Niigata Echigo

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Niigata prefecture



Niigata Prefecture (新潟県, Niigata-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located on Honshū island on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name Niigata literally means "New Lagoon".
Niigata prefecture was originally divided into Echigo Province and Sado Province until the Meiji Restoration. During the Sengoku period it was ruled by Uesugi Kenshin.

The major industry in Niigata is agriculture. Rice is the principal product, with Niigata ranking 2nd (after Hokkaidō) among the prefectures for total rice output. The area around Uonuma is especially known for its Koshihikari variety of rice, which is widely thought of as the highest quality rice in Japan.

Rice-related industries are also very important to the local economy. Niigata prefecture is known throughout Japan for its quality sake, senbei, mochi, and arare. In sake production, Niigata is third in the country after Gunma and Kyoto prefectures.

The prefecture is famous as the original home of the ornamental carp known as koi, and the best-quality koi are still considered to come from the farms of Niigata.


Niigata is known for the following regional specialities:

Uonuma koshihikari rice: considered the best quality rice in Japan.
Shoyu (soy-sauce) and Yofu (western-style) katsudon.
Shoyu sekihan.
Sasa-dango, sasadango (mochi balls filled with red bean paste, seasoned with mugwort and wrapped in bamboo leaves).
Po-po-yaki (steamed bread flavored with brown sugar).
"Tsubame-Sanjo ramen" (ramen made using thick udon-style noodles).
Kirazu (dishes using okara).
Kakinomoto (edible chrysanthemums).

Kanzuri (a special seasoning from Myōkō (Myookoo, Myoko) made by leaving chili pepper exposed on snow, then adding flour, salt and yuzu).
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Tenchijin (天地人)
is the 48th NHK Taiga drama for 2009! NHK大河ドラマ
The life of Naoe Kanetsugu　
直江兼続（なおえ かねつぐ 1560 - 1619）
Kanetsugu in Yamagata


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Niigata Dishes 新潟郷土料理


abura-age 油あげ deepfried tofu pouches
Tochio aburage あぶらげ (aburaage is called "aburage" in Tochio　栃尾), where there is even an "aburage matsuri" festival あぶらげまつり.
They are made with 100 % Niigaga soybeans. With leek and ginger, they are a delicacy.
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anbo あんぼ balls from rice and vegetables
rice flour and finely chopped vegetables of the season, sansai and soy beans are kneaded with them. A food for the cold winter morning breakfast.
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Ambo


ayu no ishiyaki 鮎の石焼 ayu fish fried on hot stones
You collect stones by the riverside and heat them up for 2 hours. Thes the innards of the fish and miso paste are fried on the stone. It is just a little bitter in taste.


boodara no nitsuke ぼうだらの煮付け simmered dried cod
boodara 棒鱈 "stick tara" is tara cut in three pieces and dried.
It is simmered with sugar and soy sauce for half a day to get the bones soft.
boodara is a kigo for spring.
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Stockfisch
tara たら【鱈】codfish, haddock


botamochi ぼたもち rice cakes covered with sween bean paste
... see mochi


dengaku 田楽 food on skewers, with misopaste
Dengaku dance and food with amazing details
Usually firm tofu and eggplants on skewers, grilled with miso paste. Also satoimo potatoes, fish and other vegetables are grilled like this.




donbikoni, donbiko-ni, どんびこ煮 donbiko-ni cooked heart of salmon
speciality of Murakami area.
Cooked in sweet sauce. Precious food since there is only one heart in each fish caught.
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egoneri (igoneri) えごねり（イゴネリ）seaweed
The seaweed "egogusa エゴ草" from the wild sea of the Nihonkai is full of minerals.
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. The Azumi clan 安曇族　 and ego /igo dishes .


Fucha ryori, fucha ryoori 普茶料理 Chinese monk quisine


gajini がじに cooked innards of salmon
from Murakami area. Cooked in a hodgepodge with vegetables and spicy sauce.


gibasani, gibasa-ni ぎばさ煮 boiled gibasa seaweed
also called akamoku あかもく or nagamo ナガモ "long seaweed"
It grows in shallow sea water and grows to seven meters long.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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hegisoba, hegi soba へぎそば buckwheat noodles
from Ochiya town 小千谷そば
Buckwheat flour is mixed with the seaweed funori 布海苔（ふのり）, hitting the dough in a special way. (nori 糊 glue). The noodles are quite firm.
hegi 片木 is a thin wooden board hegi ita 剥板, that was used like a shingle for a roof.
They are served in small portions arranged like shingles, "swinging the hand once" 一手振り.
They are almost like zarusoba.



hime takenoko 姫たけのこ / 姫竹の子 small thin bamboo shoots
They are put in miso soup or boiled as a sidedish.
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ibushi daikon いぶし大根 smoked radish
small radishes are smoked for about one week. Then it is cut and pickled in rice bran miso
(iburi gakko is from Akita)


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kachidokimeshi （かちどき飯）"rice to win the battle"
This was given to the warriours before sending them to battle, to encourage them, by their lord, Uesugi Kenshin 謙信公.
It includes kezurimono in auspicious five colors けずりもの, sengoku war sashimi 戦国さしみ, aburiyaki grilled meat 炙り焼き, nuka misoni boiled in miso 糠味噌煮, kurumi hitashi walnuts 胡桃浸し, kuromai black rice (brown rice) 黒米（玄米), atsumejiru soup 集め汁 koo no mono pickles 香の物, mizugashi mixed fruit 水菓子.
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kaguramiso, kagura nanban miso 神楽南蛮味噌
kagurananban (kagura namban) is a kind of bell pepper. It has its name because it is full of bulbs like the mask for a kagura dance. In the village 新潟県中頚城郡中郷村 it is called buta koshoo, ぶたこしょう pepper for pigs.
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kanzuri かんずり chili paste
fermented chili paste with yuzu citron and salt, kept in the snow and matured for 3 years. Sauce for nabemono
from the high areas of Echigo
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kensayaki, kensa-yaki けんさ焼き "rice grilled on a sword tip"
When Uesugi Kenshin fought his many wars around 1550, he had his soldiers put onigiri on the top of the sword and grill them slightly before eating. It was his way to show resprct to the rice-growing farmers of his province.
Now it is eaten for the New Year and harvest festivals.
A bit of miso paste can be put on the grilled rice.
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kiku no hana no sunomono 菊の花の酢の物
vinegared chrysanthemum flowers
Speciality of Niigata and other areas of Tohoku in Northern Japan. Eaten in autumn.


kinpira キンピラ simmered root vegetables
Kinpira (Japanese: 金平) is a Japanese cooking style that can be summarised as a technique of "sauté and simmer". It is commonly used to cook root vegetables such as carrot, burdock and lotus root, seaweeds such as arame and hijiki and other foods including tofu and namafu (生麸) (wheat gluten).
The dish features the use of soy sauce and mirin, as well as often slivered chili peppers.
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In Niigata, kinpira is put into rice flour dumplings, kinpira dango キンピラ団子, (considered a sweet or oyatsu for the three o'clock snack)
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kinpira soba キンピラ蕎麦 where the kinpira is put into the dipping sauce and then eaten with the buckwheat noodles.



kiriai きりあい daikon pickled in miso
daikon radish boiled, cut very small and mixed with miso. Some yuzu citron, black sesame and sugar is added. It can be put on rice just like this.
shiso-iri kiriai しそ入りきりあい with perilla leaves
from Iwaya Onsen 岩室温泉
Iwa is a postal town at the "Northern Route" hokkoku kaidoo 北国街道.
another speciality of Iwaya is
suika misozuke すいか味噌漬 watermelon pickled in miso
Iwaya onsen manjuu 岩室温泉饅頭
Iwaya senbei 岩室せんべい
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koshihikari コシヒカリthe most famous brand of rice
Rice, kome, types of rice

koshihikari matsuril コシヒカリまつり
rice festival
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Kubiki no oshizushi くびきの押し寿司 station lunch
from Naoetsu Station 直江津駅 and JR越後湯沢駅
ekiben from Kubiki area 頸城地方（くびきちほう）
Three different flavors in three layers. With local koshihikari rice.
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miruku yookan ミルクようかん milk desert
made from milk, sugar and kanten jelly. It comes in a container like yoghurt. Taken out it looks like a white piece of tofu. Cut into pieces, eaten with fruit.




