today we are going to discover more about meiji period
in one of tokyo's oldest sukiyaki restaurants called "Imaasa"
"Imaasa" opened in year 1880 just couple of years after the emperor meiji had his first bite of beef
in the same year the railway opened near shiodome where the restaurant is located
while the exterior has changed significantly
inside you can feel the old japan atmosphere
dining halls have tatami floorings
and ”horigotatsu”, a table that is low to the ground and has a recessed floor beneath
what exactly caused a "Sukiyaki" boom in Japan?
Meiji era was a crucial turning point in japanese history
bringing about the end of japan's feudal hierarchy
that was replaced by a modern nation state
japan ended its 200year long seclusion and systematically introduced western culture
and blended it with a japanese one
this was called "WAYO-SECCHU"
new culture that resulted from mixing the traditional japan with the new western trends
naturally japanese cuisine experienced some changes too and the new ingredient was introduced
beef
before the meiji era beef had not been consumed for over a thousand years in japan
one of the main reasons why beef was not considered clean to eat ,
was the strong influence of Buddhism
however the fact that beef was one of the key components of the western cuisine,
urged the emperor to add it to his daily diet
which then encouraged the other supporters to start eating beef as well
it was quite difficult to find the same ingredients and learn the western cooking methods of beef
by using the "Wayo-Secchu" concept
this unfamiliar western ingredient was combined with the japanese style of cooking
and beef hotpot, "Gyunabe" was created picture: Robun Kanagaki"Aguranabe"
restaurant "Imaasa" still follows the cooking method that started in the meiji era
and has been passed down from generation to generation
thin beef slices are cooked with japanese onion in soy sauce
the reason why the meat is cut so thin
is because in meiji people simply wanted their beef to remind them of the flesh of a fish
because they were more used to it
because the beef is hot it is dipped in raw egg to prevent burning your tongue
restaurant uses top quality matsusaka beef
matsusaka beef has a high fat to meat ratio
making it really juicy and tender
it is however quite pricey
i'm gonna try tofu
it has been boiling there for some time now
this enoki just absorbs all the juices and they just explode in your mouth
finally shirataki noodles are used to collect all the remaining sauce
so that there are no leftovers at all
we just slide down immediately
nothing nothing
the owner and a fan of german culture akira-san
told us about his family restaurant and its history
Back then, the meat hαd α wild smell to it
so it was hard for the Japanese people to eat it
so many restaurants used miso base to cover it
but we bought high quality beef directly
which enabled us to make soy sauce based hot pot
so the base recipe hasn't change since then
What about the future of Imaasa
that's α difficult question
We're barely surviving
And I have 2 daughters so...
I hope they will take over the business but...I don't know
Now with pandemic, the number of guests are low
Even when this is over, we don't know what will happen
I'll try to continue as much as possible,
and hopefully for the next 100 or 200 years, we can continue
Last but not least, a short message from Akira-san
We are a restaurant with 141 years of history
We still keep the same style from back then
In the special rooms you can sit and stretch your legs
and enjoy the old Gyu-nabe style Sukiyaki
Please come and visit
now you may wonder how much the entire course was
one set of top quality beef in this famous restaurant cost 14 000 yen per person
my meal budget for the rest of the month has been significantly reduced for sure
but hey it is not every day you get to eat at a major restaurant
would you try
you