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Food History
How long have humans been eating tuna?
Actually, tuna has been eaten since
Tuna seems to be a food that has been eaten and loved for a long time. In the Edo period (1603-1867), tuna became inexpensive and commonly eaten due to the advance of fixed-net fishing. At this time, the most common cooking method was salted tuna, but
After World War II, tuna came to be treated as a luxury fish after freezing and refrigeration facilities became widely available. With these facilities in place, people began to eat tuna as sashimi. In the Showa period (1926-1989), technology to produce processed products such as frozen and canned products was developed, and the eating of tuna became more widespread.
You see, tuna has been eaten and loved for a long time. Tuna became commonly eaten because it was supported by many technologies,
Literature and Tuna
The Manyoshu is the oldest extant collection of Japanese waka (poetry in Classical Japanese), compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. Akahito Yamabe, a famous poet of the Nara period, visited Inamino (now Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture) on October 10, 726, to accompany Emperor Shomu, and fishermen caught tuna. It seems that a poem that reads the state of being in the Manyoshu (volume 6, part 938) is published. This indicates that the Japanese had a culture of eating tuna since the Manyoshu period.
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You have found that tuna has been eaten and loved for a long time. Tuna became commonly eaten because it was supported by many technologies, such as the development of manufacturing techniques for processed products and freezing techniques. Another reason for the popularity of tuna is that after World War II, people's diets became more Westernized, and fatty foods became more desirable. |
Tuna Quiz (4)
Since when have the Japanese eat tuna?
Jomon period
Correct!Tuna bones have been found in shell middens from the mid-Jomon period, suggesting that tuna was eaten around this time.
Edo period
Incorrect!However, during the Edo period, tuna became inexpensive and accessible to the common people.
Postwar period
Incorrect!However, it was not until after pastwar period that raw tuna became edible.
Reference
マグロのふしぎがわかる本 (translated title: A book that understands the mystery of tuna)
Publisher:TSUKIJI SHOKAN PUBLISHING
Authors:Hideki Nakano and Masakazu Oka
(in Japanese)
居酒屋美食トリビア>10月10日はマグロの日!トロの日もある?由来について調べてみた
(translated title: October 10th is tuna day! Do you have a toro day?)
https://monteroza.net/archives/7592
(Confirmed;2023/1/7)
(in Japanese)
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