mojio 藻塩 salt with seaweed
from Sado Island 佐渡
Salt of Japan



nasu no abura itame なすの油炒め fried eggplant
There are many different types of eggplants in Niigata. round eggplants 丸なす, long eggplants 長なす, eggplants "like brushes" 鉛筆なす、and 十全なす、水なす、漬けなす、巾着なす ...
Most of them are also prepared for tsukemono pickles.


nina 煮菜 "simmered leaves"
from leafy vegetables like Nozawana 野沢菜 and taina タイ菜
Simmered with beans and abura-age tofu pouches.
..... ni namasu 煮なます simmered daikon
grated daikon radish with crushed beand simmered with sugar and vinegar.


nodoguro のどぐろ / のど黒 "black neck" fish
expensive fatty white fish
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noppejiru のっぺ汁 Vegetable broth with mixed ingredients
noppe stew, Noppe-Eintopf


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okoshigata おこし型 colored sweet dumplings
Sado beanpaste cakes
filled with anko sweet bean paste. They are very colorful, pink, green and yellow. They come in various auspicious forms, flowers or animals, made to stand up on decoration shelves, for example the Doll festival, the Boy's festival or O-Bon for the ancestors.
Sado Island
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okowadango おこわだんご balls
with okowa rice outside and sween anko inside
from Washima village 和島村


sankaku chimaki 三角ちまき rice wrapped in triangular form
prepared by lokal farmewifes for the husband to take to the field work.
Now it is mostly eaten as a sweet snack with kinako soybean flower.
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sasadango 笹団子 (ささだんご) dumplings


sasazushi 笹寿司 Sushi served on sasa leaves
Sasa japonica. During the battles at Kawanakajima, there were no vessels to serve the food in. So the soldiers took these leaves, which are abundant, and placed their food on them.
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Kawanakajima no tatakai 川中島の戦い
were fought in the Sengoku Period of Japan between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province in the plain of Kawanakajima, in the north of Shinano Province. The location is in the southern part of the present-day city of Nagano.
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Shagiri manjuu しゃぎり 饅頭 Murakami village



shake no sakebitashi 鮭の酒びたし salmon in rice wine
from the Murakami area 村上地方
Salmon pieces dried hard in the cold wind of the Sea of Japan were defrozen by putting them in a bit of hot rice wine and mirin.
salmon pickled in Japanese wine, marinated in Sake
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shinsetsujiru miyuki jiru 深雪汁 "deep snow soup"
soup made of rabbit meat ウサギ肉. With pieces of radish, carrots, satoimo potatoes, shimeji mushrooms, konnyaku and burdock, it is full of nurishment on a cold winter day.



suketo no okijiru スケトウの沖汁　/ スケトの沖汁
halibutt soup on the boat
prepared by fishermen on the boat. On the fishing trip to Sado island they caught sukettodara すけとうだら(介党鱈) and cut it into bite-size in a pot with miso soup or salt water.
Alaska pollack, Theragra chalcogramma
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Takahashi ame 高橋あめ made with millet
from Echigo, the store Takahashiya makes them in the 14th generation
桜花くびきの里 hana saku biki no sato
“粟の古代飴”awa no kodai ame, millet sweets in the old style
They were the appointed sweet makers of the Lord. 御用菓子師
高橋孫左衛門商店 Takahashi Magozaemon Ameya 高橋あめや
上越市南本町3-7-2

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tori no karaage (kara-age) 鳥のから揚げ deep fried chicken
They serve a half chicken with one wing and one leg, all covered in curry powder and then deep fried for about 10 minutes. It is quite a volumous portion.
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tsuttoko つっとこ New Year Food
packed in straw and hung in the cool space between the kitchen and outside.
About 14 different ingredients from the local fields are packed in a straw bag for each member of the family. A mikan was a special treat, so was a boiled egg. Home-made konnyaku was also put in the package.
Toge Shuraku, Matsudai Area 峠集落（松代エリア）(Tooge Shuuraku)
They also use wild rabbit for the zoni New Year soup in Toge.
yama-usagi ozooni 山ウサギお雑煮



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umazurahagi, umazura hagi ウマズラハギ "hagi with the face of a horse"
Thamnaconus modestus
Local people call it UMAZURA, horse face.
fish with a hard skin, which can be easily wrappef off. Eaten as Sashimi, with the liver in soysauce to dip.
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Uonuma mochi 魚沼餅 mochi with rice from Uonuma town
Koganemochi 小金餅
This is the best rice in Japan to prepare mochi.
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wappa-han, wappameshi ワッパ飯
cooked rice and seafood are steamed in a bamboo basket

wappa-ni, wappani わっぱ煮 boiled in a wappa basket by placing hot stones into the broth of fish and vegetables
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yukiguni maitake 雪国まいたけ
Sheep’s Head, Hen of the Woods
Grifola frondosa
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This is a special brand from Niigata. It even has a corporation in America to sell these mushrooms.
Maitake mushrooms KIGO
vinegar from yukiguni maitake 雪国まいたけ絞り黒酢
maitake tempura まいたけ天ぷら
Reference : fresh Kosher maitake mushrooms




zenmai abura itame ぜんまい油炒め fern fried with oil
Osmunda japonica, Taubenfarn
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see: sansai, mountain vegetables


zooni 雑煮 New Year Soup
prepared with salmon and chicken meat and plenty of local vegetables.
Mochi are also put into the soup. They say it is the best zooni of all Japan!


zuiki no sunomono ずいきの酢の物 cooked stem from yam
from the yam potato yatsugashira 八つ頭
Zuiki from Wakayama
芋茎（ずいき） Zuiki Taro and the 随喜 Zuiki Vegetable Festival



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HAIKU


麦秋や子を負ながらいはし売
mugi aki ya ko o oi-nagara iwashiuri

ripened barley--
with a child on her back
the sardine vendor

Kobayashi Issa

In a prescript for this haiku, Issa writes,
"Feeling pity for a woman from Echigo on a business journey."
Echigo is one of the old provinces of Japan, today's Niigata Prefecture. Mugi is a generic term that refers to several grains: wheat, barley, oats, and rye. Shinji Ogawa explains that the phrase "barley's autumn" (mugi no aki) refers, in fact, to the summer season. The name derives from the fact that ripened barley "is comparable to the sight of a rice field in autumn." The grain is ready for harvest, but the baby bundled on his or her mother's back is just starting life.

Not mentioned in the haiku, but implied, are the field workers to whom the mother is selling her sardines for their lunch break. The haiku presents a scene teeming with life: the field of golden grain, the hungry harvesters, the mother, the child.
Tr. and Comment : David Lanoue

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Makoto Ueda mentions in his book,
Dew on the Grass: The Life and Poetry of Kobayashi Issa,
that there is an earlier version of this poem in Issa's Eighth Diary:

iwashi mese mese to ya naku ko oinagara

"Sardines! Sardines!"
she calls, with a baby
crying on her back


Ueda points out, however, that this "poem is deficient as a hokku since it lacks a season word. The revised version [which Issa included in The Year of My Life] corrects that deficiency, creating a sense not only of the season but of the surrounding landscape."


Larry Bole, Translating Haiku Fourm



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Related words

***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes

. Folk Toys from Niigata .

