The Major Debut of Saikyo-yaki

― The Bakumatsu-era emergence of a fish dish nurtured by Kyoto's white miso culture ―

I am fond of grilled fish marinated in Saikyo miso or sake lees, such as Spanish mackerel or sablefish. When I sprinkle #BudouSanshoShichimi or #YuzuShichimi over them, the depth of flavor responds to me along with the aroma.

Now, I would like to record what I looked up after becoming curious while eating grilled sablefish marinated in Saikyo miso yesterday.

“When was Saikyo-yaki born?”

When asked this, many people answer that it must be old because it is a traditional Kyoto dish.
However, when I started investigating, I encountered a surprising fact. In reality, the name “Saikyo-yaki” itself is not old.
“Saikyo”is a term that referred to Kyoto after the capital was moved to Tokyo, and “Saikyo Miso” is alsoa name that became established after the Meiji eraIn other words, if you trace the name of the dish Saikyo-yaki, its history stops at the Meiji era.

Then, what was it before that?


First, the essence of Saikyo-yaki is not the fish.It is the white miso. Kyoto’s white miso culture is old.

Linked to the Imperial Court and the nobility, sweet, low-salt white miso developed not for preservation, but as a miso for making dishes delicious. White miso was, so to speak, Kyoto culture itself.
On the other hand, Japanese people have eaten fish since ancient times.

Grilling fish.
Boiling fish.
Drying fish.
Fermenting fish.
Such techniques have existed since long ago.
Fish dishes appear in the Muromachi-period “Shijo-ryu Hocho-sho” (Shijo School Knife Manual), and both grilled and boiled dishes appear in the early Edo-period “Ryori Monogatari” (Tales of Cooking). There are also dishes that use miso.



However, strangely enough,“marinating fish in miso and letting it rest before grilling”
a dish close to today’s Saikyo-yaki does not easily show its face.
There is miso.
There is fish.
There is a culture of marinating.
Yet it cannot be found.


It is as if there is a blank space in history.However, is it really a blank space?

As I continued my investigation, I began to have a different idea.
Perhaps it did not fail to exist.

Perhaps it was simply not recorded.In the Heian period, there was miso, and a culture of fermenting seafood also existed.

Kyoto had a white miso culture.
It is hard to believe that the very idea of treating fish with miso was suddenly invented at the end of the Edo period.
It is just that no historical documents showing this remain.

Or perhaps it was too obvious to be written down.
That possibility is quite high.
Amidst all this, fish marinated in miso appears on the center stage of history.

Ansei 4 (1857).

The year before the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan.
It was for the
banquetfor the first US Consul General to Japan, Townsend Harris.On the menu,
the name “Miso-zuke Sawara” (Miso-marinated Spanish mackerel)can be seen.It was a dish served at a diplomatic venue.
In the same year, Ansei 4.

In the records of the Shinto ritual eve festival of the Mizuguchiya Seibei family, a prominent Kyoto draper,
“Kodai no Miso-zuke” (Miso-marinated small sea bream)appears.This, too, is not an everyday side dish.
It is a ceremonial meal for upper-class townspeople.
The fish is also different.

One is Spanish mackerel.
The other is small sea bream.
However, what they have in common is

the culinary form of marinating fish in miso and serving it.
Moreover, both are appearing at
formal seats.I see a hypothesis here.Grilled fish marinated in miso was not born as a preserved food, but perhaps it grew as a “Kyoto celebratory dish for eating fish more deliciously.”

When you think of it that way,
The white miso culture of the Imperial Court.
Ceremonial food of upper-class townspeople.

Miso for the Imperial Household.
And later

Saikyo Miso
.Everything begins to connect in a single line.Eventually, it becomes the Meiji era.Kyoto’s white miso is commercialized and



gains the name “Saikyo Miso.”

And grilled fish marinated in miso is bestowed with a new name,“Saikyo-yaki.”


As time goes on,it expands its targets beyond sea bream and Spanish mackerelto include sablefish and salmon,and while linking with the


gift-giving culture

of department stores, it spreads nationwide.The origin of Saikyo-yaki cannot yet be determined.It might be the Heian period.It might be the Muromachi period.It might be the Edo period.

However, one thing is certain.
The dish of marinating fish in miso and grilling it
was, at least by the end of the Edo period, appearing on the diplomatic stage and at the dining tables of upper-class Kyoto townspeople.
Somewhere before that, this dish must have been sung secretly.

In the kitchens of Kyoto.
In the kitchens of the Imperial Court.
Or perhaps at someone’s ceremonial meal.

But it was at the end of the Edo period that its voice was recorded in history.

Saikyo-yaki.
It is the major debut of a fish dish nurtured by Kyoto’s white miso culture.
End.

References

・Tomiko Shimazaki, “Life and Food of Kyoto Merchants: Using Annual Events as an Example,” Journal of Cookery Science of Japan, Vol. 42, No. 4, 2009
・Historiographical Institute, The University of Tokyo (ed.), “Dai Nippon Komonjo: Bakumatsu Gaikoku Kankei Monjo Vol. 5”
・“Koreikan Zakki”
・“Ryori Monogatari” (1643)
・“Shijo-ryu Hocho-sho” (Postscript dated 1489)
・Honda Miso Honten, “The History of Honda Miso”
・Saikyo Miso Co., Ltd., “The History of Saikyo Miso”
・Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, “Our Regional Cuisine: White Miso”
・Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, “Our Regional Cuisine: Pickling Culture”
・“Engishiki”
・“Ruiju Zayo Sho”

※ This manuscript is a consideration based on existing historical materials and does not determine the origin of “grilled fish marinated in miso” itself. Especially regarding the Heian and Muromachi periods, there is a large gap between the historical materials confirmed at this time and undiscovered materials. In this manuscript, that gap is treated not as “non-existence” but as a “possibility of being undetected.”