Official
Does Toyokuni Midai like Shiratama?
Hiroshige, Toyokuni "Tomori Rokuhanasen Shiyoka" National Diet Library Digital Collection
The hot weather continues. How's it going to be? Many people may be able to eat it if it is cold and throaty in summer batter. This time, we will talk about summer snacks from the Edo period that can be made at home.
The ukiyo-e above is a collaboration in which Hiroshige Utagawa draws the background flowers and Toyokuni the third generation (Kunisada Utagawa) depicts people. At that time, Hiroshige, Toyokuni third generation Toyokuni, including Kuniyoshi, Kuniyoshi Mushiya, Hiroshige Meisho (Toyokuni is a portrait, Kuniyoshi is a warrior painting, Hiroshige is a famous place), and he is a popular painter utilizing his strengths. Was. The competition between two of them is gorgeous, isn't it?
The flower in the background is "hydrangea". There are 5 other works because it is Rokuhanasen. It is "Toushihana", "Akikai Tang", "Iris", "Fuyo" and "Yuri". By the way, "Toushihana" is a morning glory. It's a beautiful name associated with Tanabata. All of them bloom from summer to autumn. Each picture depicts two people (actors) wearing yukata. I also have small items one by one. In this hydrangea, one of them is a stylish purple fan and the other has a white ball. Shiratama was a cold summer snack that cooled down during the Edo period.
Shiratama selling
Morita's Digital Collection
It is written about white ball sale in 30 years (18 years old) To sum up, "The cold bleached flour made by exposing rice flour is kneaded with water in hot water is called shiratama. I eat it with white sugar. Or put this in cold water. I also put it in soup powder. However, those sold on the street are sold in summer using cold water. In the past, only white ones were used, but now there are some that add red to make mottled balls. The price is the tub written as Shiratama in the middle of the illustration in "100 pieces 24 sentences" is the tub used when selling on the street.
It is also recorded as Shiratama Mizuuri in "Edofunai Hon Customs Traffic" (late Edo period). He said that he was selling while calling it "Hirahipakohiparahipakoi". At this time, there was also a fixed store selling shiratama, and it seems that she was sitting at the storefront and covered Yoshi's sun.
Sometimes it is hot soup powder, but shiratama seems to have been a cold summer snack.
Shiratama and Shiratama of the 3rd generation Toyokuni…
Toyokuni Utagawa, "Hyakunin Isshu Esho Tsuraki Harumichino" Tokyo Metropolitan Library Digital Archive https://archive.library.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/da/detail?tilcod=0000003-00010308
Here is also the white ball of Toyokuni Midai. The shape is the same as the shiratama selling tub in the previous article. It's a fine tub painted black. It looks better than the one. It may be like this when an actor dresses as a shiratama selling common people living in daily coins.
There is another ukiyo-e painting depicting Shiratama by Toyokuni Midai. Here you are. A woman standing on the left end is carrying a large plate with shiratama and perhaps a small container with sugar in the tray. This may be how to eat with the white sugar written in "Moritarube". Cool evening on the banks of the Sumida River while watching the Ryogoku Bridge with summer feasts such as fruits. It looks fun.
Three pictures depicting shiratama by Toyokuni 3rd generation were found. Maybe Toyokuni liked Shiratama?……It's my imagination.
Actual food
I tried to reproduce the shiratama of the Edo period. "I'm going to be a spot with red." Toyokuni 3rd generation is also a red and white ball. However, in Kuniyoshi Utagawa's "Famous Sake Soratama", there are not only red and white but also yellow Shiratama. I tried to make a white ball with spots of red and yellow. It was colored with food red this time, but did you use safflower and gardenia fruit in the Edo period?
By the way, Kuniyoshi's "Famous Sake Soratama" has a round corner and the lower body of the woman is unnaturally white. This is an ukiyo-e print to paste it on the bone of the fan and cut it out along the line to make it a fan. What was originally left as a fan instead of a fan for some reason was passed down to future generations. I think it was good to become a fan and send cool to the people of Edo, but if that was the case, it could not have been used up and we could not see it now. I'm glad you left it. At the top left of this picture, there is "Famous Sake Soratama". This is an advertising fan of sake called Shiratama. The picture of Shiratama would have been drawn after the sake brand Shiratama. Other "Famous Sakes" series include "Kenbishi", "Ichimonji" and "Miyadogawa".
Kuniyoshi Utagawa “Goldfish Zukushi, Tamayatamaya” Source: National Cultural Properties Organization Integrated Search System https://colbase.nich.go.jp/collection_items/tnm/A-10569-5478?locale=ja
When served in cold water, the white balls at red spots reminded me of the goldfish of Kuniyoshi Utagawa. It was said to be Kuniyoshi of warrior painting in Toyokuni, Hiroshige, and Kuniyoshi, but he leaves a lot of cute cats and goldfish paintings. The cute round shiratama swaying in the water resembles Kuniyoshi's goldfish. Perhaps people from the Edo period imitated goldfish. I think that I often eat shiratama anmitsu or shiratama floats on a fruit punch. Simple snack just floating in the water of the Edo period. Even if it was not sweet, it was delicious with a slight gentle sweetness of cold water and shiratama flour.
[References]
"Early Modern Artist (Ichi) (Morinami Bunko)" Iwanami
"Edo Prefectural Picture Book Customs Traffic" Blue Frog Selection Book
"Delicious Ukiyo-e Exhibition" catalog Mori Arts Center Gallery