient in Ainu cuisine. Traditionally, women gathered the wild plants while the men were out fishing and hunting.

.. Tokyo’s Okubo district, served at HaruKor — probably the only restaurant in Tokyo that specializes in Ainu cuisine.
In the Ainu language, the word haru means “food,” while kor means “to have,” and so the restaurant’s name expresses a wish for plentiful food.

HaruKor aims to re-create a cozy cise (traditional Ainu thatched house), decorated with wooden carvings, weaving and embroidery.
HaruKor does not only offer dining: It is also a place to gather, and sometimes to hold charanke, a kind of discussion or negotiation, among sympathetic friends. It is a beacon for Tokyoites of Ainu descent, and for those who wish to learn more about Ainu culture.

To mark the restaurant’s third anniversary last month, a Kamuy-nomi ritual to pray to the kamuy (gods or divine spirits) was held there. Kamuy-nomi is practiced by the Ainu on occasions such as weddings, funerals and blessing new homes. The ritual at HaruKor was an opportunity to give thanks for the previous year, and to pray for prosperity and safety in the future. Dressed in robes bearing traditional Ainu designs and brandishing inau (ritual sticks topped with tufted wood shavings), the participants prayed to each of the gods. They then spilled sake using ikupasuy (ceremonial sticks used for making offerings) in honor of the god of fire.

... The Ainu rarely ate raw fish or meat such as sashimi, so dishes are cooked in pots, boiled or grilled. The meals are seasoned sparingly with animal or fish fat, salt and spices, and without soy sauce or soybean paste.
The meals may not be elaborate, but that is no cause for disappointment. Ainu cooking methods bring out the flavor of the ingredients, as if in respect of nature.
.. boiled kitopiro, an Ainu favorite. Despite having a little bite, this plant has recently become popular among health-conscious people for its purported medicinal effects, such as relief from fatigue and suppression of cholesterol.

The Ainu staple ohaw is a kind of hot-pot or soup with meat or fish and plenty of wild plants and vegetables, similar to a Japanese nabe. Cep ohaw is made with salmon, kam ohaw with meat and pukusa ohaw with kitopiro.

.. kampoca rataskep with Japanese pumpkin. Rataskep means “mixed and braised,” and the dish is made by mashing together boiled vegetables, beans and wild plants. This popular dish — eaten at Ainu ceremonies such as the Iomante bear sacrifice and the Icarpa commemoration of ancestors — combines the delightfully creamy texture of sweet mashed pumpkin with crisp roasted pine nuts and the mildly bitter taste of shikerebe, small black berries of the Amur cork tree. This is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat gastroenteritis, abdominal pain and various skin diseases, and the Ainu have also used shikerebe as a folk remedy for asthma and stomach ache.

Imo-sito (baked potato dumplings) . . .
- source : Japan Times, 2014



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Yukie Chiri (知里 幸恵, Chiri Yukie)
June 8, 1903 - September 18, 1922) a transcriber and translator of Yukar (Ainu epic tales), was born into an Ainu family in Noboribetsu, a town in Hokkaidō, the northernmost prefecture of Japan, at a time in Japan's history when increasing immigration of Japanese (Wajin, as distinguished from the Ainu) to Hokkaidō was resulting in the Ainu being relocated into separate communities and, in many cases, their means of livelihood being taken from them.

Chiri was in her mid-teens when she first met the famous Japanese linguist and Ainu language scholar Kyōsuke Kindaichi during the nation's Taishō period. He was traveling around Hokkaidō in search of Ainu transmitters of oral literature and had come to seek out Matsu and Monashinouku. Kindaichi immediately recognized the girl's potential. When Kindaichi explained to Chiri the value of preserving the Ainu tales (yukar), a welcome but completely unfamiliar pride in her Ainu roots began to awaken in her, and she decided to dedicate the rest of her life to studying the yukar of her ancestors.

Chiri's anthology was published the following year under the title

CLICK for more photos

Ainu Shinyōshū, Ainu Shinyoshu, Ainu Shinyooshuu
アイヌ神謡集(あいぬしんようしゅう)
(A collection of the Ainu epics of the gods).

She died shortly after completing the work.

