Japanese Kitchen - Early History

Early History

In the Jōmon period, from the 10,000 BC to 300 BC, people gathered into villages, where they lived in shallow pit dwellings. These simple huts were between 10 to 30 square meters and had a hearth in the center. Early stoves were nothing more than a shallow pit (jikaro 地床炉), but they were soon surrounded by stones to catch the fire sparks. A bottomless clay vase soon replaced the stones as these became hot quickly and occupants had to be careful around a stove. This type of stove is called umigamero (埋甕炉; lit. "buried vase stove"). As the stove became safer, it was moved from the center of house to the side and, by the late Kofun period (6th century), almost all houses had a stove at one end of the house. Some rich families in the Kofun period built a separate house where cooking was done. In these houses, food was stored in sacks and pots in a hole dug on the floor. Houses were constructed near a river or a spring for easy access to water.

In the Yayoi period (300 BC to AD 250) the cultivation of rice became widespread, and villages would be constructed near a marsh and a lowland. The water was muddy and Asaido (浅井戸) were constructed. An asaido was filled with sand and pebbles through which the water flowed to filter out mud and larger organisms. Some villages stored food outside a house in a large storehouse.

The kitchen remained unchanged for over 600 years, between the Nara period in the 8th century until the Muromachi period (1336–1573). Kitchens were furnished with the following items:

• Ashikanahe or Ashimarokanahe (足釜) - A three- or four-legged iron pot.
• Kakekanahe or Kakemarokanahe (懸釜) - An iron pot that was fitted over a stove. It had a "fringe" that let it hang on the stove and was used to boil cook rice into kayu.
• Yukikamado (行竈) - A pot, with a stove attached, that could be carried around
• Koshiki (橧 or 甑) - A wooden basket placed on top of a pot to steam cook rice.
• Nabe (堝 or 鍋) - made of clay or of metal. Primarily used to make stews and a side dish as well as to boil water.
• Sashinabe (佐志奈閇) - A small pot with a long handle used to warm sake in a bottle.
• Hiraka or Hotogi (瓫) - A large clay pot, larger than a nabe, used to boil water.
• Kamado - Also called Mushikamado: the stove itself, constructed with stones, tiles, and clay.
• Karakamado (韓竈) - A set of koshiki, kanahe (釜), and kamado that can be carried around.
• Takigi (薪) - In the Nara period, "薪" was read as "takigi" not "maki". Dried wood was used as fuel.
• Oke (麻筒) - A tub or a pail in three sizes: large, medium, and small. A flat bottomed and shallow tub was also used.
• Shaku (杓) - Also read as Hisago. A wooden ladle used to scoop cold and hot water from an oke.
• Katana (刀子) - A cooking knife and not a katana.
• Kiritsukue or Sekki (切机) - A Manaita (俎) or a cutting board.
• Fune (船) - A large wooden tub used for washing.
• Shitami (籮) - A coarse hemp cloth used to squeeze water out or to dry foods by spreading over it.
• Kame (甕) - A large vase where foods were stored.

In the Heian period (794–1185), the first usage of the precursor to "daidokoro", or pantry, was recorded. The imperial palace of Heian had four rooms dedicated to preparing foods, oni no ma (鬼の間), daibandokoro (台盤所), asagarei no ma (朝餉の間), and Ōidono (大炊殿). "Oni no ma" was the room used for checking for poison and tasting before serving. "Asagarei no ma" was the room for eating breakfast. "Ōidono" was the room to cook foods and was placed to the north and as far away as possible from living quarters. "Daibandokoro" was the room used to serve foods onto a daiban (台盤), a lacquered wooden table. Maid servants also ate and waited to serve meals in the daibandokoro.

In the Kamakura period (1185–1333), as the Shoinzukuri style of housing became common, the kitchen was gradually absorbed into the house. Until then, a kitchen was built as a separate house whenever possible to avoid smells and smoke, and to prevent possible kitchen fires from spreading to the primary residence. Kamakura era kitchens did not include essential kitchen furnishings, such as a sink or a well.