Gastronomy tourism in Tokyo: Edo’s legacy of innovation

The Tsukiji Market has its origins in Edo’s earliest days, when shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu invited fishermen to his new capital to supply his court with fresh seafood. The original market, which had a significant impact on Edo food culture, was located near Nihonbashi until it was destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. Tsukiji replaced it in 1935, growing into not just one of the largest fish markets in Japan, but one of the largest in the world. By making top quality seafood readily available, Tsukiji had a profound impact across Tokyo’s modern food culture, from high-end sushi restaurants to simple grilled fish eateries.

While the wholesale market relocated to Toyosu in 2018, you can still visit the Tsukiji Outer Market and the Tsukiji Uogashi complex to gain a sense of the enduring legacy of its merchants and restaurateurs. One particularly influential shop that maintains a presence at Tsukiji is the intermediate wholesaler Hiei, which opened in 1927 and focuses primarily on high-quality tuna. Third-generation owner Eiji Kusumoto explains that the most famous – and expensive – fish in the world was viewed very differently in the Edo period.

‘Prior to modern refrigeration, tuna was definitely considered a lower-grade fish,’ he says. ‘People in Edo did eat tuna, but because it was difficult to preserve and would spoil quickly, much of it ended up thrown onto fields as fertiliser or turned into lamp oil. Or – they fed it to cats.’ Tuna became more popular in the capital in the early 19th century with the invention of edomae sushi, made using slices of fresh fish marinated in soy sauce for preservation and flavour.

A much more dramatic rise would come in the 20th century, when bids at Tsukiji’s famous tuna auctions often rose upwards of 1 million USD for a single fish. With their delicious cuts of dark red tuna, Hiei has played a major role in feeding this increased demand over the past century. These days, you can visit their restaurant Tekka-ya Hiei on the second floor of Tsukiji Uogashi to sample their best – either as sashimi or on top of a bowl of rice.

Another Tsukiji Outer Market shop that was at the centre of a major shift in Tokyo’s culinary preferences is Suita Shoten. Edo residents consumed the edible seaweed known as konbu for centuries, but the making of konbu dashi stock only caught on in the 1920s. Fifth-generation proprietor Katsuyoshi Suita explains the role that Suita Shoten played. ‘Our family business originated in Osaka, where konbu dashi stock was the norm. In 1927, we set up a branch in Tokyo to provide konbu to businessmen from Osaka – and then it seemed to catch on from there.’

Clad in a traditional dark blue tradesman’s jacket adorned with his family crest, Suita says that these days he meets visitors from all over the world who come to Suita Shoten eager to learn more about where konbu comes from and how to cook using konbu dashi stock.

If you visit the shop, you will see huge sheets of dried konbu stacked up to the ceiling. These might be tough to fit in a suitcase, but there are plenty of smaller packages that you can purchase to take home and try your hand at cooking with konbu.

Note: Tsukiji Outer Market gets very crowded especially around the end of the year. To ensure a safe and comfortable visit, please refer to the market’s official website before heading over.

Tuna may have undergone the most radical turnaround imaginable since the Edo period (the roughly 260-year period that started in 1603), going from fertiliser to the finest sushi. Another fish popular at the time has also been subject to a change in status. The lowly loach – a small brown eel-like fish that lives in ponds and river eddies – was considered a delicacy in Edo, particularly by commoners who craved more protein in their diet.

One restaurant in Edo that developed a particularly tasty way to cook loaches was Komakata Dozeu in Asakusa. Founded in 1801, the restaurant is known for dojo nabe, its signature dish. Loaches are simmered in a hearty miso broth in a shallow iron hotpot on the customer’s table that bubbles atop hot charcoal. You can add as many chopped green onions as you like. When ready, loaches are consumed whole. Their bones are so tender you won’t even notice them, infusing the hot pot with a rich, deep flavour.

If you are feeling uncertain or perhaps even a little queasy, don’t worry. Many people in Japan these days have only heard of loaches because one features in a popular children’s song. But a visit to Komakata Dozeu is a unique experience. The exterior and interior retain a rustic aesthetic that evokes the restaurant’s past. And in case you’re still concerned, the loaches somehow turn out to be absolutely delicious, with the delicate texture and subtle flavour of the fish perfectly complemented by the sweet, savoury broth and light crunch of green onions.