Her younger brother Chiri Mashiho later pursued his education under Kindaichi's sponsorship and became a respected scholar of Ainu studies. Her aunt Matsu also continued the work of transcribing and translating yukar.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Japan has for the first time recognised the Ainu as an Indigenous people, pledging to support the traditionally nature-worshipping community that has endured centuries of discrimination


It is a landmark move for Japan, which has prided itself on being ethnically homogeneous but where the Ainu have sharply lower incomes and educational levels.

Parliament last week unanimously approved a resolution recognising the Ainu and calling for "immediate" support to the community. The move is primarily symbolic, although it will likely open the way for economic aid.

The resolution comes ahead of next month´s summit of the Group of Eight rich nations on the northern island of Hokkaido, home to most of Japan´s estimated 70,000 Ainu.

The resolution submitted jointly by ruling and opposition lawmakers stipulates for the first time that the Ainu "are an Indigenous people with a distinct language, religion and culture".

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said the government would respect the parliamentary resolution, but stopped short of declaring concrete support for the Ainu.
Fairer-skinned and more hirsute than most Japanese, the Ainu traditionally observed an animist faith with a belief that God exists in every creation, respecting trees, hills, lakes, rivers and animals - particularly bears.
The act was repealed only in 1997 and replaced by legislation calling for "respect for the dignity of Ainu people".

source :  www.galdu.org, 17.06.2008


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Some Ainu Food Words

aha, Aha beans, Amphicarpa bracteata Edgeworthii var. japonica

atat, salmon, Oncorhynchus L

chep, chi-e-p チェプ fish, "things we eat"

chiporo チポロ salmon roe, ikura

chiporo imo チポロ芋, mashed potatoes with salmon roe
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

chiporo ratashikepu チポロラタシケプ

chise チセ house, restaurant

cimakina, udo spikenard, Aralia cordata

cihue, angelica, Angelica edulis

korkoni, butterbur, Petasites japonicus

kitobiro, kitopiro, wild onion/garlic キトピロ, Ainu negi アイヌネギ, Ezonegi エゾネギ

munciro, Panicum italicum, Italian millet

ohawa オハウ soup with salmon, carrot, onion and other vegetables

pene emo, Solanum tuberosum, frozen potatoes

pipa, pearl mussels, Margaritifera margaritifera

piyapa, barnyard millet, Echinochloa crus-galli

pukusa, wild onion, Allium victorialis var. platyphyllum, also : kitobiro キトビロ
gyooja ninniku

pukusakina, anemone, Anemone flaccida


ratooshipe ラトゥシペ salmon with wild garlic
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Lachs mit langer Siegwurz


ruibe, ruipe ルイベ "melting food"
frozen bites thawing in your mouth

often salmon sashimi, a typical AINU dish
originally pronounces RUIPE, meaning "melted fish"
RU = thawing, IPE = fish, also food in general
When the frozen food is put into your mouth, it starts thawing, so you can enjoy the juices.


shipe, shi-ipe シペ "real fish"
... chep チェプ fish
... kamuy chep カムイチェプ "god fish"
usually referring also to the salmon


sikerpe, Armur cork fruit, Phellodendron amurense

sipuskep, Panicum miliaceum, egg millet

sorma, dried Ostrich fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris

turep, Perennial lily, Lilium cordatum var. glehnii
on turep, fermented turep

tsubugai shellfish. Whelk. Neptunea, Buccinum, Babylonia japonica

yuk, Hokkaido deer, Cervus nippon


MORE dishes

shikaniku-iri karee raisu シカ肉入りカレーライス
curry rice with deer meat, Ezo-deer meat curry




Served in a bamboo container.
"ascetics garlic" (gyooja ninniku), butterbur sprouts, chicken meat in miso soup, rice with millet and azuki beans.
source :  faro.i-ra.jp


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Preparing salted salmon 鮭の山漬け shake no yamazuke
The intestines are taken out and the fish placed in a large box of raw salt. It is then rubbed from tail toward heat with the salt to bring it under the scales. It is also pressed into the gills. Then the inside is filled with handfuls of salt too.
The fish are placed in a container and let to sit for about one month,with a heavy weight on top. They are rather flat when taken out of the woodne tubs.
Now they are hung into the sea wind, with the opened stomach toward the breeze, for another few days to absorb more sea salt and dry properly.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way




Ainu Daruma ... アイヌだるま Hokkaido


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KIGO and HAIKU


Salmon (sake 鮭 Oncorhynchus keta) and trout (masu 鱒 Salmo milktschitsch) are the representative fish of Hokkaido.
pronounced shake when used as food on the table
Its roe and eggs, ikura, are quite a delicacy too.
kigo for all autumn

Ainu patterns with the salmon
Ainul legends with salmon

WASHOKU : Salmon


The Ainu, the aboriginal people of Hokkaido, originally cultivated small plots of land but they survived chiefly on game. The Ainu men hunted deer, bear and other wild animals, and fished for trout, salmon and other fresh-water fish; the women gathered edible wild plants such as roots, nuts and berries.

