Why didn't natto culture take root in Kansai? The history of food differences between East and West
In our previous article about Tokugawa Ieyasu and natto,
many people read it,
and I was reminded once again that 'natto is a topic people are really interested in.'
There are those who love it and eat it every day, and many who incorporate it into their meals for health reasons.
I think the affordable price, which makes it easy to keep eating, is also part of natto's appeal.
Of course, I also completely understand that there are people who find it a bit difficult to eat😊
Actually, I am from Kagawa Prefecture in Western Japan.
When I was a child, the only time I had the chance to eat natto was at school lunch, and it almost never appeared on our dinner table at home.
When I first tried it, my honest reaction was, 'What on earth is this...!' (laughs)
However, after I became an adult and a registered dietitian, my opportunities to eat natto increased naturally.
This time, I would like to talk about the differences in natto culture between Eastern and Western Japan, which I found very interesting when I looked into it out of curiosity.
There are differences in history, climate, and food culture that cannot be explained simply by likes and dislikes, and I was surprised to learn, 'I see, so that was the background behind it.'
Whether you like natto or find it a bit difficult, I hope you will read this with an open mind♪
Did climate differences play a big role?
In the past, it was not possible to control fermentation as precisely as we do now.
It is believed that the differences in climate between Eastern and Western Japan influenced natto production.
In Eastern Japan, especially in parts of the Kanto and Tohoku regions, natto has been made by taking advantage of the low-temperature environment in winter.
Therefore, it is said that when soybeans were wrapped in rice straw, it created an environment where natto bacteria could work slowly, making it easy to produce stringy natto.
On the other hand, Western Japan is relatively warm even in winter, and many areas have high humidity.
Due to these climate differences, it is thought that it was difficult to manage temperature and sanitary conditions precisely in the past, and because conditions for making natto varied by region, it was difficult to produce stringy natto consistently.
Of course, climate is not the only reason for the differences in natto culture.
It is also believed that the unique food culture of the Kansai region influenced how natto spread.
It is not that there was no natto culture; in Kyoto, salty natto like Daitokuji natto, which Tokugawa Ieyasu also loved, has been popular since ancient times.
In other words, for people in Kansai, 'natto' did not mean the stringy kind, but rather a salty fermented food.
It may have been a natural progression that when stringy natto from eastern Japan arrived, it was not easily accepted.
Differences in taste cultivated by dashi culture
A major factor was the difference in taste between the East and the West.
In the Kanto region, robust seasoning using dark soy sauce has long been popular.
On the other hand, in the Kansai region, gentle flavors that bring out the essence of the ingredients, centered on kombu dashi, have been preferred.
Within such a food culture, the unique aroma and stickiness of stringy natto may have felt a bit too strong for people in Kansai.
In fact, it is believed that in a food culture that values the aroma of dashi, the flavor of natto was difficult to reconcile with local preferences.
Of course, it is not the case that everyone in Kansai disliked natto.
However, it is possible that the differences in taste and food culture nurtured in each region influenced how stringy natto spread.
In Edo, natto sellers would walk through the streets in the morning, delivering freshly made natto.
On the other hand, this culture hardly existed in Kansai.
People didn't eat it because it wasn't sold.
It wasn't sold because people didn't eat it.
Such a cycle likely widened the differences between the East and the West.
Did fish culture also have an influence?
Another factor being considered is that the environment for obtaining ingredients differed between the East and the West.
At that time, logistics were not as developed as they are today.
In Eastern Japan, it was difficult to obtain fish consistently in some regions, so soybeans and legumes were utilized as a valuable source of protein.
Natto, which also has excellent shelf life, was likely one of the food items that supported the daily diet.
On the other hand, many regions in Western Japan face the sea, and during the Edo period, there was a logistics hub centered in Osaka, known as the "Kitchen of the Nation," where fish and various other food items were gathered.
There were relatively more opportunities to obtain protein from fish, so the background for natto spreading as a daily food may have been slightly different from that of Eastern Japan.
Soybean products in Eastern Japan and seafood in Western Japan likely supported their respective food cultures.
I believe that the environment of each region fostered these differences in food culture.
Actually, was stringy natto eaten in Kansai too?
Reading this far,
"So people in Kansai have disliked stringy natto since long ago."
is what you might think.
However, that is not necessarily the case.
It is said that in the early Edo period, "natto soup" using stringy natto was eaten in Kyoto and Osaka as well.
At that time, rather than putting natto on rice, it was finely chopped and dissolved into miso soup, acting as a "seasoning" to bring out the umami.
In an era when dashi made from kombu or bonito flakes was not as common as it is today, it is thought that natto soup was a dish that could easily add richness.
There are even stories that the tea master Sen no Rikyu served it at tea ceremonies, and it seems it was enjoyed as a winter delicacy.
winter delicacyIn other words, there was a time when natto was enjoyed as a, rather than a breakfast for the common people.
Even after that, because temperature control was difficult, natto remained awinter-only fooduntil the middle of the Edo period.
Then, from around the middle of the Edo period, technology advanced, and "natto sellers" began walking around selling it year-round, even in summer.
In Eastern Japan, the culture of eating natto on rice spread and became established as a daily food.
On the other hand, in Kansai, the winter natto culture did not become established as a daily food.
It is believed that stringy natto did not easily become a staple food in Kansai due to a combination of factors, including the climate and the fact that bonito and kelp dashi became widely popular in common households and restaurants from the mid-Edo period onwards.
Even with the same natto, the way it is eaten and its role have changed depending on the era and region.
In fact, it is said that stringy natto only became widely eaten in Kansai and Western Japan after the start of the Heisei era💡
So, how did natto, which was not popular for many years, spread to dining tables in Kansai?
The behind-the-scenes story of the manufacturers' development was also very interesting, so I would like to introduce it next time✨
Summary
As a registered dietitian, what I feel is that there is not just one 'healthy food,' but rather a background of making the most of ingredients available in that land.
Eastern Japan had natto, while Western Japan had a culture of fish and dashi.
It is not a question of which is correct, but rather the wisdom that each region has cultivated.
Nowadays, natto is naturally lined up in supermarkets in Kansai as well.
However, behind that normalcy lies a food culture that has been passed down for hundreds of years.
The natto you eat today is also one of the food cultures passed down through that long history.
If you taste it while reflecting on such a background, even your usual pack might look a little different😊
Read also
If you read this article and became interested in the story of 'Tokugawa Ieyasu and Natto,' please take a look at this as well🌸