MEALS.
Rice—_Sake_—Wheat and barley—Soy
sauce—_Mirin_—Rice-cooking—Soap—Pickled vegetables—Meal
trays—Chopsticks—Breakfast—Clearing and washing—The kitchen—The
little hearth—Pots and pans—Other utensils—Boxes and
casks—Shelves—The sink and water-supply—The midday meal—The evening
meal—_Sake_-drinking.
Rice is the staple food of the Japanese; and no other food-stuff
stands so high in popular esteem, or has a tutelary deity of its
own. This rice-god has more shrines than any other deity, for he is
worshipped everywhere, in town and village, and often a small shrine,
no bigger than a hut, peeps amid a lonely cluster of trees surrounded
on all sides by rice-paddies, its latticed door covered from top to
bottom with the _ex-votos_ of the simple peasant folk. Under the
feudal government the incomes of the territorial lords and their
retainers were assessed, not in money, but in the quantity of rice
that was annually brought into their granaries; and rice naturally
became the standard for the valuation of all other commodities.
The rice so garnered was subsequently converted into currency by
exchange-brokers. Under the new regime, however, rice no longer holds
the same pre-eminent position, but it still rules to a great extent
the market for other goods. The fluctuations of its prices on the rice
exchanges are eagerly watched by the whole nation; and references to
the weather, especially in summer, invariably end in speculations as
to its effect on the rice-crop, and the people put up unmurmuringly
with the heavy solstitial rains because most rice-fields are paddies
to which a plentiful supply of water is essential. Japan, in fact, is
still an agricultural country, and the progress she has of late made
in her manufacturing industry is not yet great enough to shake off the
domination of agriculture, for no industrial problem agitates the
nation so much as the annual question whether the country can
produce its normal harvest of rice, which amounts to about two hundred
and twenty million bushels.
[Illustration: A SHRINE OF THE RICE-GOD.]
Rice, however, certainly deserves the solicitude the whole nation
feels for it; for it is not only the principal food-stuff, but it
is also the grain from which the national drink is made. _Sake_ is
produced by the fermentation of rice, and contains about fourteen
per cent of alcohol. Though foreign wines are now imported into the
country and beer is also brewed in large quantities, _sake_ is still
the principal alcoholic beverage in Japan; almost all other drinks
which were in use in the old times were either varieties of _sake_ or
contained it as their chief ingredient.
Among other cereals that are largely used are barley and wheat. The
former is now much in request for brewing beer; and as it is more
digestible than rice, a mixture of the two is eaten by many
families in Tokyo. Wheat is mostly used as flour; it enters into many
dishes as well as cakes. It is a popular favourite when it is made
into macaroni, though in this respect it is eclipsed by buckwheat.
But in point of utility the soy bean comes next to rice, for our soy
sauce which enters into almost all dishes is made from the bean,
wheat, and salt. So extensively is this sauce employed that table
salt is comparatively little needed. The bean is also the principal
ingredient in _miso_, which is a mixture of the soy bean, steamed
and pounded, with rice-yeast and salt. This _miso_ is largely used
in making soup; and soups into which it does not enter are usually
flavoured by boiling shavings of sun-dried bonito and straining them
off.
_Mirin_ is a sweet variety of spirit, made by straining a mixture of
_sake_, steamed rice, and a spirit distilled from _sake_ lees. It
is largely used in boiling fish and other food. Vinegar is made in
various ways from rice, barley, potato, or _sake_ lees.
