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Paper short abstract:

Food and dining business significantly developed in the city of Edo in the 19th century. It was greatly enhanced by the popularity of travel and excursions for pleasure. Popular woodblock prints featuring food and restaurants also contributed to the creation of a gourmet culture.

Paper long abstract:

In the 19th century, Japanese food culture significantly developed, solidifying the foundation of the current Japanese cuisine. Before the late 18th century, there were not many restaurants in Edo, however, a variety of types of restaurants appeared in the early 19th century. Many of them specialized in a specific cuisine, including sushi, soba noodles, and grilled eel.

The development of restaurants was greatly enhanced by the growing popularity of travel for pleasure. More and more people in Edo, including commoners, began taking trips to popular tourist destinations, such as Ise and Kyoto. When people were on a trip, they had opportunities to encounter types of foods that they didn’t ordinarily eat in their daily lives, creating a new food experience. As depicted in popular woodblock prints such as the 53 stations of Tōkaidō, local specialties called meibutsu attracted travelers and those kinds of food became well known to people in Edo. Such popular local cuisines had a considerable influence on the development of food culture and the restaurant business in Edo.

In addition, people in Edo often enjoyed outings to temples, shrines, and other popular places in the city of Edo to enjoy beautiful nature as well as entertainment such as theatre and exhibitions. Such places had a number of food shops, tea houses, and restaurants for visitors to enjoy shopping and dining. Running a restaurant in those areas of Edo was often a profitable venture. Those restaurants advertised their cuisine as special or authentic to compete with other restaurants offering similar kinds of food. Some restaurants featured their refined ingredients and other restaurants promoted their original and unique menu offerings. Restaurants used for banquets offered not only excellent cuisine, but also a sophisticated atmosphere to attract wealthy customers.

Variety types of printed materials featuring popular foods and trendy restaurants provided gourmet information in Edo, whetting the appetite of both local people and visitors. This paper discusses how the popularity of travel contributed to the development of a dining culture in Edo by analyzing gourmet guidebooks, board games and popular prints published in the 19th century.