An essential item in their diet was salmon, that intrepid fish that migrates from September to January from the sea to rivers, fighting its way upstream to spawn in such numbers that the rivers of Hokkaido once seethed with them.
Salmon are called "autumn fish" in the Ainu language, or sometimes "fish from the gods."
The Ainu caught salmon in huge quantities and used several methods of long-term preservation including drying, smoking over a slow fire, and allowing the fish to freeze in the cold. Frozen salmon is sliced thinly and dipped it in soy sauce, then savored as the fish melts in the mouth. This is called ruibe, an Ainu word meaning "thawed food," a typical Ainu way of eating salmon. Nowadays, ruibe is enjoyed throughout Japan.
source :  www.kikkoman.com


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smelt, shishamo 柳葉魚 (ししゃも)
the name comes from the Ainu language.
kigo for early winter
Stint

shishamo no sudareboshi ししゃも すだれぼし dried "like a windscreen" on a bamboo shelf

made in Mukawacho 鵡川町
Mukawa Town hosts the "Shishamo Kamui Nomi" festival asking the gods for a bountiful catch.
Reference


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Herring roe
kazu no ko 数の子 (かずのこ), 鰊鯑(かずのこ)
kado no ko かどのこ

Herring is called "kado" in the language of the Ainu. The name derived from kado-no-ko "children of kado fish".
kado, kippered herring
kigo for the New Year



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. Kaneko Tohta 金子兜太 .


鮭食う旅へ空の肛門となる夕陽
sake kuu tabi e sora no koomon to naru yuuhi

on a trip to gorge myself
on salmon, the evening sun
becomes the sky’s anus


Haiku, Zen and the Eternal Now
source : www.haikuoz.org

(Kaneko here simply refers to the fact that all the things we eat have to come out at the other end in a natural way.)


- and then he reached Hokkaido


骨の鮭アイヌ三人水わたる
hone no sake ainu sannin mizu wataru

bones of a salmon -
three Ainu are crossing
the water



More sake bones haiku by Kaneko sensei on the trip in Hokkaido

1 骨の鮭アイヌ三人水わたる
2 骨の鮭夜明けの雨に湖(うみ)の肉
3 骨の鮭アイヌの母子に茂りの木
4 骨の鮭湖(うみ)の真乙女膝抱いて
5 骨の鮭山越す人ら野に墜ちる
6 骨の鮭鴉もダケカンバも骨だ

source : kuuon.web.fc2.com/TOTA


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Ainu food -
I look for medical herbs
in my own woods


Gabi Greve, December 08,2008


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Related words

MORE - - Dishes from Hokkaido


***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes

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. Ezo, Emishi 蝦夷 エゾ Ainu Culture アイヌの文化 .

[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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Aichi Prefecture Nagoya

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]
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Aichi Prefecture

Aichi Prefecture (愛知県 , Aichi-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tokai region of the Chūbu region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.

Originally, the region was divided into the three provinces of Owari, Mikawa and Ho. After the Nou-sama era, Mikawa and Ho were united into a single entity. In 1871, after the abolition of the han system, Owari, with the exception of the Chita Peninsula, was institutionalized as Nagoya Prefecture, while Mikawa combined with the Chita Peninsula and formed Nukata Prefecture. Nagoya Prefecture was renamed to Aichi Prefecture in April 1872, and was united with Nukata Prefecture on November 27 of the same year.

The highest spot is Chausuyama at 1415 m above sea level.
The people of Aichi are described as being earnest, austere and rational.

