October 2022

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[Stepping Stones Along the Kamo River]

Turtle stepping stones in the Kamo River Delta, a typical Kamo River scene. If you have taken a walk around the area, you have probably crossed them at least once. Stepping stones are placed at several locations along the river, and their designs vary.

The most upstream stepping stone currently available is located downstream of the Kitayama Ohashi Bridge on the Kamo River. These stepping stones are made up of a series of small triangles with plates of carp, herons, and other Kamo River creatures attached to the triangles. There is also a slightly larger diamond-shaped stepping stone, and visitors can wait on this block when passing each other. Next to it to the north is a stepping stone located downstream of the Takano Bridge on the Takano River. Turtles and larger stepping stones are placed here.

Next are the stepping stones in the Kamo River delta, introduced in the first section. They are placed across the two rivers just before the confluence of the Takano and Kamo Rivers. Here, stepping stones of turtles and staggered birds are placed, and the area is particularly crowded with people. Further south, stepping stones can also be seen upstream of the Kojin and Nijo Ohashi bridges, with a turtle on the Kojin and a plover and boat stepping stones on the Nijo.

These stepping stones are concrete blocks placed on top of a strip of work to maintain a constant height of the riverbed. They were installed about 30 years ago as part of river environment improvement, and their unique shapes were created not only for functional purposes such as stabilizing the riverbed, but also to allow people to become familiar with the water. They also played an important role as a means of crossing the river and have become an indispensable feature of the Kamo River.

The Kamo River has long been a special place for the people of Kyoto, and while it has undergone gradual changes over time, it has become a popular place for recreation and relaxation for many people.

Kamo River Delta
https://goo.gl/maps/de3qz52Yfpab5rct7
Sanjo Showroom
https://www.shokunin.com/en/showroom/sanjo.html
Imadegawa Showroom
https://www.shokunin.com/en/showroom/imadegawa.html

Reference
https://www.pref.kyoto.jp/kyotodoboku/1345506984918.html

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[Foods That Spread from the Americas]

Did you know that many of the foods essential to today's cuisine were brought from the Americas during the Age of Exploration? Typical examples include potatoes, chili peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, squash, and cacao.

Potatoes:
It grows wild in the highlands of the central Andes, and it took a long time for the Andean people to transform it from a bitter and toxic original to a cultivated species. It grew well in cold climates and had a high yield, making it an important agricultural crop in the Americas, and it was exported to European countries during the Age of Exploration and Discovery. However, they were not immediately accepted by the Europeans of the time, and were shunned for a long time. It was the Kingdom of Prussia, devastated by the Thirty Years' War, that led to the spread of the potato in Europe. The loss of farmland and frequent famines led King Frederick II to issue an imperial decree encouraging the cultivation of potatoes. The people shunned potatoes, but Frederick II took the initiative and ate them every day, and even sent his army to guard the potato fields to attract the public's interest. This policy paid off, playing a major role in improving the food situation and becoming an indispensable ingredient in German cuisine.

Tomatoes:
Like the potato, the tomato is native to the central Andes. When it was brought to Europe, its bright red color led many to believe it was poisonous, and it was cultivated for ornamental purposes. However, some poor people in famine-stricken Italy began to think of using them for food, and after 200 years of development, they were widely used as a food. Especially in Naples at the end of the 18th century, tomatoes were combined with pasta and later became a common ingredient in pasta and pizza. Tomatoes are now such an indispensable ingredient that it is hard to imagine Italian cuisine without them.

Chili peppers:
Native to the Andes Mountains and the Aztec plateau, it has long been used in the Americas as a seasoning when eating potatoes and corn. After becoming a cultivated species in the high Andes around 8,000 B.C., it was divided into various varieties such as habanero, hawkweed, paprika, bell bell pepper, and shishito pepper. During the Age of Discovery, it was brought to Europe by the Spanish as a spice to replace the overpriced pepper, and cultivation began in Spain, but in other European countries, it was believed to be poisonous like the tomato and remained an ornamental plant. In Asia, on the other hand, it was accepted at an early stage and developed into curry in India, Szechuan cuisine in China, and kimchi in Korea.

It can be seen that even a single vegetable is closely related to various aspects of history. As a result, many food cultures representing each country have been born, and they color the tables of the world.

*Photographs show potato dishes eaten in the terraced fields of Machu Picchu (Andenes), Peru, and Argentina.

Potato galette
https://en.shokunin.com/archives/47175585.html
Grated tomato somen noodles
https://en.shokunin.com/archives/46346593.html

References
http://www.y-history.net/appendix/wh0204-002_4.html
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/フリードリヒ2世_(King of Prussia)#Food Policy
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/トマト#歴史
https://www.chosyu-journal.jp/review/7112
https://www.togarashi.co.jp/blog/2017/08/13/history/

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[The Long-Established Ryotei in Wakamatsu, Kinnabe]

Kinnabe is a ryotei (Japanese-style restaurant) that opened in 1895. It was established near Kokura Port in Kokurakita-ku at the beginning of the Meiji era as Kyushu's first beef hot pot restaurant, and later moved to Wakamatsu to become a ryotei.

The main building with massive black plaster and the front gate made of logs, both registered as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan, were built between the end of the Meiji period and the beginning of the Taisho period to convey the prosperity of Wakamatsu at the time. Each room is decorated in a different shoin-style, a mixture of Japanese and Western design that reflects the times. The bat motif of the windows and the red walls of the rooms are said to express the glamour of a ryotei and the sensuality of a place of entertainment. In the past, the theater was located next door to the ryotei and was the center of entertainment in Wakamatsu, serving all three elements of theater, catering, and ryotei.

More than a hundred years after its establishment, the restaurant's specialty is still the same: beef hot pot. This dish consists of cubes of beef and vegetables simmered in a hatcho miso broth. This dish was born from the only way to preserve beef in the days when refrigerators did not exist, which was to marinate it in miso. It is served in an ornate golden pot, which is also the name of the restaurant Kinnabe. It is also famous as a dish loved by great writers of the Meiji era, such as Ashihei Hino, an Akutagawa Prize-winning author from Wakamatsu.

Today, Imari beef sirloin is used, and a kimono-clad waitress in a frilly apron cooks and serves the pot. You can enjoy the taste and atmosphere of a civilized bloom in a quaint building that has remained unchanged from that time. It is often chosen as a meal for a Hare-no Hi (a special occasion) because of its luxurious atmosphere.

It is an 8-minute walk from the Wakamatsu Showroom to Ryotei Kinnabe. Why not visit there together with the buildings on the south coast of Wakamatsu where the showroom is located? You will feel the history of Wakamatsu.

Ryotei Kinnabe
https://kinnabe.com/
Wakamatsu Showroom
https://www.shokunin.com/en/showroom/wakamatsu.html

References
https://www.city.kitakyushu.lg.jp/shimin/02100274.html
https://100nen.info/kinnabe/