Misleading facts about Kansai's light flavor

Although Japanese food is now prevalent around the world, it is still considered exceptional because of its manner of preparation. Fish and vegetables are the main ingredients, and only minimal amounts of oil and spice are used. Although the origin of "Japanese Cuisine" dates back to Muromachi period (1338-1573), until the modern-day food distribution system was established, regional cooking developed using the staple products particular to that region. In cities such as Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo, where there was a concentration of population, power, and wealth, dishes have surpass what was known as "regional flavor" and has established themselves as part of Japan's universal cuisine. There are two predominant flavors in Japanese cuisine, the kamigata flavor (Kansai area) and the Edo flavor (Tokyo area). Each flavor has its partisans.

Kamigata flavor is always correlated with "light flavor." However, the term light-flavor is misleading, since it is associated with "flavor missing something" using Kansai's light shoyu (soy sauce) . Kamigata developed all types of delicacies ranging from kyutei ryori (dishes served at Imperial palace) to shojin ryori, (Buddhist vegetarian dishes) to kaiseki ryori, (refined style of cooking originating in the art of tea ceremony). So one can imagine that kamigata is not truly light in flavor. In fact, the "light" shoyu has a higher sodium content than "dark" shoyu, so it is better characterized by its light color to bring out the best coloration of its ingredients.

What is called delicate, or refined flavor is not only difficult to comprehend, such delicate dishes are seldom enough for those working at jobs requiring lots of stamina. As from my own personal experience, as a Kanto (Tokyo area) native coming to Kansai as a student, I never understood the delicate taste behind the Kyoto food and always felt that I needed something more. As years passed and my stay in Kansai got longer, I began to appreciate more as I was doing less manual labor.

Edo's soba versus Osaka's udon

If Kyoto and Osaka was the city of kuge (court nobles) and merchants, Edo was the city of samurai and artisans. As they performed manual labor, people in Edo preferred a strong, distinct flavor, easily recognized by all, opposed to the vague, uncertain taste of kamigata that needed to be sought out by one's tongue. It was only a matter of time that the shoyu from the West became darker/stronger in the East, thus began the long debate between kamigata vs Edo flavor.

The most common controversy to date is the difference in flavor between Kansai's udon and Kanto's soba. As most soba came from impoverished lands such as Shinshu, it was necessary to render it more palatable, resulting in the development of soba culture. Savory soba broth made from Kanto's dark shoyu, with just enough dried bonito to bring out the sharp saltiness, allows one to enjoy the taste of soba when the noodles are dipped in the broth. One really knows how to eat the soba when they know not to soak the soba in the broth.

The way to enjoy udon is completely opposite to that of the soba of Edo. The broth made from kombu (kelp) is put together with light flavored shoyu, and not only is the udon dipped in the broth, but the broth is also eaten with the noodles. The broth from kombu has a mild or "mattari" taste, as Kansai people say - in other words, it may taste a little bit out of focus, but it suits those Kansai people who drink all the broth. For them, the broth in Kanto, which cannot be finished, is not a true broth.

In 1856, Kusumi Suketoshi, a magistrate from Edo, wrote in an essay "Naniwa-no-kaze," (Wind/Scenes from Osaka - Naniwa is an old term meaning Osaka) that the worst food in Osaka by far was soba, which was not edible for those from Edo. He also wrote in the same essay that he had a great liking for soba, and did not prefer udon. Consequently, since the udon in Osaka was far better than those served in Edo, he ate udon instead of soba. The reports stated that food in Edo was, for the most part better than the food in Osaka, yet the taste of udon seemed particularly good to Kusumi.

As for the kombu used to make broth for udon, it was originally picked in Tohoku or Hokkaido area, and brought to Kyoto via Japan Sea and Lake Biwa. In Kyoto the kombu was mainly consumed at temples to make the Shojin Ryori, or Buddhist vegetarian meals. By the middle of Edo period (1603-1867) the developments in navigation routes enabled goods to be shipped directly to and from Osaka. Osaka then began to ship goods to all of Japan and, with the development of preservation techniques, Osaka began making salted kombu and other kombu goods.