Local Curry is Social Studies. | Geography Part 2: The Ocean Flows
Media that gives shape to the land
— Local Retort Curry —
Were you good at geography when you were a student?
I was terrible at it.
I only have memories of rote memorization.
“List the regions in order of scallop catch volume”
“Where is the port with the highest landing volume of XX in Japan?”
What kind of sea does that port face,
and why is that fish caught there?
What does it taste like?
Without imagining any of that,
I feel like I just desperately memorized
numbers, place names, and port names.
But now,
the map of “marine products” I memorized back then
is being quietly rewritten.
Squid, mackerel, saury, sardines.
Even the popular fish that were staples of the dining table
are no longer
things that are “cheap and taken for granted.”
Beyond just popular fish,
there was news that the fishing grounds for spiny lobster have moved north,
and that landings in former production areas
have decreased.
It is not just natural products;
farmed products that provide a stable supply of seafood
are no exception.
Hiroshima oysters, too,
suffered a major blow in 2025.
Meandering ocean currents.
Rising seawater temperatures.
Environmental changes.
Is the “highest landing volume in Japan”
that I memorized back then
still the same today?
In the first place,
are there any landings at all?
The ocean is changing.
And that change
is appearing not only in the fresh fish section of supermarkets,
but also on the shelves of local retort curry.
Price hikes for seafood curry.
Discontinuation of sales.
Changes in raw materials.
“Local retort curry” is a tool
that allows local specialties, which are caught in abundance,
to be consumed
outside of those regions.
And it is also a tool
that can spread fish that you would normally only be able to eat in that land
across the country.
Therefore,
if the quantity and price of specialties are not stable,
it is only natural that they will stop being made.
That is why,
I believe they are not just processed foods,
but media that record the “now” of that land.
This time,
it is about “moving geography” learned from local curry.
Following Geography Part 1: “Blessings of the Earth,”
this is Geography Part 2,
a story about how “the ocean is flowing.”
■ Fish that support dining tables nationwide
— The existence of popular fish
Squid, mackerel, saury, sardines.
Fish known as so-called “popular fish.”
They used to be cheap and taken for granted, but
in recent years, due to declining catches and
changes in the marine environment,
prices have continued to rise.
These fish are also familiar
as ingredients in seafood curry.
However, that “taken for granted” status
is slowly beginning to change.
That is precisely why
seafood curry, where you can taste various types of seafood,
is a precious existence.
One of them is
“Gotoken Seafood Curry”.
■ Regional everyday fish
— Taken for granted in some lands
The “everyday” fish
differs greatly depending on the region.
For example, swordfish.
It is a very familiar fish in the Tohoku region,
and especially in Kesennuma,
it is one of the everyday fish
that has been on the dining table for a long time.
However, in Western Japan,
it is not a very familiar fish.
Even in the same Japan,
the fish on the dining table differ from place to place.
That, too, is the fun of geography.
However, “everyday” is not a given.
Kesennuma City was one of the regions that suffered great damage
in the earthquake 15 years ago.
Even so,
they proceeded with reconstruction to regain their daily lives,
and are once again sending local curry
out into the world.
The one that turned the daily life of that land into curry is
“Kesennuma Swordfish Curry”.
■ Island fish, island flavors
— An ocean more rooted in the region
If you narrow the scope further,
there are also fish characteristic of each island.
One of them is the flying fish.
Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture
has a strong image as a resort tourist destination,
but in fact, it has the highest flying fish catch in Japan.
That said, for many people,
the impression of it as a fish to eat raw
might not be very strong.
Rather than the name flying fish,
perhaps it is more familiar to you
as “ago dashi” (flying fish stock).
Even with the same fish,
if the land changes, the name and how it is eaten change.
What turned that into a fish to eat
is local retort curry,
and it is the “Yakushima Fish Curry”.
■ The resource of natural products
— The blessings of the sea are not stable
Sarufutsu Village in Hokkaido is
a region known for having the highest catch of natural scallops in Japan.
However, as long as it is a natural resource,
the fishing season is limited,
and depending on the year,
it seems there are times when almost none are caught.
Behind the number “number one in Japan”
is the reality of the sea, which is greatly influenced by natural conditions.
What allows you to taste natural products
that are not taken for granted is
“
Sarufutsu Natural Scallop Curry”.
■ The ingenuity of aquaculture
— Marine technology that creates stability
To compensate for the instability of nature,
the technology known as aquaculture has developed.
Regarding the scallops mentioned earlier,
Hokkaido has the highest catch of natural ones,
but Aomori Prefecture has the highest production volume of farmed ones.
When it comes to aquaculture, it has always been oysters.
It seems there is a record that it started over 500 years ago.
Hiroshima Prefecture is famous for that oyster farming.
Many of the oysters distributed nationwide
are raised here.
However, due to the effects of rising seawater temperatures and other factors,
last year, aquaculture also
suffered a major blow.
The ocean cannot be completely controlled
by human effort alone.
Things that we were able to buy stably as a matter of course
thanks to the ingenuity of our predecessors
are no longer a matter of course.
However, technology should also continue to evolve.
Hoping that we can eat it again next year,
while thinking of the local area,
the one I want to savor slowly is
“
Hiroshima Prefecture Oyster Curry
”.
■ And, the fish that disappear
— A changing sea, a changing industry
Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture
was a port once known for its mackerel landings.
There was also a local mackerel curry
that used fatty mackerel,
but due to the effects of changes in ocean currents, landings decreased.
The company that made that curry
has, unfortunately, already disappeared.
The “
Hachinohe Mackerel Curry” that once existedis no longer made.
The ocean changes.
And that change
appears on the dining table and in the industry.
■ Local curry is social studies.
The number one figure in Japan.
Fishing grounds created by ocean currents.
How fish are eaten differs by region.
And, the sea that continues to change quietly.
Local retort curry
teaches us “geography.”
Geography to be savored, not memorized.
If the flow of the ocean changes,
the dining table,
and the industry,
will also change little by little.
Local curry quietly records even those changes.
A tool that combines ingredients and stories
to “edit” the value of the land.
That is “local retort curry.”
That is why I
think local curry is social studies.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
This time, instead of the usual tasting review,
I delivered it as a special article.
“
Local Curry is Social Studies.”▶︎ Click here for the series
Geography Part 1: Blessings of the Earth
Geography Part 2: The Ocean Flows
Geography Part 3: Beef also has the taste of the land
Geography Part 4: Pork and Chicken are the daily life of the land▶︎ Please also check out the detailed reviews of each product.
Gotoken Seafood Curry
Kesennuma Swordfish Curry
Yakushima Fish Curry
Sarufutsu Natural Scallop Curry
Hiroshima Prefecture Oyster Curry
Aomori Mackerel Curry [Discontinued]
【Next time is here】
Yamagata Beef Shredded Meat Beef Curry (Spicy)
A luxurious beef curry where the umami of Yamagata beef melts.
It is not the same as the mild version
introduced in 023, even if it seems like it is.
Thank you for reading 🙌✨
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