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Noppejiru Manpukuji

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Vegetable stew (noppejiru)

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

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Explanation

Vegetable broth with mixed ingredients, noppejiru
のっぺ汁




noppei のっぺい）「能平」 「濃餅」

The NOPPE of Niigata is not a soup, but a kind of stew or hodgepodge.
It is prepared from vegetables and dashi broth. Sometimes Kamaboko or salted salmon is added.

Often eaten on festival days, for the New Year and on funeral memorial days.


Noppejiru, the soup version, is served in many areas of Japan and prepared in this way:
Left-over stems and skins of vegetables used for other food are stir-fried in sesame oil and then made into a soup.
Other ingredients are then added according to the area, for example taro or yam, carrots, burdock, shiitake mushrooms and abura-age deep-fried bean curd. Soy sauce and salt are then added and some katakuriko starch to thicken the broth.
Sometimes chicken or fish pieces are added.

The origin is from temple food, when the cook-monks of the Obaku Zen-sect boiled vegetables and added kuzu starch for thickening, to prepare it in the way of Chinese fucha cooking
oobaku　黄檗宗


Fucha ryori, fucha ryoori, Chinese monk quisine
普茶料理
a kind of shoojn ryori, shoojin ryoori, monk quisine 精進料理.
see below.


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なお、長野県の佐久地方で明治まで割元の職を務めながら中山道を往来した大名に食事や宿を提供していた篠澤佐五右衛門家には、慶安元年（1648年）の献上料理の献立表が現存している。この文献によると小諸城主青山因幡守に篠澤佐五右衛門良重が料理を提供し、その中に「のっぺい汁」があった。記述によると、その汁は鍋仕立であり鴨肉が使われ、わさびが添えられていた。篠澤佐五右衛門家は当時から岩村田の今宿で連綿と宿を営み、今もこののっぺい汁を再現調理して提供をしている。またこの献立の文献は現在、佐久市立望月民族資料館にて公開されている。
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Another famous soup from Niigata is

banyajiru 番屋汁（ばんやじる) "soup of the guardian house"

It used to be cooked right at the harbor or beach at the guardian house (banya) of the area. Fish innards cut in small pieces, shells and mussles of the day's catch, some caggabe,leek and other available vegetables where dumped in hot water and salt or miso paste used as flavoring. It was brewed to warm the fisherman after coming back to land.

Wachthaus-Suppe

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Another speciality from Niigata

Sasadango 笹団子 (ささだんご)
Rice dumplings wrapped in sasa bamboo grass leaves

Originally a portable food during the Warring States period. Sasadango are made of mugwort-flavored glutionus rice (mochigome) and red beans, the paste is than wrapped in sasa leaves.
In former times, local families made them also during the holiday periods.


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Manpukuji, where Chinese cuisine took root in Japan

Temple played key role in spread of new ingredients, cooking techniques

UJI, Kyoto (Japan)
The deep-rooted influence of Chinese culture is easily spotted in contemporary Japan, but perhaps most obviously in the nation's food culture. Manpukuji temple, founded here by a Chinese monk in the 17th century, played an essential role in the spread of Chinese cuisine across the nation.

Zen-style calligraphy and portraiture techniques introduced from China by the temple's monks and devotees were highly regarded by Japan's cultural elite at the time, but none equalled the impact of
fucha ryori　普茶料理, the Chinese-style Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. Indeed, its impact is still keenly felt today.

"The cuisine has had an unequalled effect on the development of Kansai's food culture," says Chisei Tanaka, a priest and chief researcher at the temple's Obaku Cultural Research Institute. "It brought new ingredients and combined boiling, grilling and steaming procedures."

"[After the founding of Manpukuji temple] the nation experienced a major boom in fucha ryori--much more exuberant than what you see for French or Italian food now," Tanaka says.

Fucha ryori cuisine was also credited with popularizing techniques in deep-frying and stir-frying, which used large amounts of oil, then a luxury item. Its innovative style of dining using tables and Chinese tableware with an elaborate presentation was popular among the general public and feudal lords alike.

Manpukuji temple was established in 1661 by the Chinese monk Yinyuan Longqi (1592-1673), known as Ingen Ryuki in Japanese. He would later be recognized as the founder of Obaku, the last of the three Japanese Zen sects to be founded (the others are the Rinzai and Soto sects), and the first to be based on the teachings of a Chinese monk.

Ingen was well known in Japan before his arrival in the nation in 1654 at the age of 63, thanks to his many Zen-related writings, says Korei Okada, the current head priest of Manpukuji temple, which is still the Obaku sect's headquarters.

"Many Japanese monks rushed to see him after his arrival in Nagasaki [the only gateway from China at the time]," Okada says. "China was regarded as a cultured nation in what was a period of isolation for Japan, and his arrival caused an Obaku boom."

Ingen was accompanied to Nagasaki by Chinese disciples and artisans, including architects, sculptors, tailors and tofu makers. He also brought several foods that had never before been seen in Japan, such as kidney beans, watermelons and renkon (lotus root). The beans, used widely today, are called ingenmame in his honor.

His sermons at Nagasaki temples attracted crowds of monks as well as lay people and were received as a breath of fresh air by those disillusioned with the state of Buddhism in the nation. According to Okada, Japanese Buddhism circles were in disarray following a period of war, with gambling and other inappropriate behavior often being spotted at temples.

"Ingen, who strictly observed commandments prohibiting marriage and eating meat, was considered an ideal priest for Japanese monks to learn from, and many people visited him in Nagasaki, either to become his disciples or to meditate with him," Okada says.

Ingen was scheduled to return to China after three years, but extravagant efforts by his followers persuaded him to stay in Japan. He was introduced to the 4th shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna (1641-1680), in 1658 and given land in Uji to build a Zen temple.

Ingen named the temple Manpukuji, which is written using the Chinese characters for "man" and "fuku," respectively meaning "ten thousand" and "fortune," just like Wanfu Temple in Fujian Province, where he had served as head priest before he left for Japan.

The foundation of the temple boosted Ingen's influence significantly, and many highly educated Chinese monks followed him to Japan to serve at Manpukuji temple and elsewhere. The Obaku sect was widely embraced, and at its peak had about 1,000 temples, creating a powerful base for promoting aspects of Chinese culture.

Most acclaimed of these was the original taste and exotic presentation of fucha ryori. In the Edo period (1603-1867), its popularity spread quickly, boosted by the publication of many cookbooks about the cuisine, and was entrenched by the opening of fucha ryori restaurants in Nagasaki, Osaka, Kyoto and Edo, present-day Tokyo.

"I believe people who were served fucha ryori at special events at that time must have sung its praises far and wide for its reputation to have been so widespread," Okada says.

Visitors to Manpukuji today also enjoy many other elements of Chinese culture the temple community helped to popularize and an atmosphere that has remained unchanged for about 350 years.

The close attention Ingen paid to reproducing the atmosphere of Chinese temples when overseeing the construction of Manpukuji is striking. The temple's three main halls stand lengthwise, perfectly aligned, with other buildings opposite them creating a powerful sense of symmetry, a layout typical of Chinese Zen Buddhist temples built during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

Most of the main buildings are remarkably well-preserved, having maintained their original structure since their construction in the 1660s.

Entering the temple through Sanmon gate--which still boasts original nameplates of the temple and the mountain, inscribed by Ingen himself--visitors walk a path of diamond-shaped stones toward the main attractions.

Dozens of Buddhist statues showcase the excellent craftsmanship of the Ming dynasty, the most famous of which is the wooden statue of Hotei, god of fortune, at Tennoden hall. About 110 centimeters tall and covered in gold leaf, it is a popular symbol of the temple and often appears on the cover of sightseeing magazines.

A 230-centimeter-long, fish-shaped gong hanging from the ceiling of Saido dining hall is struck by a monk with a wooden pole to announce daily events and rituals.