Throughout much of the Edo period, Japan was largely closed off to the rest of the world under the isolationist policies of the Tokugawa shogunate, now often described using the word sakoku (‘locked’ or ‘closed’ country). Nonetheless, Japan was never completely isolated from outside influences, with new ideas and technologies trickling into the country through the Dutch trading post of Dejima in Nagasaki.

One of the innovations introduced to Japan via Dejima was cut glass, a technique that involves grinding and polishing glass objects to create elaborate textured patterns. By the 17th century, fine glassware was being produced in Nagasaki, from where the art form spread to Kyoto and Osaka, followed by Edo. In the 1830s, an artisan known as Kagaya Kyubei in the Nihonbashi area is said to have shaped sake bottles, cups and other beautiful items that gave birth to the style of glass cutting known as Edo Kiriko.

Edo Kiriko captivated the people of Edo with its splendour and novelty. The glassware appeared to sparkle when catching light, evoking a sense of wonder and luxury, while the intricate patterns engraved onto the surface of the glass, developed independently by artisans, appealed to Edo citizens’ love of style and sophistication.

Despite the subsequent introduction of mass-produced glassware into Japan from the West, Edo Kiriko has endured as a uniquely Japanese form of glass art. Patterns and techniques that developed in the Edo period and passed down from master to disciple continue to exert an influence on design, merging with new innovations to create fascinating blends of tradition and modernity. Edo Kiriko is hand-cut by master artisans, meaning that no two pieces are exactly alike. While some Edo Kiriko pieces are purely decorative, most are suitable for use in daily life or special occasions.

To experience the beauty of modern Edo Kiriko art, you can visit the gallery shop of Hanasyo in the Nihonbashi district. Founded in 1946, Hanasyo originally supplied glassware to large companies, evolving later into a producer of fine glass art under the founder’s son Ryuichi Kumakura. In 2016, his daughter Chisato and son Takayuki opened the Nihonbashi gallery-shop to give admirers of Edo Kiriko and prospective customers the chance to view their family’s beautiful creations up close. The shop also displays a large certificate from the Emperor of Japan honouring Kumakura’s contributions to preserving and promoting the traditional Japanese art of Edo Kiriko.

In 1596, much of the city was a construction site, as Tokugawa Ieyasu prepared to transform this minor castle town into the seat of power for his planned future shogunate. Huge numbers of labourers and craftsmen from around Japan began to pour into the new city. Realising that building castles was thirsty work, a man named Toshimaya Juemon opened a sake shop called Toshimaya, the first of its kind in Edo. Patrons could purchase sake to take home or sip right there in the shop, creating a type of standing bar now known as a kaku-uchi. Before long, Juemon was not only selling sake but making his own – namely, a type of sweet white rice liqueur known as shirozake.

Toshimaya’s first full-scale sake brewery was founded in the late nineteenth century. ‘My great-grandfather started the brewery, which was initially located in the Kansai region,’ explains Toshiyuki Yoshimura, the current president of the company. ‘Eventually it was moved to Higashimurayama in western Tokyo in the 1930s, where it has continued to this day. It makes me very proud that our sake is not only sold but brewed in Tokyo.’

Toshimaya’s signature sake brand is Kinkon, which means Golden Wedding Anniversary. This was intended as a congratulatory gesture to Emperor Meiji on his silver wedding anniversary in 1894, wishing him many more years of happiness. Kinkon is still the only sacred sake offered to deities at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine and Kanda Shrine.

To taste Kinkon sake and Toshimaya’s other award-winning beverages, you can stop by Toshimaya Sake Shop in Kanda Square. Opened in 2020, this shop is located in the same district as its predecessor four centuries ago. In the spirit of old Edo, it is also a kaku-uchi standing bar, where you can enjoy warm conversations over tasty snacks like melt-in-your-mouth succulent tuna sashimi or chewy dengaku (an Edo-period delicacy made of grilled tofu with miso on top) and cups of delicious sake.

To learn more about the culture and history of Edo and how to experience it in today’s Tokyo, see this website by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Bureau of Citizens, Culture and Sports.

For more on Tokyo’s rich food culture, visit Go Tokyo Gourmet, the official website promoting the city as a culinary destination.