Aichi's industrial output is higher than any other prefecture in Japan: the prefecture is known as the center of Japan's automotive and aerospace industries.
The Nobi-plain is famous for rice planting, with the rivers Nagara, Kiso and Ibi. Fish and seafood come from Ise and Mikawa Bay.
Largest output of aquafarmed eel is from Aichi, second is Kagoshima. Especially in Mikawa, Isshiki 三河一色, with 30 % of the Japanese eel production.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

quote
Nagoya Castle (名古屋城, Nagoya-joo)
Imagawa Ujichika built the original castle at Nagoya around 1525. Oda Nobuhide took it from Imagawa Ujitoyo in 1532, but later abandoned it.

In 1610, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered the various daimyo to help with the building of a new castle on the site. This new castle was to become the new capital of the existing Owari Province. The source for many of the building materials for the new castle was from the smaller Kiyosu Castle, including Kiyosu castle's tenshu, which was located in the existing provincial capital of Kiyosu. Nagoya castle's reconstruction was completed in 1612.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


Tokugawa Art Museum (徳川美術館) Tokugawa Bijutsukan
Nagoya
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


Yanagibashi chuuoo ichiba 柳橋中央市場
Yanagibashi Central Market
Most shops there sell local produce, like fish from the nearby sea and chicken from the area.
Best are mirugai みるがい【海松貝】trough shell, hiragai ひら貝, torigai とりがい【鳥貝】Japanese cockle and kochi こち【鯒】 flathead fish .
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

at the market there is a store for

mukimono むきもの (剥き物)(野菜の飾り切り)
decorative garnishing with vegetables. Eggplants, carrots and radish are used, also fruit. Popular since the early Edo period.
Vegetables are cut to artistic figures to serve as table decorations, especially for festivities. They used to be made by many cooks themselves, but this art is almost lost and there is even a shop that specializes in them. Within five minutes the "vegetable artist" cuts a crane out of a big radish !
Some say to comment on these beautiful garnishes makes for an easy start of a serious business lunch or dinner ...
Special knives are used.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Suzukame 鈴亀, the present owner is in the third generation.
野菜細工(むきもの)
柳橋中央市場マルナカ食品センター内
Look here at the Gallery of Suzukame shop
http://suzukame.jp/gallery.html


Mukimono - The Art of Japanese Fruit and Vegetable Carving
Book by Bob and Yukiko Haydock


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More dishes from Aichi 愛知郷土料理
Most are simple and have a high nutritional value. Ideas from North and South of Japan often meet here and make room for new inovational dishes.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


arame 荒布 sea oak
Eisenia bicyclis Setchell


arame to rakkasei no nimono アラメと落花生の煮物
arame is a seaweed of the kombu family from the pacific coasts, rather thick and tasty. Peanuts are watered for one night before boiling, with sugar and soy sauce.

aramemaki, arame maki アラメ巻き/ Arame roll
for the New Year. wrapped around haze fish. ARAME is thought of like a futon bed and you eat this dish with the wish of being happy and warm all year round.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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asari, yaki oo-asari 焼き大あさり fried big littlenack clams
Ruditapes philippinarum
Japanische Teppichmuschel



atsumidori あつみ鳥
local chicken from Atsumi peninsula
渥美半島の地鶏「渥美赤鶏」
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



bora zoosui ボラ雑炊 rice gruel with bora springer
striped black mullet, Mugil cephalus
It used to be prepared in each home with a different taste and brought for town meetings and festivals.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



dentoo yasai 伝統野菜リスト一覧 traditional vegetables
http://www.pref.aichi.jp/engei/dentoyasai/list/index.html


furofuki daikon ふろふき大根 boiled radish
with a bit of red hatchoo miso on top


hebomeshi へぼ飯 rice with black wasps


hitsu mabushi, hitsumabushi ひつまぶし
eel on rice mixed in a bowl
a kind of unagi don, cut barbecued eel on rice with sweet soy sauce in a bowl, when everything is mixed in this bowl called HITSU 櫃. Bits of yakumi spices are added and the rest s eaten as ochazuke with rice. So you can enjoy the dish with three different flavors.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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kishimen きしめん / きし麺 / 棊子麺 kishimen noodles
broad wheat noodles, made from wheat, salt and water.

When Tokugawa Ieyasu had the castle of Nagoya build, he ordered food for the workers to be prepared fast, so a kind of thin but broad noodles were invented that could be cooked faster to feed the many workers. With their wide surface, the noodles could take up a lot of flavored soup to make a delicious meal for the hungry.