The Daiohoden hall, the nation's largest teak building, houses 18 unique statues of arhats (Buddhists who have attained enlightenment) and a seated statute of Shakanyorai, Manpukuji temple's principal image. At special exhibitions, visitors can view fascinating Chinese calligraphy scrolls and portraits of monks drawn in the realist Obaku style, with sharp lines and contrasting colors.

In the Hozoin temple, a collection of 60,000 printing blocks inscribed with more than 6,900 volumes of sutras is piled high on shelves. The blocks were made in a major project launched by Tetsugen Doko (1630-1682), one of Ingen's Japanese disciples, and feature the Ming typeface that even today remains the nation's most common typeface, seen everywhere in newspapers and books. The sutras are individually printed even now.

The temple's fascinating tours attract plenty of visitors, and many seize the opportunity to enjoy the experience of beautifully arranged, delicious and nutritious fucha ryori.

Fucha ryori was originally served to all the monks who gathered at meetings after major Buddhist rituals or services were completed.

During the rituals or services, five-colored vegetables, most often carrot, cucumber and Japanese radish, as well as deep-fried tofu, dried kelp, and manju sweet bean paste buns are offered to Buddhist altars or mortuary tablets. The foods bound with palm leaves and stood upright on stands are cooked and served to monks after the events end.　
（junkan 笋羹（じゅんかん) , shankon 上旬.)

Multiple dishes--a typical fucha ryori meal nowadays includes six or seven--are arranged on large communal plates for four diners, who serve themselves with their own chopsticks.

That no scrap of food is wasted is a fundamental teaching clearly reflected in fucha ryori. Scraps of vegetables can be sauteed to make unpen, which has a thick sauce. Dried-out manju are deep-fried and served as tomoe manju.

Gisho Ienaga, the tenzo monk who supervises culinary operations at the temple, says: "We try to meet diners' expectations of Kyoto cuisine. We serve a variety of dishes that are meticulously prepared and decorated with color and sophistication."

Among the dishes are shunkan 笋羹（じゅんかん junkan) --assorted simmered dishes, including vegetables rolled in a sheet of deep-fried tofu and hiryuzu, deep-fried tofu balls with chunky vegetables--
and yuji 油磁（ゆじ）, tempura vegetables with tomoe manju.

Seafood and meat products are of course prohibited, but some dishes are prepared to represent them symbolically. For example, tofu with grated burdock and yam can be shaped and colored with seaweed so it resembles broiled eel.

Kanken Kiyozumi, a priest who assists Ienaga, explains the delicate nature of the fucha ryori cooking process through the example of a sesame tofu dish made with nutritious kudzu starch.

"It's really difficult to make, because kudzu hardens easily and burns. I have to stir the mixture of sesame paste and kudzu constantly in a pot for about 20 minutes, until it hardens.

"The taste of the dish differs completely from day to day," Kiyozumi says. "Even when I think I've made it perfectly, I can feel the consistency is different when I cut it, so I've never been satisfied with the tofu I've made."
source : 　www.buddhistchannel.tv


mafu 「麻腐（まふ）, gomadoofu sesame tofu with sanshoo pepper
unpen 雲片（うんぺん） left over vegetables fried
kanpai 羹杯（かんぱい） hitashi type food
en , tsuai えん（菜）つぁい tsukemono pickles
hantsuu 飯子（はんつう) cooked rice

Vegetarian Temple Food (shoojin ryoori 精進料理)

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When leaving temple Manpukuji, the poetress Kikusha writes, summing up the Chinese atmosphere and the tea plantations:

山門を出れば日本ぞ茶摘うた
sanmon o dereba Nihon zo chatsumi uta

outside the temple gate
it's Japan again!
song of the tea pickers

. Tagami Kikusha 田上菊舎
(1753, August 23 -1826, September 24)

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トンネルの 上も日本や 茶摘み唄
tonneru no ue mo hihon ya chatsumi uta

above the tunnel
there is also Japan !
song of the tea pickers

尾木直樹 Ogi Naoki, 尾木ママ Ogi "Mama"
During a Haiku battle program with Natsuki Sensei - April 2017
プレバト才能ランキング



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Another temple with the name Manpukuji 満福寺 in Fukushima, Tohoku

御佛に尻むけ居れば月涼し
mihotoke ni shirimuke oreba tsuki suzushi

I turn my back
on the Buddha statue -
the moon is cool

. Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規 .


Shiki wrote an essay "hateshirazu no ki はて知らずの記" (kind of "never-ending story")
on his trip to Tohoku region (North-East Japan) during the 26th year of Meiji (1893). There is description that he stayed at a temple named Iidesan Manpukuji (飯出山満輻寺 / 満福寺). This haiku was written there.
He must have laid himself in the garden with the Buddha statue behind and looking at the moon....
- Thanks to Hideo Suzuki ! FB


正岡子規の句碑 - 竜護山萬福寺 Manpuku-Ji, Fukushima
Temple famous for its cherry blossoms
source : www.t-aterui.jp/fukushima



MORE haiku by Masaoka Shiki about
. Dead Body (hotoke) and mihotoke 御佛 .


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observance kigo for the New Year

Oobaku Hoozan 黄檗放参
Evening Zen at Oobaku Zen Temples


Other events in Januaray

New Years Ceremony 修正会 (Shushoe)
(January 1–3)

New Years Completion Ceremony 修正滿散会 (Shusho Mansan-e)
(January 3)

Rinzai Day Observance 臨濟忌 (Rinzai-ki)
(January 10)

Hyakujo Day Observance 百丈忌 (Hyakujo-ki)
(January 17)

Ceremonies Marking Special Months of Cultivation
善月祈禱会 (Zengetsu Kito-e)
(January 16, May 16, and September 16)

source : Rinzai - Annual Events


SAIJIKI – NEW YEAR OBSERVANCES


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HAIKU

のっぺ汁冷めても酒の肴なり
noppejiru samete mo sake no sakana nari

noppejiru soup -
even when cold it tastes
with my rice wine

source : 　www7.ocn.ne.jp
Tr. Gabi Greve

肴, this character reads sakana, but here refers to a snack with a drink.


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Related words

MORE
Dishes from Niigata 新潟郷土料理


***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes

Shojin Ryori (shoojin ryoori) 精進料理
Vegetarian Temple Foodincluding
Fucha Ryori (fucha ryoori 普茶料理)

Tenzoo 典座 Tenzo kyokun, the Zen cook teachings

noppe
e
Vegegetarian Temple Food including
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Mie Prefecture

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Mie Prefecture



Mie Prefecture (三重県, Mie-ken) is a prefecture of Japan which is part of the Kinki and Chūbu regions on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Tsu.

Evidence of human habitation in Mie can be dated to more than 10,000 years ago. During the Jōmon and Yayoi periods, agricultural communities began to form along the river and coastal areas of the region. Ise Shrine is said to have been established during the Yayoi period, and in the 7th century the Saikū Imperial Residence was built in what is now Meiwa Town to serve as both a residence and administrive centre for the Saiō, an Imperial Princess who served as High Priestess of Ise Shrine.

During the Edo period, the area now known as Mie Prefecture consisted of several feudal domains, each ruled by an appointed lord. Transport networks, including the Tokaido and Ise Roads, were built. Port towns such as Ohminato, Kuwana and Anōtsu, posting stations and castle towns flourished. Pilgrimages to Ise Shrine also became very popular.

Mie Prefecture forms the eastern part of the Kii Peninsula, and is bordered by Aichi, Gifu, Shiga, Kyoto, Nara, and Wakayama. It is considered to be a part of both the Chūbu and the Kinki regions due to its geographical proximity to Aichi Prefecture and its cultural influence from Kinki, such as the fact that Kansai dialect is spoken in Mie. Traditionally, though, the Iga region of Mie is considered to have always been a part of Kansai.