The cooking of rice is a delicate process. It is first well washed
overnight by rinsing it again and again until the water is quite
clear, and emptied into a basket to strain. In the morning it is put
into a deep iron pot which rests on a round earthen hearth or range
by a flange around it; then, water is poured in, the actual amount
requiring nice adjustment so as not to make the rice too soft or too
hard, and next a thick wooden lid is put on. A few faggots are lit
under the pot; but as soon as the rice begins to spurt, the fire is
withdrawn, and the pot is allowed to cool slowly and equably; it is
next lifted off the hearth and set on a straw-stand. When the rice
has stood long enough to be of the same temperature and consistency
throughout, the lid is removed and the rice transferred into a
cylindrical wooden tub. Well-boiled rice is soft, but its grains have
a lustre and are distinct from one another so that any single grain
can be picked up with chopsticks. Excessive heat would have burnt the
parts nearest the sides of the pot, while sudden heat would have
produced rice of unequal consistency.
After the rice-pot is removed, another pot is put over the hearth for
making _miso_-soup; if the kitchen range is double-hearthed,
the remainder of the faggots lit for the rice is transferred to
the neighbouring hearth over which the soup-pot is hung before the
rice-pot is removed from the other. _Miso_-soup contains strips of
garden radish, edible seaweed (_alopteryx pinnatifida_), bean-curd,
egg-plant, or other vegetables according to the season. These two, the
rice and the soup, are all the cookery required in the morning. There
must of course be hot water for tea.
An invariable accompaniment at Japanese meals is the pickled
vegetables. The commonest of these is the garden radish which has been
pickled in a paste of powdered rice-bran and salt until it assumes a
rich golden hue. Greens are also treated in the same way until their
colour is dulled. But garden radishes, greens, small turnips, and
egg-plants are also sprinkled over with salt and pressed for a few
days. A few slices of these vegetables, after being thoroughly washed
to get rid of the bran or salt, are always served at a meal. Most
foreigners consider their smell nauseous; but to a Japanese a meal,
however rich or dainty, would appear incomplete without these
vegetables, pickled or salted. _Kōkō_ or _kōnomono_, which is the
common name for them, means “fragrant article,” and it is believed
by many foreigners that the name was given them on the _lucus a non
lucendo_ principle; but the Japanese has no such aversion to their
smell. The repugnance of strangers to these pickles is similar to the
attitude of most Japanese towards cheese, the taste for which would
require as much cultivation as that for _kōkō_ on the part of one to
whom both articles are foreign.
The breakfast is, then, very simple. Sometimes the family take their
meals together at a large low table which is set before them at each
repast; but often a small tray, about a foot square and standing six
inches or more high, is placed before each member. In the left corner
of the tray near the person before whom it is set, is a small china
bowl of rice, while on the right is a wooden bowl of _miso_-soup, A
tiny plate of pickled vegetables occupies the middle or the farther
left corner, while any extra plate would fill the remaining corner.
This plate also holds something very simple, such as plums preserved
in red perilla leaves, boiled kidney bean, pickled scallions, minute
fish or shrimps boiled down dry in soy sauce, a pat of baked
_miso_, or shavings of dried bonito boiled in a mixture of soy and
_mirin_.
[Illustration: A MEAL-TRAY.]
The chopsticks are laid between the rim of the tray and the bowls of
rice and soup. They vary in length, those for women being shorter than
those for men but longer than children’s; their length may, however,
be put at between eight and ten inches. Some are square in section,
while others are round; but most of them taper towards the tip which
is either rounded or pointed. The commonest kind is of cryptomeria
wood, others are of lacquered wood or of bone, and the best are of
ivory. Many of them are also tipped with German silver. Chopsticks may
appear at first hard to manage; but their manipulation is not really
difficult when one comes to see the way in which they should be
handled. They are held near the upper or thicker end in the right
hand. One chopstick is laid between the thumb and the forefinger and
on the first joint of the ring finger which is slightly bent, and
held in position by the basal phalanx of the thumb; this chopstick is
almost stationary. The other is laid near the third joint of the
forefinger and between the tips of that and the middle finger which
are kept together, and is held down by the tip of the thumb; it is,
in short, held somewhat like a pen, only the pressure of the thumb
is much lighter, for if it were heavy, the force put into it as the
chopstick is moved would relax the pressure on the other stick and
cause it to drop. The tip of the thumb serves, therefore, only as a
loose fulcrum for moving the stick with tips of the fore and middle
fingers, while the upper half resting on the last joint of the
forefinger is allowed free play. The most difficult part is the use of
the thumb; beginners press the stationary chopstick too hard and make
the tip of the thumb so stiff that the other chopstick cannot be
freely moved. It is quite easy, when one gets used to the thing, even
to move the stationary chopstick a little at the same time as the
other. The tips of the chopsticks must always meet. In the hand of
a skilled user a needle may be picked up with them; but it is quite
enough for ordinary purposes if we can pick a fish or take up a grain
of boiled rice.
