Surrounded by mountains, rivers, and oceans, Tokushima offers plenty of local cuisine made with fresh ingredients that have benefitted from the blessings of nature. The “yusanbako,” which serves such items in multi-tiered jubako (nest of boxes) is an especially prominent expression of Tokushuma food culture. The yusanbako are three-tiered lacquered wooden bento boxes, a tradition in Tokushima since the Edo period. The yusanbako is portable, and the boxes pull out like drawers, with the first tier filled with a main dish such as makizushi (rolled sushi), the second tier with side dishes such as nishime (vegetables and konnyaku simmered in soy sauce and water), and the third tier filled with confectioneries like yokan (a wagashi made of red bean paste, agar, and sugar).

To the east are the Tsurugi mountains, which were selected as part of the One Hundred Mountains of Japan, and to the west is Mt. Iya, where mountainous traditions and culture still remain prominently. The agricultural history here is particularly ancient, and is said to have begun with the shifting cultivation systems of the Jomon period. A wide variety of crops are grown here, including millet, Japanese millet, azuki beans, and soybeans, but perhaps the most commonly known crop is “soba” (buckwheat). Beause rice was relatively difficult to grow in this area, it was said that the culture of eating soba as a staple took hold. In fact, in the Iya region, local cuisine made with soba, such as “sobamai zosui” (Japanese rice soup made with soba), “Iya soba” (soba noodles), and “dekomawashi” (roasted skewers of soba dango (dumplings), tofu, and konnyaku (yam cake)), are popular and enjoyed often.

Yoshino River is a Class A river, one of the largest in the prefecture, that flows from the west to the east of Tokushima. The surrounding areas have formed into unique rock formations and wide, expansive plains filled with fertile soil, from which high quality crops are produced and harvested. An especially abundant crop is sugar cane. During the reign of Tokugawa Ienari, the eleventh shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, sugar cane was brought into Tokushima, which was used to make “Awa Wasanbon” (Awa refined Japanese sugar). And this refined sugar was used to make “Awa Uiro” (uiro is a traditional Japanese steamed cake made of rice flour and sugar), which is counted among the three great uiros of Japan, along with “Nagoya Uiro” and “Yamaguchi Uiro.” The appeal of Awa Wasanbon is in its gentle sweetness, and is widely used within and without the prefecture.

The city of Tokushima, located in the eastern region, is the prefectural capital. Although it is a central city with a population of approximately 250,000 people (Tokushima City official website), it is an area filled with nature, with various rivers, big and small, including the Yoshino River, flowing through it.
An item that is eaten often in this area is “chagome,” a sweet rice cooked with broad beans and zarame (granulated sugar). Although it used to be a dish served in samurai residences, after the new broad beans were gathered and used up, it became a dish popularized in farming households as a way of consuming the old broad beans. While it is generally known as a dish eaten in between breaks during farm work, depending on the region, it may be a delicacy served during New Year’s celebrations, and according to some customs, is used to make offerings at family Buddhist altars during memorial services.

Perhaps “Iya Soba,” which is made with 100% local soba (buckwheat) flour, can be termed the soul food of Iya. Because the noodles are easy to cut, and result in thick, short pieces, they are called “soba kiri.” “Hirara-yaki” is made by grilling fish and vegetables in miso on top of heated flat rocks, which are called “hirara,” which is how this dish came to be so named. In ancient times, this dish was commonly prepared outdoors. It can be said that this is an area in which much of the local cuisine prominently values its local ingredients in a manner unique to the region.

In the southern region of Tokushima, “sugata-zushi,” which is sushi with the fish served whole and intact (instead of sliced and filleted), prominent examples include “boze” (Japanese butterfish), as well as aji (horse mackerel) and konoshiro (gizzard shad). In the Tokushima dialect, boze is called “ibodai,” “uboze,” or “shizu,” and is a white meat fish, often grilled or simmered, or cut open and dried, and served nationwide. However, serving boze as sugata-zushi is said to be unique to Tokushima, as it is easier to acquire fresh boze here.

The southern mountainous region, surrounded by several mountain ranges, such as the Shikoku Mountains which pierce through Shikoku from east to west, Mt. Tsurugi, and the Kaifu mountain range, receive abundant amounts of rainfall, and produce bounties of the mountains’ blessings in cereals, vegetables, and fruits. The town of Naka, which consolidated the towns and villages of Wajiki, Aioicho, Kaminakacho, Kisawa, and Kito, has flourished through the production of high-quality “Kito Yuzu,” which particularly benefits from the area’s climate. “Kito Yuzu” is not only registered with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ Geographical Indication Protection System (GI), it is used frequently to prepare local cuisine in the area.
On the other hand, a dish that is well-known in these parts is “Hangoroshi.” It is called so because it is prepared by grinding cooked rice into a mash, but leaving about half of each rice grain intact, meaning that “only half of the rice is ground.” And thus the name. Within the prefecture, for a time it was sold under the name “kusamochi,” but when local students requested that it be called by its original name, the old name was restored. Such movements to maintain and succeed the history and culture that has taken root since ancient times continue to this day.