Mie Prefecture has traditionally been a link between east and west Japan, thanks largely to the Tokaido and Ise Pilgrimage Roads. Traditional handicrafts such as Iga Braid, Yokkaichi Banko Pottery, Suzuka Ink, Iga Pottery and Ise Katagami flourished. With 65% of the prefecture consisting of forests and with over 1,000 km of coastline, Mie has a long been associated with forestry and seafood industries. As well as this, Mie produces tea, beef, cultured pearls and fruit, mainly mandarin oranges.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. Ise Grand Shrine 伊勢神宮　 Schrein Ise Jingu 　　
and related KIGO
Amaterasu Oomikami 天照大神（あまてらすおおみかみ・てんしょうだいじん）Amaterasu Omikami
Toyouke Oomikami 豊受大神 (とようけおおみかみ) Toyouke Omikami
The goddess of agriculture and industry in the Shinto religion. At the Gegu 下宮 in Ise.
She offers food to Amaterasu.


Kumano Kodō、Kumano Kodo, Kumano Kodoo 熊野古道
World Heritage Site. Ancient road in southern Mie once used by pilgrims.

Mikimoto Pearl Island


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Local Dishes from Mie　三重県の郷土料理


aimaze あいまぜ "mixed delight"
with dried radish, carrots, lotus roots, konnyaku, shiitake, taro roots and stems, fried in oil and soy sauce, with sweet vinegar as seasoning. Made for family festivals.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


akafuku 赤福 a sweet made with mochi and sweet red bean paste
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


amago sushi あまご寿司 amagu (a sweet water fish) sushi
Oncorhynchus rhodurus. 甘子
It tasts quite crunchy and good with vinegar.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
and other amago dishes アマゴ料理. It is a speciality of Tsu city and 美杉町.


aramemaki, arame-maki あらめ巻 fish wrapped in arame kelp
WASHOKU : arame 荒布 Eisenia bicyclis.


arare ochazuke あられお茶漬 arare senbei with green tea
You shovel a good portion in a large bowl, add some sugar and then poor green tea over it. They get funyafunja soft.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


awabimeshi, awabi-meshi あわびめし rice with abalone
An expensive delicacy at Ise Shrine.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




bekkoozushi, bekkoo sushi, bekko sushi べっこう寿司 'Tortoise-shell sushi'
sushi with "pickled" fish in soy sauce marinade, to make it look like the color of tortoiseshell Bernstein.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


bora no heso ぼらのへそ "navel of the springer"
Bora ぼら【鯔／鰡】, striped black mullet; a springer
WASHOKU : bora, an auspicious fish
Actually, it is the stomach prepared to eat. Often barbequed.
ibukuro　胃袋　stomach
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


chazuke 茶漬け
after eating fried or boiled fish, tea (or simply hot water) is poored over the bones, head and other leftovers, which are carefully washed with the liquid. This is then slurped out of the plate. Or poored over rice and eaten.
This is very healthy, called "isha shirazu 医者知らず" or "isha koroshi　医者殺し", no need for a doctor.




dengara でんがら dumplings with anko wrapped in a hoo-leaf
ほう葉だんご
from Iinan town 飯高


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fukidawara 蕗俵（ふきだわら）
"butterbur barrels"
rice with beans, wrapped in fuki leaves
They were prepared during the rice field planting season and put as offerings for the deities on the side of the fields.

Here you see a woman praying for a bountiful harvest.





hijiki nimono ひじき煮物 boiled hijiki seaweed
from 伊勢志摩 Ise Shima region. Ise hijiki 伊勢ひじき
Shima is one of the foremost producers of hijiki in Japan.
Hizikia fusiformis. Braune Meeresalge


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Ise ebi 伊勢エビ料理 lobster from Ise
from 伊勢志摩 Shima
They are prepared in many ways.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



Ise takuan 伊勢たくあん pickles radish from Ise
rather thick and round, the skin is thick. Made since the end of the Meiji period.



Ise udon　伊勢うどん　 ... see menrui, udon.
They are rather thick and soft. The soup is made with tamari soy sauce
served at （伊勢神宮）Shrine Ise Jingu to the pilgrims.



Itoin Senbei, ito-in senbei いといんせんべい. 絲印煎餅
Senbei with a "stamp like a thread"
Made by Hadaya Shop 播田屋, who owns three old metal stamps.
They are specially soft and made with a stamp (in) from olden times. The imperial family likes to eat them on their round to Ise shrine.
There are only 7 senbei in one pack, since the time when Meiji tennoo could only eat 7 out of a pack with 10.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



iwashizushi, iwashi sushi イワシ寿司 sushi from herrings
from the Satonakakokoro area 里中心



jibu じふ sukiyaki-type fish
魚のすき焼き風, jibunabe じふ鍋
from the Northern parts of the prefecture


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kaizu no himono かいずの干物 dried small sea bream
kaizu are the small black sea breams (kurodai 黒鯛 ). They are cut open on the back, marinated in soy sauce and dried in the sun. From Ocotber to November in the Toba area. 鳥羽地方
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


kakimeshi カキ飯 rice with oysters
The oysters are boiled together with the rice in the same pot.


katsuo chazuke かつお茶漬け bonito on rice with tea
The fish is marinaged in soy sauce. Served with ginger and nori.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


kijinabe きじ鍋 hodgepodge with pheasant meat


kinko きんこ dried sweet potatoes
a snack for children and ama female divers
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


koonago no kama-age コウナゴの釜揚げ boiled small sand lance
koonago is the local name for ikanago イカナゴ いかなご【玉筋魚】sand lance, sand eel lance
Ammodytes personatus
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Kuwana no hamaguri ryoori 桑名の蛤料理 clam dishes from Kuwana town
At the estuaries of the rivers Kisogawa, Naragawa and Machiyagawa 町屋川.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


kyuuri no hiyajiru キュウリの冷や汁 cold cucumber soup
It is put on hot mugimeshi rice. A mix between chazuke and salad. The soup has a miso taste.


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manboo ryoori マンボウ料理 dishes from moonfish (headfish)
Mola mola. Mondfish. まんぼう 【翻車魚】 満方 ocean sunfish
This fish is caught in Eastern Kishu. Eaten as sashimi, in vinegar, as sukiyaki. Even the intestines (kowata コワタ（腸）are dried and eaten.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Manbo (Mambo) is also eaten in Miyagi prefecture.

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Manjuu kaidoo 饅頭街道 Manju Road
Mie is famous for more than 15 different kinds of manjuu dumplings.
They were prepared by the various tea shops in front of the Ise Shrine and people would buy them as presents nowadays.

. . . CLICK here for Photos : manju from Mie !　

akafukumochi 赤福餅

The Manju Road leads from Ise shrine.
There are other Manju Roads in Japan too, for example one in Nagasaki.

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Matsuzaka beef


moroheiya udon モロヘイヤうどん udon noodles with moroheya
The moroheya powder is mixed with the wheat flour for making green noodles.
Corchorus Olitorius. Jew's marrow.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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nabana no ohitashi なばなのおひたし boiled rapeseed buds and young leaves
Very old dish of the Ise region.


nabemochi なべ餅 "hodgepodge mochi"
Mochi are made with anko and yomogi, rolled in kinako soy flour.
from 大紀町 Taiki Town
This was only prepared on auspicious situtations and the mochi were given to the neighbours and friends.


namako no su no mono なまこの酢の物 sea cucumber with vinegar
sea cucumber is also eaten in other dishes, often for New Year.


nameroo なめろう chopped raw fish with sake and miso paste
In Mie, apart from fish, sazae turban shell is used.
さざえのなめろうsazae no nameroo
also eaten in Chiba.


niken chaya mochi 二軒茶屋餅（にけんちゃやもち）mochi from Niken Chaya shop, Kakuya 角屋


nubarizushi, nubari sushi めばり寿司 sushi with takana leafy vegetable
a form of takanazushi. 高菜 takana leaves are marinated in nibaizu or sanbaizu vinegar and then the warm leaf wrapped around sushi rice.
takana, Brassica juncea var. integrifolia. Wirsingart
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


. Takana 高菜 mustard greens .