[Illustration: HOW TO HOLD CHOPSTICKS.]
When the breakfast trays are brought, cups of tea are poured. The tea
drunk at meals is common tea, which as it consists of old leaves, may
be taken in any quantity without affecting the nerves. A handful of
the leaves is thrown into an earthen tea-pot and hot water poured into
it; and the pot is set over a fire to keep it hot. The infusion is
of a reddish-yellow hue and is almost tasteless. The cups used are
generally cylindrical, like mugs without the handles, and are assigned
one to each member of the family. The china rice-bowls are also
permanently given to the members. When the tea has been sipped, the
bowl of rice is taken up and brought near the mouth, and a small
quantity is separated with the chopsticks and eaten. In eating rice,
the chopsticks scoop it up and bring it to the mouth as it would take
too much time to pick it up grain by grain. Alternately with rice, the
soup is sipped, and the condiments are also picked a little at a time
with the chopsticks. Two or more helpings of rice are taken; as it is
considered unlucky to eat only one bowlful, at least two are eaten
even though the second may be a small dose consumed for form’s sake.
One or two helpings of the soup are also taken; but it is not
good form to ask for a second helping of the vegetables and other
condiments on the tray. Rice is brought in the cylindrical tub into
the room and served out there; but the soup is kept over a fire in the
kitchen and the wooden bowls are taken there for the second helping.
The last bowl of rice is often eaten with tea poured into it, and the
bowl is brought to the mouth and the rice pushed into it with the
chopsticks. It is, we may mention in passing, only the rice-bowl,
besides those containing soup, tea, and other liquid or semi-liquid
food which cannot be picked up with chopsticks, that is brought to the
mouth; all other dishes are kept on the tray and the food is taken up
with the chopsticks. Finally, the rice-bowl is filled with tea only to
wash down any grains of rice that may be left in it.
[Illustration: A MEAL.]
This finishes the breakfast. It does not take more than ten or fifteen
minutes; indeed, people pride themselves upon their quickness at
meals, especially at breakfast, as it implies that they have no time
to dawdle over their food, which is taken solely to ward off hunger
and maintain their health and strength. But it must be admitted
that indigestion not unfrequently follows these hurried meals, to
which children are early taught to habituate themselves by parental
instruction and by a proverb which puts quickness at meals as an
accomplishment on a level with swiftness of foot. When the breakfast
is over, the trays, plates, and other utensils are taken back into the
kitchen, washed, and put away until they are needed for the next meal.
The wooden tub of rice is put into a straw casing in winter to prevent
its getting cold and hard and on a stand in a cool, breezy place in
summer to keep it from sweating.
Let us next turn to the kitchen and see how it is arranged. The
kitchen varies very much in size; but the commonest range from six to
sixteen square yards, that is, it would, if it were matted, hold from
three to eight mats. But the floor is usually entirely boarded, though
in a large kitchen a mat or two are laid for the servants to sit on.
