The inflow of specialty products and the expansion of the culture of dining out led to the emergence of the four staples of modern Japanese cuisine: sushi, unagi (freshwater eel) grilled with a sweet kabayaki sauce, tempura (batter-coated, deep-fried vegetables and seafood), and soba (buckwheat noodles). Another factor that contributed to the birth of these foods was the wide spread of fermented seasonings, such as soy sauce, vinegar, and mirin (sweet rice wine for cooking).

The predecessor of sushi, for instance, is the so-called narezushi, a type of preserved food in which fish was fermented with salt and rice. In order to shorten the time necessary for fermentation, Edo people came up with the idea of adding vinegar, a fermented seasoning, to the rice. Placing slices of fresh raw fish on top of such vinegar rice was the beginning of sushi as we know it. Since there was no refrigerating technology in the Edo period, sushi chefs treated the fish with vinegar, pickled it in soy sauce, and so on, in order to preserve its freshness and taste. They also came up with ways to remove the unpleasant smell of the fish by using condiments such as wasabi and ginger.

Unagi has been used as food since ancient times, but the kabayaki method of preparation, in which the eel is dipped in a soy-and-mirin-based sweet sauce and grilled, dates back to the late Edo period. Before that, eels had just been skewered and grilled whole. With the kabayaki method, however, the preparation became quite an art—eels were butterflied, steamed once, dipped in the sweet sauce, and then grilled. The steaming helps melt away all excess fat and gives the meat a soft and plump texture.

Tempura, too, gained popularity among the common folk during the late Edo period, while soba noodles became a staple a bit earlier. They were most commonly served with a delicious broth made from kelp stock, soy sauce and mirin, and it is believed this broth contributed to their spread.

A man selling the delete first katsuo of the season. In that period, fishmongers often went from house to house to sell fish.
(Utagawa Kunisada, Unohana-zuki (“The Fourth Month in the Lunar Calendar”) (Property of Seikado Bunko Art Museum)

Part of the historical background for the birth and proliferation of these new types of foods was the thriving printing culture of the Edo period. Knowledge and information—which until then had been conveyed orally or through hand-written notes, or had otherwise been kept secret—could now be printed. In the early Edo period, practical culinary books were printed, recording in a systematic manner the knowledge and techniques for preparing these foods, thereby contributing to their popularity.

It was not just the Edokko (a collective name for people born and raised in Edo) who enjoyed the local gourmet cuisine. In 1824, Edo Kaimono Hitori Annai, a guidebook introducing popular shops and restaurants in Edo, was published in Osaka to help visitors from other parts of Japan to enjoy the Edo cuisine.

There is a memorable episode that illustrates well the passion for food of the people of Edo. By nature, Japanese people are eager to get an early taste of the first seasonal products, but in the late Edo period, the fever for katsuo (skipjack tuna), whose delicate flavor is associated with early summer, reached such proportions that its price skyrocketed, causing a social phenomenon that gave rise to the saying, “If it’s not expensive, then it’s not katsuo.” As a result, even people who did not have the income to afford such luxuries liked to show off and follow the trend of buying katsuo.

The gastronomic culture that blossomed during the Edo period, with commoners as the central driving force, extends through the ages to modern-day Tokyo, and remains just as vibrant and exciting, inspiring new creativity and ingenuity every day.

Harada Nobuo
Born in 1949. Professor at the Kokushikan University School of Asia 21. Specializes in Japanese cultural studies and the history of Japanese life and culture. Author of many books, such as Edo no ryori-shi (“History of Edo Cuisine”) and Rekishi no naka no kome to niku (“Rice and Meat in History”).