John Daub: So here we are in Kanazawa 金沢
This is the perfect city to show you what I have in front of me today.
Kanazawa is a very traditionally-cultural Japanese city,
and we're going to be eating food from over four hundred years ago!
Not just any food either! This is the food of the DAIMYO.
Announcer: "Irasshaimase!" (Welcome!)
Peter von Gomm: ONLY in JAPAN.
John Daub: Kanazawa is a city along the Sea of Japan,
just two and a half hours away by Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo.
Famous as a cultural hub with a strong connection to the country's long history.
At the Nomura Clan Samurai House, you can try Matcha,
with a history going back over seven hundred years.
"Chado", or the tea ceremony in Kanazawa, was a very important skill accomplishment
for "bushi" or samurai.
Having a perfect cup of tea, in a perfect cup, is like drinking the city's history.
It's easy to feel a connection to history and nature in Kanazawa.
This shop sells a special traditional food,
with a history going back to the Edo period.
This is "Kabura-zushi".
It's a very famous dish in Kanazawa. It's "buri", or yellowtail amberjack fish,
sandwiched between two pieces of "kabura", Japanese white turnip,
fermented in Koji rice malt.
There were no refrigerators in the Edo period, so preserving food in this way was
popular, and the ingredients a luxury.
It was the food of the rich, and a desired gift to receive.
Thankfully, it's a little more affordable these days, so we gave it a try.
You can hear that pickled turnip crunch.
This is Masakazu Shijimaya, who helps run the family business.
Masakazu Shijimaya: I've heard that the origin of "kabura-zushi"
is in the Edo era. We and our ancestors eat "kabura-zushi" in special occasions,
like celebrations, or new year, and wedding, so there is a custom to eat
"kabura-zushi", in special occasions right now. We salt and mature the yellowtail
fish about six months to one year, so it takes a long time to make "kabura-zushi".
John Daub: Tonight is a dinner at a restaurant established centuries ago, and
served Japanese feudal lords, known as Daimyo. Kanae and I wanted to go in style,
and that meant putting on Summer kimonos.
We strolled past Kanazawa Castle, and through one of Japan's top three most
beautiful gardens, "Kenroku-en", developed in the 1620s, by the Maeda clan, Daimyo of
the Kaga domain. This garden was for the residents of the castle,
but now open to all to enjoy.
the Kotoji Toro stone lantern, with its wide legs as a symbol of the garden,
the city, and Ishikawa prefecture.
We arrived at Otomoro, in time for our Daimyo meal.
As you may know, Japanese service is arguably the best in the world,
and this area has some of the top restaurants and traditional inns.
The level of service connected to the standards from centuries ago.
Otomoro is one of the city's most famous restaurants housing historical recipes.
The chefs who trained here often have success starting their own restaurants,
and they were here, hard at work, preparing the feast for tonight.
Ingredients for regal meals like this often came from very far away places,
the cost extremely high to transport quickly, in the Edo period.
We have never eaten this kind of cuisine before in this style.
What you have before us are three trays here, and this is how people ate over
four hundred years ago, during the Edo period, and it's so confusing to us,
we see this delicious food, but there's a culture to it!
John Daub: "Bunka ga desu ne?" (Culture, right?)
Kanae: Yes. John Daub: You can't just attack it,
There's sort of a pattern and I'm actually so afraid of maybe doing something wrong,
that it makes me really nervous to be eating-
(I'm really nervous!)
(What should I eat first here?)
Satoshi Otomo: (Actually, start with the first tray in front of you.)
(This one is the first.)
John Daub: This is Otomo-san, owner and keeper of those historical recipes.
Satoshi Otomo: (Go around to your right.)
John Daub: Start in the middle, and eat your way to your right.
Japanese cuisine can be quite intimidating with rules and manners, so it's always
good to ask a pro! With the boss super- vising, special dishes quickly appeared.
The appearance, shocking.
Presentation meant to turn heads.
Were we supposed to eat this?
In front of us was a bird, a pheasant, looking back at us!
It's the breast meat, marinated in a sauce and fried, a centuries-old recipe.
Still, it's hard to get over the fact that the bird is sitting, wings-spread,
as we feast on it. This kind of toughness is required to be a feudal lord in Japan,
and it comes with a little ginger.
Kanae: Hmm, it's not chicken.. it's not chicken, it's a little bit hard,
it's harder than chicken, but tastes John Daub: Taste like chicken?
Kanae: Taste like chicken? [laughs] John Daub: I don't know about that!
It seems like, it's a little bit tougher than chicken, it's not juicy in that way,
but it is in a very delicious sauce around it, and it's been fried. It's a meaty
taste, and it breaks apart in your mouth a little bit differently than chicken,
and that makes it pretty special to me. I've never had "kiji" (pheasant) before.
Otomoro had some surprises, like this fire sake ceremony.
A drink for an accomplished warrior, the presentation meant
to dazzle important guests. Fire rising in the streams of strong booze.
It's super strong and has a slight charred taste, beloved by the tough.
Here's another special dish: "Tai” 鯛 or red snapper,
but when you cut it open, it's been stuffed!
The secret of its preparation will not part the chef's lips.
These are luxury drinking snacks, for Daimyo, from the sea.
Among the three trays presented to us are these dishes
from the restaurant's historical cookbook.
Japanese sake was served in ceremonial saucers, beautiful lacquerware.
[grunting] Sometimes the food simply was hard to get to, locked in shells.
This shellfish simply wouldn't budge! Otomo-san showed me the secret:
Twist the meat out!