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Oga no aburi 梶賀のあぶり smoked small fish from Oga town
from 尾鷲市梶賀浦
Prepared in May and June.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


oojiki jiru 大敷き汁 "soup after a good catch"
miso-based soup with the fresh catch. Saba, ika, katsuo, aji, sometimes even Ise lobsters.


. o-nyudo senbei おにゅうどうせんべい rice crackers

osasuri おさすり dumplings（ebitsu えびつ）
from Eastern Kishuu 御浜町
a kind of kashiwamochi
Prepared one month later than the normal Boy's festival, on June 5, and for the girls.


Sakatejima no uni 坂手島の雲丹 sea urchin from Sakatejima
Best for sushi.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


same no tare サメのたれ Samenotare, dried white shark meat
In Ise, shark is served with two different flavors, salt or sweet sake (mirin).
It is often served as a side dish. Ssamenotare goes well with drinks or served on top of rice.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


sanmazushi 秋刀魚寿司 （さんまずし） sanma sushi
sushi from pacific saury. Instead of wasabi, a bit of Japanese karashi mustard is used before the fish is pressed on the rice. サンマ寿司
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


sazae no tsuboyaki さざえの壺焼き sazae turban shell grilled in the shell
Batillus cornutus


sekihan mochi 赤飯もち mochi made from mashed red rice


shigure hamaguri 時雨はまぐり, 時雨蛤 sweet simmered clamshells
English Reference : sweet cooked clams



sooheinabe, soohei nabe 僧兵鍋 hodgepodge for the monk-soldiers
Near Yunoyama onsen hot spring is the temple of the Tendai sect, 三岳寺, where the monks function as soldiers too and need some stamina. There are even pork bones used for broth, then radish, carrots, Konnyaku, lotus roots, taro and yam, bamboo shoots and even wild boar meat are used.


tekonezushi, tekone sushi てこねずし . 手こねずし fish zushi mixed with the hands


Tsu gyooza 津餃子 gyoza from Tsu town
They are very large, about 5 time the contents of a normal dumpling. They are fried and eaten without sauce.
CLICK here for PHOTOS !



unagi ryoori うなぎ料理 eel dishes
from Tsu town. In Tsu most of the eel in all of Japan is eaten.

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watarikaki 渡利牡蠣（わたりかき）Oysters from the Kihoku　紀北町 region. It is almost a sweet water lake with an underlying current of sea water.
They are also called
Kooboogaki 弘法ガキ

CLICK here for PHOTOS !
Commercial oysters are produced since the Showa period.They have a juicy taste. This is as a result of its production in the nutrient-rich water of the local Funatsu River and Sea of Kumano. They are lowered to salt water after a typhoon or great rain, when the river brings lots of nutrition for the oysters. Later they are put in a higher position of the fresh water of lake Shiraishiko 白石湖.　So the oyster farmers are quite budsy checking the saltiness of the lake water.
Taken out of the water, they keep fresh for about 5 days if they are not opened.

The oysters are eaten fried or raw, but also in soup (kakijiru　牡蠣汁) or on sushi rice with a bit of hot mustard (kakizushi 牡蠣寿司 ).



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Things found on the way


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HAIKU and SENRYU



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Related words

***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes

***** . Folk Toys from Mie .
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Miyazaki

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Miyazaki (Miyasaki) 宮崎



Miyazaki Prefecture (宮崎県, Miyazaki-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Miyazaki.
Old Hyuuga Province, Hyuga.

Miyazaki has a total area of approximately 7,734 km², and a population of 1,166,074 people. In addition to its year-round warm climate, Miyazaki's weather is among the best in Japan based on the amount of fine days, sunshine, and precipitation, due to the influence of warm currents off the coast.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



Specialities from Miyazaki
PHOTOS to enjoy !


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Dishes from Miyazaki　宮崎料理
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



Kobiru, cobiru, kobilu （こびる） 小昼　 "small lunch", rural lunch
Takachiho village 高千穂こびる研究会




mango 宮崎マンゴ Mangoes
..... mangooshu マンゴー酒 mango liquor


mango liquor from red sweet potatoes
赤芋焼酎仕込みマンゴー酒
From Kushima Town 串間市
The bottle is beautifully shaped and the colors of the box bring joy.




nikumaki 肉巻き, 肉巻きおにぎり
rice wrapped into a piece of meat
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




sumiso, su miso 酢味噌 miso sauce with vinegar
often some white sesame is added.
This sauce is added to many dishes, noodles are dipped in it, so is raw white fish.
Plain fried unagi eel (suyaki) is also served with this sauce.
It helps digestion during the hot summer days.
Miyazaki is also the third largest producer of eel 宮崎うなぎ.




toshikasa mochi としかさ餅 mochi with sweetpotatoes
They are prepared in the old year, kept as offerings for the deities and are eaten in the new hear, hence the name "mochi gaining in years".
They are made from mochigome. Sweet potatoes are also put in the dough. The dough is plced on plates and topped with some sweet beans anko.



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU



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Related words

***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes

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Matsuzaka Beef Mie

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Matsuzaka Beef

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

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Explanation


Kansai Beef

The sweetness and softness peculiar to beef abundantly streaked with fine veins of fat are the reasons why Japanese beef is so popular. In the case of beef, too, water is important. Famous beef brands in Kansai are Mie Prefecture's Matsusaka beef, Fukui Prefecture's Wakasa beef, and Shiga Prefecture's Omi beef, and these cattle are raised in areas with ample natural water.

Matsusaka beef, for example, originated in the Tajima beef (tajimagyuu 但馬牛) of Hyogo Prefecture's Tajima area, a location blessed with beautiful mountain streams. Elsewhere, the central and southern parts of the Ise Plain where Matsusaka beef cattle are bred are supplied with natural mineral water from the watersheds of the Kumozu, Kushida and Miya Rivers, all flowing from the Nunobiki and Miune Mountains. Together with attentive breeding, carefully controlled nutrition and the environmental element, the noted water of the breeding habitat cannot be ignored.

Matsusaka beef: Mie

Wakasa beef:
Kaminaka

Omi beef:
Shiga

source : 　www.kippo.or.jp


. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Matsusaka beef (松阪牛, Matsusaka gyuu, also "Matsuzaka beef") is wagyu 和牛(Japanese beef) originating in the Matsusaka region of Mie, Japan. It is one of the most famous kinds of beef within Japan and internationally, containing a high fat-to-meat ratio.

Matsusaka beef is produced from virgin female cows chiefly born in Hyōgo Prefecture. The cows are raised in the quiet, serene area surrounding Matsusaka between the Kumozu River to the north and Miyagawa River to the south. Only female wagyu are raised in Matsusaka, where they are fed plenty of fodder, as well as tofu lees and ground wheat. When they have no appetite, they are fed beer to stimulate their eating, and they also receive regular massages with straw brushes after being sprayed with shōchū and are taken for daily afternoon walks.
Soothing music is played to the cattle to "calm" them and promote better quality beef. Matsusaka beef is considered by many in Japan to be superior to other Japanese wagyu beef, including the more internationally famous Kobe beef.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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There are strong regulations toward the definition of Matsuzaka beef.
A farmer buys a calf and brings it up for a certain time at his own ranch.
He takes a sip of shochuu liquor in his mouth and spits in on the fur of the cow after a walk through the fields. He then takes a brush and brushes the fur, against the hair, from low to top, to increase the blood circulation for better beef production.

Sometimes the animal gets a bottle of beer forced down its throat in summer, to help digestion and make it feel hungry for more food. It seems the animal likes the drink, though.

The cowshed is kept close to the family living quaters, so they can check the health of a cow at all times. The temperature of the horns gives the farmer a clue as to the health state of the animal. They are really treated as part of the family while they are there to fatten for the sale.