There is a space of ground at the entrance for leaving clogs in, and
another on which the sink is set. The most prominent feature of the
kitchen is the hearth for cooking rice. It is made of a shallow wooden
box, on which a square plaster casing is built with a round hole at
the top and an aperture at a side. On the hole the rice-pot is put;
and the side-opening is used for feeding the hearth with small faggots
which are kept in a cavity under the wooden box. The hearth is as
often as not double, and over the other hole the soup-pot is set. The
plaster between the two holes is often replaced by a copper boiler for
boiling water with the heat of the faggots under the two pots. Over
the hearth is a skylight in the roof, for the part of the house where
the kitchen is situated is always one-storied; and a sliding shutter
is moved up and down along the incline of the roof and fastened by a
cord. The skylight is useful on a fine calm day as an outlet for the
smoke of the hearth; but when a wind blows against the roof or the
rain comes pouring in, it has to be closed at the time when it is most
needed, for if the skylight is closed, the windows are also shut,
with the result that the smoke spreads over the whole house. In some
houses, therefore, chimney-flues have taken the place of
skylights, which are, moreover, as has already been observed, among
the burglar’s favourite means of ingress.
[Illustration: THE KITCHEN.]
For ordinary cooking purposes a small hearth of plaster, stone, or
iron is used. It is round or square, and larger at top than at bottom.
The top is open with an earthen grating at a few inches’ depth from
the edge, and an ash-box underneath, which has an outlet at the side
for raking out the ashes and fanning the fire. But little charcoal is
needed as the space between the grating and the bottom of the pot is
very limited. Near the larger hearth is a black earthen pot with a
lid, into which half-burnt charcoal is put and extinguished with
water; and when they are dry, these half-burnt pieces are used for
lighting fresh charcoal with as they catch fire much more readily. For
stirring and clearing the hearth, we use a shovel with a long wooden
handle and a pair of long iron rods which are held like chopsticks to
pick up pieces of charcoal or cinders. The tongs which are used for
braziers are much shorter and made of iron, copper, or brass; they
are also used like chopsticks and are indeed called in Japanese
“fire-chopsticks.” A hollow bamboo tube with a knot at one end which
has a little hole in the centre takes the place of bellows.
Besides the iron pots for making soup and other food on a large scale,
which are set on the great hearth, we have small pots and pans for the
little hearth. The pots have semicircular handles of metal, the ends
of which are hooked into holes on opposite sides of the pots, while
the pans have wooden handles fitting into sheaths at the side. They
all have wooden lids. Fish and other food are roasted on an iron
netting, about a foot square, which is put over the little hearth.
When a fish is roasted, the fat melts and drops into the fire, raising
large volumes of oily smoke and emitting a smell which fills the whole
house. One can always tell, when a mackerel pike, for instance, is
being roasted, long before one enters the house.
[Illustration: A SKYLIGHT AND THE KITCHEN-GOD.]
For transferring rice into a tub or a bowl a wooden spatula is used,
while soup and other food which cannot be picked up with chopsticks
are put with a wooden spoon into bowls or on plates. For gravy a small
earthen spoon is used. Kitchen knives are of three kinds: the
square for common use, the triangular for dressing fish, and the long
narrow-edged one for cutting thin slices of fish. The dresser is a
thick, two-legged board, at which one has to kneel or squat. There
are also bamboo baskets for carrying vegetables and other food which
require to be washed; but those things which are eaten without
first washing and must therefore be kept free from dust are brought
home in a round wooden box with a lid and a handle. For pounding soft
objects there is an earthen mortar shaped like an inverted cone, with
rough ribbed sides, against which the objects are rubbed with a wooden
pestle.
Uncooked rice is kept in a large box in a corner of the kitchen and is
measured out whenever needed with a square wooden measure. Charcoal is
brought in straw bags and emptied into a box under the floor of the
kitchen or kept in an outhouse, and is in either case brought out for
use in a bamboo or cane basket lined with paper. Soy is usually sold
in wooden kegs as it does not change with time; but the poor buy it
in half-pint bottles. _Sake_, on the other hand, is apt to grow sour,
especially in hot season, and is bought in long-necked bottles holding
a few pints; but if there are heavy drinkers in the family or many
guests to entertain, casks are laid in. Pickled vegetables are made in
old _sake_-casks which are put in a corner of the kitchen, often on
the ground.
