[Yamakujira]
Snow season has arrived. Is it snowing in your town? This ukiyo-e print, “Bikuni Bridge in Snow,” from Utagawa Hiroshige's iconic series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo,” depicts a snowy Ginza scene from 160 years ago. The location is near the intersection of Sotobori-dori and the Tokyo Expressway, not far from our Ginza showroom. The view looks from Yaesu 2-chome towards Ginza 1-chome. Before the expressway was built, the Kyobashi River flowed beneath this area. Bikuni Bridge was located where the Kyobashi River met the outer moat of Edo Castle. In the painting, the stone walls of Edo Castle can be seen in the distance on the right. What appears in the background along the outer moat road is likely the fire watchtower believed to have stood near the Sukiyabashi Gate (present-day Sukiyabashi Intersection). Looking even closer, you can spot a sign for a roasted sweet potato vendor reading “Maru-yaki 13-ri.” At the time, sweet potatoes harvested around Kawagoe were popular. Since the distance from Edo to Kawagoe was 13-ri, and playing on the phrase “better than chestnuts (kuri/9-ri) by 4-ri” (9-ri + 4-ri = 13-ri), “13-ri” came to signify sweet potatoes. But what truly stands out is the “Yamakujira” (mountain whale) sign, isn't it?
“Yamakujira” referred to boar meat or game meat in general. Shops handling the meat of four-legged animals were collectively called “momonjiya.” Boar meat served on a plate resembled a peony flower, hence it was called “botan” (peony). Deer meat was called “momiji” (maple leaf), and horse meat, whose color resembled cherry blossoms, was called “sakura” (cherry blossom). The most famous momonjiya was Koshuya in Kojimachi Hirakawacho. The sign in the painting likely belongs to Owariya, which served peony hotpot. Since eating game meat was officially prohibited at the time, merchants apparently passed it off as a type of whale to continue their trade.
Even today, you can savor botannabe at a restaurant called Momonjiya (Toyodaya) in Ryogoku. Established in 1718 (Kyōhō 3), it's a long-established shop now in its ninth generation at this location. Originally a herbal medicine shop dealing in Kampo remedies, wild boar served as a popular medicinal ingredient for treating cold sensitivity and fatigue recovery, leading to its transformation into a restaurant. This wild boar, sourced from regions like Tamba and Suzuka, becomes increasingly tender the longer it simmers. We enjoyed it as sukiyaki. The seasoned iron sukiyaki pot added a sense of richness, heightening the festive mood. While the word “boar” (猪) evoked a meaty image, the meat was incredibly tender and light, with no gamey taste, making it easy for even women to enjoy. This time it was sukiyaki, but I hear in Kyoto, and elsewhere, they also serve botan nabe (boar and vegetable hotpot) using white miso or the restaurant's own special broth. I definitely want to try that next time.
Still, this Edo-period food culture of calling something forbidden “yamakujira” and then everyone happily eating it together... is it sophisticated? Or just lax? It feels like wordplay, making me want to peek deeper into the Edo world that continues into the modern era.
Kiya's Sukiyaki Pot
https://www.shokunin.com/en/kiya/sukiyaki.html
Ginza Showroom
https://www.shokunin.com/en/showroom/ginza.html
Momonjiya
https://momonjya.gorp.jp/
References
https://colbase.nich.go.jp/collection_items/tnm/A-10569-7405 (ColBase “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Bikuni Bridge in Snow”)
https://www.kabuki-za.co.jp/syoku/2/no170.html
https://cleanup.jp/life/edo/68.shtml#:~:text=野猪肉を「山くじら」「,「さくら」と呼んだ%E3%80%82
https://earlybird.life/edotokyo-028
https://tokuhain.chuo-kanko.or.jp/detail.php?id=3217