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU



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***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes

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Miyagi Prefecture

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Miyagi and Sendai


Miyagi Prefecture (宮城県, Miyagi-ken is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region on Honshū island. The capital is Sendai.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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. Sendai Shiroo 仙台四郎 / 仙臺四郎 Sendai Shiro
Haga Shiroo 芳賀四郎 Haga Shiro . (1855 - 1902)
A legendary man good for business !

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Specialities from Miyagi 宮城郷土料理





aburafu 油麩 fried gluten croutons
aburafu-iri nishime 油麩入り煮しめ with fat-fu あぶらふ(油麩）
fryed gluten in vegetable oil. Speciality from Tome town
It is prepared from wheat gluten powder, water is squeezed out carefully.
The dough (mottsu もっつ) is cut with a special knife (ohsigiri 押し切り) with two handles and then kneaded again to squeeze out the water.
Then it is rolled to a long strip and put into a large square box full of oil. Four ladies are busy turning the pieces round and round. They have to be elongated to the proper lenght and then one cut is made with a special knife. After that, they get bigger and a second cut is made whilst turning them. One shop produceds 700 sticks per day, they almost look like french bread.
One dish is a bowl of rice
aburafu don 油麩丼, where the fu is cut and prepared almost like a piece of chicken meat, and an egg on top of it.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
frittierter FU (Weizen-Gluten)


azara あざら "ara" (rough fish meat) mixed with vegetables, from Kesenuma


dotenabe 土手鍋 pot with oysters and miso "as an embankment" around the rim of the pot.



gyuu 牛 oxen and cows
gyuumotsu hatto 牛肚 (ぎゅうもつ はっと)
from the Ishikoshi area, consisting of cooked cow intestines with Japanese flour dumplings in soy broth.

gyuutan 牛タン ox tongue
Sendai gyuutan 仙台牛タン from Sendai
This dish started after WWII in Showa 23 (1948) in a shop named Daisuke 太助. Its owner Sano Keishiroo 佐野啓四郎 served it to his friends.
Ochsenzunge



Hakuchozuke (local pickles)


hattojiru はっと汁 speciel hatto soup


hesodaikon, heso daikon へそ大根 "radish with a navel"
from 宮城県伊具郡丸森町筆甫（ひっぽ）地区
Igu Gun Marumori village
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Daikon is cut in rounds, boiled for a moment, then skewed on a bamboo stick and let to dry in the cold winter air for about 1 month. It becomes a delicious brown candy color. It is usually prepared in December and January and can be eaten in February. When the bamboo sticks are pulled out, it looks as if the round piece has a "navel" in the middle.


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hoya and hoya dishes 海鞘; 老海鼠 sea pinapple
Sea pineapple (Halocynthia roretzi)
hoya nimono ホヤ雑煮 boiled
hoya no su no mono ホヤの酢の物 with vinegar dressing.
hoya is a very primitive animal. lonley planet says it tastes like ""rubber dipped in ammonia".
Hoya is found mostly along the beaches of Miyagi and Iwate.
Ascidiacea (commonly known as the ascidians or sea squirts) is a class in the Tunicata subphylum of sac-like marine filter feeders.
bakurai ばくらい "water bomb" 爆雷 is the original meaning.
a mix of hoya and salted konowata 海鼠腸. Best eaten is very small bits and washed down with a very dry sake.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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Seescheide

"Wasserbombe", Mischung aus Hoya und Konowata. Sehr salzig.


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ika ninjin いか人参 squid and carrots


imoni いもに、芋煮 boiling sweet potatoes
usually by the riverside in an outing with many people.
Sendai-Miso is used for the soup and many vegetables are used too.
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inago no tsukudani イナゴの佃煮 sweetly simmered grashoppers

inohana gohan イノハナご飯 rice with wild mushrooms


kakimeshi カキめし rice with oysters

karamen からめん cold reimen noodles with spicy broth, which is finally soaked up in a portion of rice


manboo no sumiso マンボウの酢味噌 ocean sunfish in vinegar miso dressing
Mondfisch; Mola mola

matsuba jiru 松葉汁 soup with chopped leaves of radish and sanma fish

mekabu zuke メカブ漬け wakame seaweed pickles

Mokkori Wagyu
brand of beef produced in Minamikata town
Mokkori Nira Sembei (rice cracker)
made from rice flour mixed with chopped leeks, and it goes well with beer.


Mokusakueki もくさくえき（木酢液）
Mokusakueki is a liquid made by cooling smoke from charcoal kilns. It is used for making soaps, face creams, and various other products. Some people put several drops of Mokusakueki into their bath tubs.
Mokusakueki is said to contribute to healthy, radiant looking skin. It also helps to enrich soil.


Monzen Kuroame Black sweets
a hand made black sugar candy. The recipe has been handed down from generation to generation, and reminds us of what our grandmothers used to make.

Nakada Rice

Nirakko no Gyoza にらっこ Chinese dumpling
Minamikata is famous for nira leek. They grow 250 tons of leeks a year.
Local people add chopped leeks to their gyoza dumplings.


Numano Shiki (Japanese sake)

oborojiru おぼろ汁 miso soup with oboro dofu tofu

okuzukake おくずかけ dashi soup with vegetables
with additional ankake sauce

sasa kamaboko 笹かまぼこ料理 kamaboko with sasa bamboo grass
eaten raw with wasabi shoyu. or put in soup with noodles and vegetables.
sasa maki 笹まき

Shiitake Mushroom, Maitake Mushroom


Shiroishi uumen, umen 白石温麺 dried "warm" noodles from Shiroishi town
It has a history of more than 400 years.
A pious son wanted to prepare some light food for his ill father. A wandering monk showed him how to make these noodes. They are only made from salted water and komugiko flower. His father ate these noodles and soon became better. The lord of Shiroishi heared of the story and gave the noodles the name "warm noodles" because of the warm feeling we get from hearing the story of the thoughtful caring son.


Warm noodles and kokeshi wooden dolls, the local specialities
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Toyoma Miso (soybean paste) and Shoyu (soy sauce)

Taihaku Ame 太白飴 "big white sweet"
Taihaku Ame is a traditional local candy made from wheat and glutinous rice. No artificial sweeteners are added . It is very nutritious. . . . CLICK here for Photos !


Yubeshi 柚辺志（ゆべし）sweet cake
Yubeshi is a traditional Japanese sweet cake, from rice flour and walnuts.
It is not too sweet and typically served with green tea. Toyosato speciality.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


zundamochi ずんだ餅 rice cakes with edamame beans.
jindamochi じんだ餅
10 different kind of mochi from the local Miyagi rice are used for various dishes.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Things found on the way

Kesennuma (気仙沼市; -shi) is a city located in the extreme northeast of Miyagi Prefecture. It wraps around the western part of Kesennuma Bay, and also includes the island of Ōshima. Its coastline forms the southern boundary of the Rias Coastline National Park, which stretches north all the way to Aomori Prefecture.

The city borders Hirota Bay, Kesennuma Bay, and the Pacific Ocean to the east and Motoyoshi, Miyagi to the south. Iwate Prefecture makes up the remainder of its borders, with Murone Village to the west, and Rikuzen-Takata City to the north.

The highest point in Kesennuma is 711.9 m high, on the border with Motoyoshi, while the lowest point is at sea level.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Tooth Coastline
Kesennuma is a naturally favorable harbor marked by waters that are calm due to the presence of Oshima Island at the mouth of the harbor. Visitors can soak up powerful sights at Rikuchu Coast National Park, a place of scenic beauty characterized by a deeply indented coastline imbued with the natural beauty of the four seasons.