The name has three possible origins.

kishuumen, noodles from Kishuu, the neighboring province.
kijimen, noodles with kiji, pheasant meat. This was a favorite food of the Tokugawa daimyo, who once ordered OKAWARI, one more dish, and the cook had no more meat, putting a piece of abura-age on the noodles instead.
kishimen, like KISHI, the small stones for the GO-game, since in the beginning the noodles were not long bit just like dumplings.

CLICK for more miya kishimen PHOTOS They are also served at the shop "Miya Kishimen 宮きしめん" at the shrine Atsuta jinguu 熱田神宮(あつたじんぐう).
In dashi broth with light soy sauce with deep fried tofu (abura-age), chicken meat, seasonal vegetables and hana katsuobushi.

Also eaten as miso nikomi 生きしめん味噌煮込み
. . . CLICK here for miso nikomi Photos !

cold as zaru kishimen ザルきしめん
CLICK for more zaru kishimen

Flat noodles of this type are called "himo katsuo" in Kanto.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Bandnudeln, flache Nudeln


. Shrine Atsuta Jingu 熱田神宮 .

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The flat thin noodles from regional wheat of Imokawa 芋川 are alreday mentioned in old travel books, as
Imokawa udon 芋川うどん or Imokawa soba 芋川そば.
. . . CLICK here for Photos ! 
The soup was prepared with pheasant meat (kiji), because pheasants were abundant in this area.

The name himokawa derived from them.
himokawa udon ひもかわうどん broad udon noodles



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kashiwa no mizutaki かしわの水炊き
chicken and vegetables cooked in a pot at the table and eaten after being dipped in a sauce
bijin nabe 美人鍋 hodgepodge for a beautiful lady


Nagoya Koochin, コーチン Nagoya Cochin, Nagoya Kochin, the local chicken
名古屋コーチン鍋 hodgepodge with Nagoya chicken, since the Meiji restauration
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



konowata このわた dried roe of fish

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Macha green powder tea from Nishio 抹茶(まっちゃ)/ 西尾茶 (にしおちゃ)



Mikawa buta みかわ豚 pork from Mikawa
mikawa pooku 三河ポーク Mikawa pork
buta soba 豚そば Chinese noodles with pork
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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MISO 味噌 miso paste

hachoo miso, hatchoo miso 八丁味噌 from the Mikawa region. Haccho Miso
hacho, hatcho miso paste
This is made by steaming the beans to keep the nutritions high.
It keeps well and can be used for a long time. Samurai took it with them to battle. It is dark and rather firm, made purely from soybeans, kooji and water, with NO other ingredients.
It was first made in Ozaki and the distance to Osaka was eight choo, hatchoo. One choo 丁 is about 108 meters. Ozaki has rich resources of good water suited for miso.
There is a miso museum in Okazaki, with the Kakukyu Family
Location: 69 Aza Okandori, Hatcho-cho, Okazaki
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Dengaku 田楽 dance and food
Miso Dengaku Dengaku ... 田楽 (でんがく) and tsukemono

akadashi miso, tamari miso, all made with hatcho miso.

misodon, mido-don みそ丼 rice and cutlet with miso sauce
from the shop DARUMA だるまのみそ丼
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


miso katsu みそかつ miso with pork cutlet
The sauce is made from miso paste, sugar and some bonito dashi.
The meat is deep-fried with batter, and a lot of shredded cabbage is added
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


miso nikomi udon 味噌煮込みうどん udon noodles in miso broth
The dashi is made from katsuobushi and red miso (mame miso, aka miso 豆味噌(赤みそ). The noodles are made from wheat flour and water only and are rather firm. Chicken meat (kashiwa), abura-age tofu, egg, leek and kamaboko fish paste are boiled slowly in an earthen pot. All ingredients are highly nutritient and healthy. Aichi is the birth place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and produces the famous hatcho miso

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Waraji miso katsu わらじ味噌カツ Pork Cutlet Rice Bowl
CLICK here for PHOTOS !




misooden, miso oden 味噌おでん oden with miso paste

The ingredients cooked in oden broth are served on a plate, covered with a thick sauce of sweetened hatcho miso paste
or the oden broth is thickened with hatcho miso, sugar and ricewine to start with.
. . . CLICK here for more Photos !



