Chuo-ku Tourism Association correspondent blog

Hello. This is a new correspondent, Hanes.
In no time, the first month of 2019, and Setsubun passed, and it was spring.
In the Hokuriku region, the first spring has blown quite early, and the footsteps of spring may have begun to be heard in Chuo-ku.

Over the years, senior correspondent Gimini the other day ☆I think that the number of people who are aware of twenty-four season old calendar that Mr. Cricket introduced is decreasing.
Did you know that about 18 days before the beginning of spring are also called "Doyo"?
I tend to think, "Eel's ox day is summer, so isn't it summer?"
In fact, it refers to the period that can be said to be the turning point of the season that goes around four times a year before spring, summer, fall, and winter.
During those periods, as you all know, there is a day of the ox, like eel, udon, and dried plums.
There is a custom of eating something with "U" to get nutrition, and to be careful about your physical condition.



Nevertheless, it is a food with a strong summer image on earth, the day of the Ox, and the food with "U".
The flu is just prevalent now
It also includes the meaning that if you are sick, you can get a little better.
This time, I would like to make the theme of eel from a different perspective than modern Japanese people.

Time is 1885...Three years after Japan's first electric light turned on in Ginza....
Later, Eliza R. Sidmore, an American woman known as a person who realized the row of cherry blossom trees in Washington, stepped on the Japanese soil.
(Click your name to go to the National Geographic site.)
There is a description of eel cuisine (pp. 129-130) in "Sidmore Japan Journey", which includes the experiences of visiting Chuo-ku, and it is written as follows.

"The luncheon with an elaborate shoulders that is not suitable for the lookout is an eel dish party. Japanese hosts will entertain foreign friends as well as fellow luncheons. Sir Edwin Arnold, a British poet, also praised the deliciousness of eel at the restaurant "Golden Koi". Such delicious eel dishes are also entertained at other teahouses. When you enter the restaurant, all guests are guided to the aquarium, check that eels are slapping in the clean water, and seriously instruct your favorite prey. It looks as uncertain as if it was a lottery, but the board-mae, who watches with a long kitchen knife in his hand, quickly understands the selection of the customer, grasps the sacrifices of the sacrifices, and heads up the kitchen [chopping board] I'm sorry. "

From here, the eel was feasted about 100 years ago, but you can see that it was more casual than it is now.
In the first place, "Unagi Meshi", the predecessor of Unadon, was born around the cultural period (1804-1818) by the ingenuity of Nakamuraza's Kinshu Okubo Imasuke.
It is said that when Onoya in Fukiya-cho sold it, it became a popular dish of Edo in an instant.

"The luncheon for eel dishes begins with eel soup [Kir-sucking], and black eel and white eel are alternately served, and you can order as much as you want. The eel is split flat, cut into short fragments, and baked over charcoal fire. The substitute called black eel is originally dark brown, but since it is soaked in soy sauce before it is baked, it becomes such a color, and white eels are baked without soy sauce. Snow-like rice and eat eel bowls are the best delicious foods offered to people. A large number of foreigners, especially English poets who recognize their true value, are willing to compliment this outstanding taste. At the teahouse on the banks of the river [Oguro-ya in Reigishijima, Kyobashi (center)-ku], while waiting for the eel cooking course, the delightful performances by magicians and Maiko will excite the hospitality of Japan as much as possible."



From here, you can see that liver sink has been served since then, and that eel was a popular dish for overseas people.
It is also mentioned in Oguroya on Reigishima Island, which senior correspondent CAM introduced earlier.
(It is said that Reigishi Island is commonly called "Konjac Island". It sounds delicious, but if you are worried about the origin, please see CAM's article.)
Unfortunately, this eel shop doesn't remain now, but at that time, hospitality to overseas people seemed to be wonderful.

It is said that in the early 19th century, the habit of eating eels became widespread on the day of the ox.
It seems that eel was delicious not only for Japanese but also for overseas people.
And now over time, eel is loved as a slightly luxurious food for us living in the 21st century.
So, as the title suggests, it can be said that eel crosses the times and borders.

In Chuo-ku, there is a long-established eel shop that has been around since the Edo period, like Nodaiwa, the fifth generation.
It's still early for summer soil use, but I guess it's a good idea to look for a specialty eel shop from now on.

[References]
Eliza R. Sidmore (author) / Katsuhisa Tonosaki (translation) "Sidmore Japan Journey" (Kodansha, 2002).

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