I had a long way to go before I can eat like a Daimyo.
So, what did Japanese eat centuries ago?
I asked Hasegawa Takanori, from Hokuriku University.
(What did the Japanese normally eat every day?)
Takanori Hasegawa: (What they ate was, in the morning,)
(a meal called Yuzuke, which was simply rice mixed with hot water.)
(Yuzuke would often be eaten with pickled vegetables like Takuan (daikon radish).)
(In the afternoon, it was common to eat Yakimeshi, which is fried leftover rice.)
(Again, this is eaten with vegetables like Gobo (burdock root).)
(Often, media sources tell us that people)
(from the Edo period only had two meals a day)
(but that is not entirely true.)
(In the 1750s, during the Horeki era,)
(the mass production of candles became possible.)
(Previously, rapeseed oil was used to light a flame)
(but this was seen as a waste so most people)
(simply relied on natural daylight, slept after sunset)
(so two meals a day was common.)
(After candles were accessible, people stayed up later)
(which established the custom of Yashoku, or "night-time meal".)
(This usually comprised of fish.)
(Ichiju Issai ("One soup, one side dish"))
(term for the foundation of a Japanese meal, which included a bowl of soup)
(and okazu (side dish) in addition to rice.)
(But if there were special occasions like weddings,)
(samurai were permitted Ichiju Sansai,)
(which included three side dishes instead of one.)
(This from the Osadame-gaki, the official rulebook for)
(Japanese judicial bureaucrats during the Edo period.)
(But, of course, people wanted to eat more.)
(So, what the samurai did was come together)
(for a meal and combine their daily food allowance.)
(All gathered in one house,)
(they would place a large portion of side dishes on a big plate.)
(If 3 samurai gathered, they could share 3 side dishes,)
(but if they were permitted 2 side dishes each for a special occasion, 3 people)
(could share the portion of 6 side dishes.)
(This way, samurai would find a way)
(to eat a little more than they could otherwise.)
John Daub: Soon, the entertainment arrived, and I had every intention to
party like it was... 1699.
This is a Geigi, Geisha or Geiko entertainment that includes
musical performances and dance.
[woman singing in Japanese]
Geiko still train and entertain in Kanazawa,
different than Kyoto in some ways. There remain many old "chaya", or tea houses
in the city, which are hundreds of years old.
[woman singing in Japanese]
[women singing in Japanese]
Geiko don't typically play the drums, not in Kyoto anyway,
as this practice is only in Kanazawa. Geiko train hard to reach a top status in
music, dance, song, and conversation. Being highly skilled in many things is a
very important historical trait for Kanazawa.
I had a long way to go.
Kanae, on the other hand, had a more natural talent.
But I was not going to be outdone.
I turned to my secret weapon in 17th century partying: Graceful dancing.
One of the Geiko dragged me back willingly to the dance floor for more entertainment.
At Daimyo banquets like this, meals can go on for a long time,
and each one was meant to be a lot of fun.
[woman singing in Japanese]
Let's speed it up.
[sped up singing in Japanese]
Playing games with Geiko is part of a fun evening and after several hours of eating,
drinking, laughing, singing, and dancing, the night was over.
[sped up speaking in Japanese]
We'd eaten a feast! "Gochisousama Deshita" ごちそうさまでした。
a very important word in Japanese cuisine at the end of a meal to give appreciation
for those who brought all the food together.
I asked Otomo-san about the food, recipes, and history.
Satoshi Otomo: (In my case, my family line has been)
(chefs in the Kaga domain for more than 250 years,)
(generation after generation, and today)
(we use the same recipes developed over the centuries for our meals.)
(We're proud to have so many of these traditional recipes)
(Enseki or traditional Japanese banquet was a sign of)
(immense hospitality, and an important way to bring)
(as well as strength to people through delicious food.)
(It was also an opportunity for people to socialize)
(and have fun in each other's company.)
(The more powerful a Daimyo became,)
(the more he was expected to invest his fortune in hosting banquets,)
(and offer this joyful opportunity for in- dividuals to interact and develop trust.)
(This was the foundation of a banquet.)
(We're committed to keeping the spirit of the banquet alive)
(through Kaiseki Ryori, albeit in a more simplified way.)
('Simplified' because in a banquet, traditionally, every dish)
(was presented to guests individually over the course of 6 to 8 hours.)
(Se we have these recipes, so many of them here!)
John Daub: (Incredible number? You have more recipes?)
Satoshi Otomo: (Yes.)
John Daub: (Then I will have to come back to try more!)
"Arigato Gozaimasu!" (Thank you very much!)
Kanae: [sighs] I ate so many things for the first time!
John Daub: It was an amazing meal, but for me it also reminded me of the importance
of food, with the invention of the refrigerator and preservatives,
where food lasts longer, we get it at the supermarket, we sometimes forget that
this stuff comes from all over the world sometimes, the value of it is...
very important to remember, and I love this word, "Gochisousama Deshita",
to give appreciation for everybody bringing this.
That's why that phrase is so important, and if you come to Japan, don't forget,
"Gochisousama Deshita", Kanazawa is a pretty special city,
loaded with a lot of history and culture, this place, Otomoro, it's worth a visit.
Kanazawa is a quick two and a half hours from Tokyo by Hokuriku Shinkansen,
and a trip here, to immerse yourself into the city's long history, food, and culture
is one you'll never forget. If you liked it, click that "Subscribe" button
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"Mata ne!" (See you later!)