Kanagawa ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

When talking about Kanagawa’s food culture, one thing we cannot omit is the presence of Yokohama Port. At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate era, after the arrival of Commodore Perry’s fleets had signaled the end of Japan’s long period of isolation, in 1859, Yokohama Port was opened as an international trade port. Ever since then, Yokohama has served as the gateway to foreign cultures, an early portal to receiving food cultures from around the world in Japan.

Foreign settlements were established in the area surrounding the port, with one district developing into Yokohama Chinatown. In addition, a large number of dishes that incorporated Western culture, such as sukiyaki, and seafood doria (Japanese seafood and rice gratin), originated from the Yokohama area.

A particularly significant turning point in Japanese food culture was the influx of a meat eating culture. As far back as the Asuka period, based on the reasoning of Buddhist teachings that killing was forbidden, Japan issued its first meat eating ban. While the passing of time led to some transitionary progress, eating meat was still publicly forbidden during the Edo period, so people did not partake of animal flesh. However, with the advent of the modernization policies of the Meiji era, the meat ban was lifted. “Sukiyaki,” a dish born in Yokohama, which involved the flavoring of beef––a favorite of Westerners––in a manner that better suited Japanese tastes, became massively popular, and indeed came to represent a new enlightened and civilized age.
Eventually, a large Chinatown developed in the foreign settlements area, and dishes like “sanmamen” and “shumai,” which had their roots in Chinese cuisine, became beloved as a form of soul food for the locals.

The Miura Peninsula is known for its splendid ocean views and tourist attractions, but it also has a rich natural environment and an intricate coastline. Thanks to its warm, temperate climate, it is an area with a thriving open-field culture and fishing industry.
The specialty of Misaki Port, located at the tip of the peninsula, has to be maguro (tuna). Because the topography of Misaki is ideal for a port, it saw early growth in its fishing industry, and by the early Showa era, boasted some of the largest tuna hauls in the nation. In general, the most-eaten portions of maguro are toro (fatty meat from the belly side), akami (red meat), and naka-ochi (meat scraped off the bones). But at restaurants in the Misaki Port area, diners can enjoy maguro dishes that utilize various other portions of the fish, such as “Maguro Kabuto-yaki” (grilled tuna head).

Into Sagami Bay, which expands to the south of the prefecture, flow rich nutrients from the Tanzawa mountain massif, surrounding mountain range, and forests. The specialty of the Shonan region, which faces Sagami Bay, when all is said and done, is of course, its seafood. Using primarily fixed netting and gill-net fishing techniques, the majority of fishing boats are small ships that get their hauls in one-day trips. Because the fishing grounds, port, and consumption areas are all proximate to each other, it is possible to deliver seafood to the dining table while still fresh after being caught.

Furthermore, the Kamakura region, located at the base of the Miura Peninsula, is the place where Minamoto no Yoritomo established the bakufu (first shogunate). For approximately 250 years, this ancient city flourished as the center of Japanese politics and culture. For this reason, it is populated with many cultural assets, historic landmarks, and Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples with long histories. “Kenchin-jiru” (a vegetable soup prepared with root vegetables and tofu), which has now become a national comfort food, has roots in the vegetarian cuisine prepared at Kenchoji, a Zen Buddhist temple located in Kamakura.

Meanwhile, the plains of Sagamino daichi (Sagamino plateau), where the cities of Sagamihara and Zama are located, have accumulated fallen volcanic ash, making them unsuitable for rice farming. So instead, with abundant crops of barely, wheat, and sweet potatoes, the area developed a thriving culture of foods made from flour. And so, from such a lifestyle, closely associated with how the farmers worked and lived, came “Sake Manju” (round steamed cakes) and “Ishigaki Dango” (dumplings), made with flour and sweet potatoes.

In this sprawling area at the foot of the mountains, an abundant variety of fruit crops can be harvested, including mandarin oranges, Shonan Gold (a hybrid Japanese citrus), and ume (plums). It seems that plum cultivation in Odawara had been going on since before the Sengoku period (the Warring States period), with umezuke (pickled ume which are not dried), a specialty in this city, making an appearance in the novel “Tokaidochu Hizakurige,” written during the Edo period. Juro ume, an original breed of ume from Odawara, is known for its thick, soft flesh, and is regarded as a top quality breed for making umeboshi (dried pickled ume).
In Odawara, which faces Sagami Bay, fresh fish are very often caught, and have long been used to make kamaboko (fish cake). During the Edo period, the city became a post town on the Tokaido highway, and “Odawara Kamaboko,” which was served to travelers, became a widespread hit among the visitors.
With abundant nature, and hot spring resorts like Hakone, and conveniently located within easy traveling distance of Tokyo, the area developed as a tourist destination, apparently a factor in this Ken-sei region specialty becoming known throughout the country.