Around the kitchen are shelves, open or with doors, on which the
services and utensils are kept. The sets for use when there are guests
are carefully wrapped in paper or cotton and stored in special boxes
in the kitchen or some other room. There is no pantry; but as every
preparation is served separately in a bowl or on a plate, the quantity
of crockery in a Japanese kitchen is very great. There is a shelf high
upon the wall near the large hearth, dedicated to the kitchen deity,
to whom offerings of rice and flowers are daily brought.
The sink, which is of wood, usually lies level with the kitchen floor,
and one either squats on the floor or stands on the ground before it.
Here all kitchen utensils and services are washed, everything in fact,
except the kettles of copper, bronze, or iron, which are never washed
but grow mellow by being patted with pieces of cloth steeped in hot
water. Beside the sink are an earthen jar to hold water for washing
and a wooden pail for drinking water, but there is really no
difference in the quality of the liquid in the two receptacles as it
has in either case been drawn from the well. The wells are either
private or public; in the latter case, they are used by the whole
neighbourhood, a small tax being levied for their maintenance, and are
the favourite resorts for the exchange of scandals. As these wells
have all wooden sides and a square wooden flooring where washing is
done, they present a far from cleanly appearance, and the water is as
often as not contaminated, especially in the crowded quarters of the
city. The Tokyo municipality undertook some years ago to supply pure
water, and as water-pipes have been laid throughout the city, the
wells are rapidly disappearing in Tokyo.
[Illustration: A WELL.]
As we have described the general appearance of the kitchen, we will
now return to the sitting-room. The breakfast things have been
removed; but preparations have before long to be made for the midday
meal. If the master of the house is not at home, or indeed even if he
is, unless he has a visitor, the meal is very simple. It may consist
of some vegetable soup, boiled vegetables, such as carrots, burdocks,
turnips, or pumpkins, or dried or cured fish, like salmon,
sardines, herrings, or mackerel, or perhaps fresh fish boiled, basted,
or roasted. There may be the same condiments as at breakfast.
The evening meal is the principal repast of the day. It may not differ
materially from the midday meal, though fresh fish is more frequently
served then than at noon. The fish may be boiled in a mixture of
_mirin_ and soy, be put into a soup made with an infusion of dried
bonito shavings, be roasted on the iron netting with a sprinkling of
salt or repeated coatings of soy, or be taken raw in thin slices.
This raw fish is a peculiarly Japanese dish. A side of a fish, after
removing the bones, is cut into thin slices and served with grated
garden radish and eutrema, the latter in its hot taste being
something between ginger and mustard, and also with a boiled yellow
chrysanthemum. The fish is soaked in a little plat of soy in which the
radish and eutrema have been mixed. The raw fish, especially if it is
the sea-bream, is a delicacy which is highly appreciated in Japan,
though many Europeans who relish raw oysters recoil from the very idea
of eating any fish uncooked.
People who take _sake_ have it usually with their evening meal, though
some, of course, drink it at every repast and between meals as well.
It is, however, the custom to take it in the evening when the day’s
work is done. It is brought in a little china bottle which has been
put into a boiling kettle and warmed. It is taken hot, and its effects
are naturally more rapid than when it is taken cold, and pass off as
rapidly. It is poured into a tiny cup; and as one sips it cup after
cup, it warms one up quickly, but when its effects pass off, it is apt
to give one a chill; hence, a man who goes to sleep immediately after
drinking _sake_, needs more bedding than usual to avoid a cold on
awaking. Another peculiarity in _sake_-drinking is that we take it
with fish or other dishes at the beginning of a meal, and when we have
done with it, we take rice. This drinking on a empty stomach helps to
make it effective; and the Japanese way of drinking produces a quick
but brief state of exhilaration.