Slow Food Declaration
Kesennuma, a leading fishing town in Japan, is famous for landing tuna, bonito, and Pacific saury and for producing the largest catches of shark fin in the world. As the first city in Japan to adopt a slow food declaration, Kesennuma is committed to promoting a unique and attractive community sustained by local foods.
Shark 鮫 (さめ) same Haifisch in Kesenuma

Toyoma (Tome town, Miyagi)
Experience the Joys of School Dining
Visitors can enjoy consuming school meals served in a century-old school building. Sample a typical school meal from the 1950s, which would have included a bread roll and curry stew. (Reservations required.)
School-provided lunches are lunch meals provided to all elementary-school students in Japan according to a standard menu that is very much a traditional feature of school life in this country.

source : 　www.jnto.go.jp



Shark fin menu during the "Shark Fin Week", each December.


. Shark (same 鮫) .

. fukahire purin ふかひれプリン vanilla pudding with sharks fins
from Kesennuma


Kesennuma was badly damaged by the earthquake on March 11, 2011


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Der Fischmarkt von Kesennuma

Die „Schwarze Strömung“ (kuroshio) bestimmt die Anwesenheit der Fische vor den Küsten Japans im Pazifischen Ozean. Sie hat eine tiefblaue Farbe und bringt warmes Wasser aus den Gebieten um Taiwan zu den kalten Polarregionen. Sie ermöglicht sogar das Wachstum von Korallenriffen in Japan, den nördlichsten Riffen der Welt. Ein Teil der Strömung zweigt ins Japanische Meer ab und wird hier nach einer Insel die „Tsushima-Strömung“ genannt. Mit der „Schwarzen Strömung“ schwimmen viel Fischarten im Sommer nach Norden und ziehen im Herbst und Winter wieder zurück; „Fische bringen die Jahreszeiten nach Japan“ sagt ein alter Spruch.

Der „erste Bonito“ der Saison kündigte in Edo den Sommer an und viele reiche Bürger liessen sich den ersten Bissen der Saison viel kosten. Bei seinem Zug nach Norden bis vor die Küste Hokkaidos heißt der Fisch „aufwärts schwimmender Bonito“. Im Herbst bei seiner Rückreise wird er „zurückkehrender Bonito“ genannt; er ist nun besonder fett und wohlschmeckend.

Kesennuma ist ein Fischereihafen im Norden der Präfektur Miyagi an der Bucht von Kesennuma.
Der Fischmarkt hat den größte Umsatz Japans an frischem Bonito, Schwertfisch und Haifisch. Weiterhin werden hier Thunfisch, Makrelenhechte und Seezungen gehandelt.
Ende Dezember findet eine „Woche der Haifischflossen“ statt, bei der besondere Menüs mit dieser Delikatesse angeboten werden.

Haifischflossensuppe ist ein fester Bestandteil der chinesischen Küche. In Kesennuma werden auch andere Gerichte davon zubereitet: Ramen-Nudelsuppe, Sushi und Kochen bei Erhaltung der Form (sugata ni).

Der Makrelenhecht bringt den Herbst nach Kesennuma. Er schmeckt am besten auf Holzkohlen gegrillt mit etwas Salz. Aber auch als Sashimi oder gekocht mit Soyasauce wird er hier verzehrt.

Die lokalen Austern schmecken am besten im Winter. Durch die Sedimente von den nahen Wäldern, die viele Flüße in die Bucht bringen, sind sie besonders mineralhaltig. Sie schmecken in jeder Form gut, roh oder gekocht, im Eintopf oder frittiert.

Schwertfische werden auf eine ganz besodere Art gefangen: Vom Vordeck des Bootes aus wirft der Fischer eine Lanze nach dem Fisch und betäubt ihn dann mit einem elektrischen Schlag. Danach kann der bewegungslose Fisch einfach ins Boot gehievt werden.

Eine besondere Spezialität dieses Küstenbereiches bis hinauf nach Iwate sind die Seescheiden, auch „Ananas des Meeres“ genannt. Sie werden mit Essig angemacht, haben aber einen stark ammoniakhaltigen Geschmack und eine gummiartige Konsistenz, sie sind im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes „Geschmacksache“.

Kesennuma bemüht sich um eine nachhaltige Landwirtschaft und hat eine Deklaration zur „Slowfood-Bewegung“ herausgegeben.


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***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes


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


. Folk Toys from Miyagi .

. Folk Toys from Kesennuma 　気仙沼　.

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Mamakari Okayama

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Mamakari Fish Dishes

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

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Explanation


mamakari, 飯借り (ままかり)　Japanese sardinella,

officially called

sappa サッパ Sardinella zunasi
kiiwashi キイワシ

Lives in the Setonaikai Sea of Japan along the estuaries of rivers, about 20 cm long. Often together with the fish konoshiro コノシロ ・このしろ (鮗) or tsunashi, another small herring.
Mamakari dishes are only prepared along the coastlines of the Inland sea, especially in Okayama. The fish itself is found along other coastal areas, where it has a lot of different names.

It is caught all year, but best SHUN from February to April.　Most often eaten with some vinegar preparations. The intestines are taken out and it is kept in salt and vinegar before consumption. Sanbaizu vinegar is quite popular with this fish.
Grilled over charcoals is also a local way to eat it, especially directly on the beach, with the innards still inside.
At the Ariakekai Sea this grilling is called "ponpoko yaki" ポンポコやき because of the sound when grilling the fish and the innards start heating up. The fish itself is called "hadara" ハダラ, usually caught by chance when fishing for shrimp.

The whole fish, with a few cuts in both sides in the flesh, can be deepfried as karaage too, eaten with head, bones and all.
Nanbanzuke 南蛮漬 is prepared frying the filets in oil before preserving them in vinegar.



mamakari, to borrow rice from your neighbours ...
The famous autor of the Meiji period, Narushima Ryuboku 成島 柳北 （なるしま りゅうほく)(1837 - 1884)) wrote in his diary from Okayama in 1869 :

"It looks like a small herring. When a fisherman catches it and brings it home to eat, it tasts very well. When he has finished all the rice at home, the wife goes to the neighbour to borrow some cooked rice and they continue eating. Hence the name."
Others say the fishermen used to grill the fish right on their boats and when the rice of one boat was eaten, they would drive to the next one and ask for his to share.

o-manma おまんま　"omamma" is a childrens way of calling cooked rice.

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Some of my photos from Mamakari dishes
Click for enlargement!






with yuzu citron



grilled as kabayaki like eel



with sanbaizu vinegar



with wasabi horseradish



with vinegar



dried with mirin



mamachobi　ままチョビ mamakari anchovy

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mamakari zushi ままかりずし sushi from sappa
Speciality of Okayama.
has many little bones and is not well liked in the Kanto area.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



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Things found on the way


Tsunashi-zushi つなし寿司　
is made from salted tsunashi (konoshiro fish) in the central and southern parts of Okayama Prefecture. It comes as sugata-zushi in the form, nigiri-zushi on a handful of sushi rice and as maki-zushi with a nori seaweed wrapper.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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HAIKU

Gabi Greve, in memory of Matsuo Basho


ママカリや隣は何を食う人ぞ
mamakari ya tonari wa nani o kuu hito zo

Oh Mamakari !
and I wonder what is my neighbour
eating tonight?



秋深き 隣は何を する人ぞ
aki fukaki tonari wa nani o suru hito zo

autumn deepens
and I wonder,
what is my neighbour doing?

Matsuo Basho, (26th day, Ninth Month, 1694)
WKD : Autumn deepens


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ままかりの舟出る瀬戸の水澄めり
mamakari no fune deru Seto no mizu sumeri

the clear waters
of the Seto Inland sea
when the mamakari fishing boat leaves

Endo Kazuyoshi, 2007


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ままかりの鮨奢らるゝ初デート
mamakari no sushi ogoraruru hatsu deeto

I am invited
for mamakari sushi ...
first date

Yonemoto Hitomi 米元ひとみ (1955-)


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WASHOKU : Regional dishes from Okayama


***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes

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