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moroko no oshizushi モロコの押寿司 pressed sushi from moroko carp
Gnathopogon elongatus, kind of carp
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



namazu no kabayaki 鯰(なまず)の蒲焼
broiled catfish (Silurus asotus)


nameshi なめし rice with leaves of daikon radish


naporitan ナポリタン spagetti, Napolitan
This dish is usually called itarian supagetti.
In Nagoya, it is prepared in a frypan, then placed on a hot castiron plate and surrounded with two eggs, so the food keeps hot whilst eaten.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Ogura toosuto おぐらトーストOgura-Toast
In memory of Mount Ogura and the red cherry blossoms.
小倉
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
ogura-an おぐら餡 red bean paste
Ogura-Toast mit süßem Bohnenmus



rakkasei no nimame 落花生の煮豆 boiled peanuts
They are soaked in water over night, then carrots, gobo, konnyaku are simmered together.
peanuts from Hekinan 碧南市
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


renkon no ni-ae れんこんの煮和え simmered lotus root salad
with radish, carrots, abura-age. simmered until all liquid is gone.




senji せんじ grated ice with sugar and whipped cream


shiroshooyu "white soysauce" thin soysauce, prepared from wheat
helle Sojasauce


Taiwan raamen 台湾ラーメン Taiwan Ramen Soup
One bowl of ramen noodle soup topped with minced meat flavored with red pepper and miso paste.
CLICK here for PHOTOS !


tebasaki 手羽先 chicken wings
... kara-age 手羽先唐揚げ seasoned deep-fried chicken wings
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tenmusu 天むす rice balls with tempura


tonteki とんてき / トンテキ pork steak with garlic sauce
“Ton”= pork and “Teki” = steak. First prepared at the restaurang Rairaiken
Yokkaichi 四日市 


. Tora Dooji 寅童子 Tora Doji Tonkatsu cutlet .

. Toyokawa Inarizushi 豊川いなり寿司
Toyokawa Inari Sushi Festa and more specialities



. Tsukimi Dango 月見団子 Dumplings for Moon Viewing  



uiro ういろ, uiroo ういろう kind of jelly sweet
It comes in various colors, mostly green (powder tea), pink (red beans), brown (brown sugar) and white.
Made from rice flour, starch and brown sugar, which are made into squares and steamed.
uiro mochi 外郎餅
It has a history of about 600 years, when a Chinese cook and medical man came to the area to make medicine. His decendants kept making sweets called uiro.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Süßigkeit aus Reismehl und braunem Zucker

UIROO 外郎 was also made in Odawara during the Edo period, as a round medicine. Brought by Reihoo 礼部(れいほう) 員外郎(いんがいろう In Gairoo) 陳宗敬. His descendants made it in Hakata.

Uiro sellers from Odawara
Uiro sellers in Odawara. Katsushika Hokusai, 1804

From a Kabuki Play called "Uiro Sellers" 外郎売り, selling the medicine TOOCHINKOO (Tochinko) 透頂香(とうちんこう).
It is supposed to be good for bad breath and infected wounds.


CLICK for more photos !

外郎売 (ういろううり)の科白
- source : benricho.org/kotoba_lesson -

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uzura no tamago うずらの卵 quail eggs
eaten to many dishes, for example cold soba buckwheat noodles. In some restaurants, a speial pair of scissors is added to cut the egg yourself.
During WWII, all the Japanese quail were killed. After the war, a farmer from Toyohashi, Suzuki Tsuneji すずき つねじ, went to Tokyo, where miraculously a pair of quails had survives as pets. He started a new breed in his hometown, where quail breeding is now the highest in Japan. His family is still producing quail eggs. Tsuneji used the quail eggs to feed the small children some nutrition right after the war.
Toyohashi Town. 豊橋地域



waga no kara-age わがの唐揚げ deep fried waga fish
waga is a local dialect for yume kasago ユメカサゴ / 夢笠子
hilgendorf saucord、Helicolenus hilgendorfi
kasago is Skorpionfisch
This fish is also eaten as sashimi or simmered.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



yubeshi ゆべし jelly with yuzu and walnuts


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way



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HAIKU


. Basho and Mount Ogura

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Related words

***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes


. Folk Toys from #Aichi .

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