Koto Ward

rice, clams, carrots, burdock root, fried tofu, dried shiitake mushrooms

Fukagawa-meshi" is said to have been originally made by quickly boiling leeks and raw clams in miso and pouring the broth over rice. Today, there are two types of "Fukagawa-meshi": bukkake and takikomi. There is also "Fukagawa nabe" which is not served over rice.
In the Edo period, there were many mud flats in what is now Tokyo Bay, which were a treasure house of shellfish. A part of the Oyokogawa River that runs south of the Eitai and Saga areas in Koto-ku was called Fukagawa-ura, and when the tide ebbed, a sandbar spread out and was famous as a fishing town where clams, clams, and green clams could be caught in abundance. Until the early Showa period (1926-1989), there were many food stalls selling Fukagawa-meshi in Asakusa, and the dish was well known and eaten at home. Since the Edo period (1603-1867), only the meat from the shell, called "nukimi," had been sold, giving rise to "takikomi-gohan" (cooked rice with nukimi), and "shirukake-meshi" (rice with hot soup poured over it to keep it warm) became an established Edo way of eating rice.
Due to the pollution of the water and the progress of land reclamation, the area lost its fishing grounds around Fukagawa due to the abandonment of fishing rights in the 1950s, but there are still tidal flats such as Sanbanze in the Chiba area where shellfish can be caught. In Fukagawa, the opening of the Basho Memorial Museum and the Fukagawa Edo Museum has brought tourists to the area, and the efforts of restaurants to revive the once beloved Fukagawa-meshi have brought it back to this area.
The umami of fresh raw clams and coarsely chopped green onions is combined with miso, and this extract soaks into the rice, filling the mouth with an indescribable flavor, a traditional Edo food that still remains today.

Once a popular taste for the common people all year round, it is now generally eaten at restaurants.

Drain the washed rice in a colander. Boil peeled clams, sprinkle with sake, stir-fry with carrots, deep-fried tofu, dried shiitake mushrooms, and burdock root in oil, season, and separate the ingredients from the cooking liquid. Cook rice in a mixture of the broth, a pinch of salt, and water, and when cooked, add the ingredients to the rice and mash it well.

In 1981, when the Fukagawa Edo Shiryokan (Fukagawa Edo Museum), which reproduced the townscape and lifestyle of Fukagawa in the Edo period, became a popular tourist attraction, the predecessors of the "Fukagawa Inn" revived Fukagawa-meshi as a local dish in an effort to revive Fukagawa's food culture. Since then, the offering of Fukagawa-meshi has taken root in various restaurants in Fukagawa. The "Fukagawa-meshi Promotion Council," headed by Tetsu Akagawa, director of Fukagawa-juku, currently has 11 member restaurants, and continues to promote the appeal of Fukagawa-meshi. It is carried by former fishermen and retains its spirit. In addition, takikomi is sold as "Fukagawa-meshi" at department stores, Tokyo Station, Shinagawa Station, Yokohama Station, and other stations.