The time is the late Edo period. The reign of the 11th Shogun, Tokugawa Ienari. The main character is Zankuro Matsudaira, a samurai (Gokenin：御家人) of the lowest rank, despite his prestigious family background. The hereditary stipend of this rank was “thirty hyo three fuchi (三〇俵二人扶持)” in warehouse rice. This is the equivalent of “10 ryou (10両)”, or about $30,000 in today’s prices. Of course, that amount is not enough to live on. Even the shogun’s direct subordinate samurai “Gokenin“, had to work hard at a second job called “Katate-waza (片手業)”. His second job is a “Kaishakunin (介錯人)” . It is not an execution by public punishment. When the upper class executes a criminal without publicity because of public concern, he undertakes the execution.
His father died early, but he has a mother. His mother, Masajo, despite her advanced age, is tremendously sturdy, healthy, articulate, a foodie, and, naturally, has an unusually large appetite. Furthermore, she strictly demonstrates the pride of her family in her manners.
She enjoys expensive feasts with impunity. This annoys Zankuro working hard at a side job that is strictly forbidden to the public. However, Zankuro admires his mother’s outstanding mastery of the kotsuzumi drum. And Masajo doesn’t play the kotsuzumi drum unless she has a sumptuous meal.
Scene from the Story
Masajo has come all the way from Edo to Kyoto with her son, Zankuro, to accompany, or rather help him with his work. She is a big eater and a gourmand by nature, so her interest in eating is more important than the case itself.
From inside the Kago, the eighty year old woman gazed at the view of the city where the Emperor lived for the first time in her life.
Fifty years ago, when her husband was appointed as a Nagasaki magistrate and they moved from Edo to Nagasaki together, they traveled by sea both ways.
“The young man in charge of the weather said that the Toki (vegetarian/buddhist cuisine) at Tofukuji Temple is very delicious, so I think I’ll have him treat me to that first, and then I’ll take my time to see Kyoto.”
“Kago”: A vehicle that carries a person by human power.
“Young man in charge of the weather”: A low-ranking samurai of the Mori (毛利) family of the Choshu (長州) domain. Masajo and Zankuro are on their way to accompany the procession of the Mori family on their way back to Choshu. This young man gets involved with Masajo in one way or another, but is completely taken in by her and becomes like an attendant to her.
東福寺 (Tofukuji Temple)
Tofukuji Temple locates in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto. It is the head temple of the Tofukuji School of the Rinzai sect of Zen BuddhismAs a Zen temple. Tofukuji is ranked fourth among the “Five Great Temples of Kyoto“.
In 1236, the construction of Tofukuji Temple began at the request of the Regent at the time, Kujo Michiie. It took 19 years to complete. The temple is characterized by its many magnificent buildings. To this day, it is famous for its autumn foliage. The temple is also said to be a treasure house of national cultural assets, preserving many valuable materials and artifacts mainly from the Kamakura to Muromachi periods. The temple has 25 sub-temples. Many of them are closed to the public. However, the beauty of their gardens is exceptional and worth a visit.
During the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), the site of the temple was used as a prisoner of war camp for the Russian army. It is a famous story that Nintendo, which had just started business and was manufacturing Hanafuda cards at that time, manufactured the first playing cards in Japan for the Russian POWs in the camp.
Originally, it meant a clean place for monks to gather and practice asceticism. Later, it came to mean a temple or a group of main buildings of a temple.
京都五山 (Kyoto Gozan)
Kyoto Gozan is a system of classifying RinzaiZen temples by rank.
The KyotoGozan system was created during the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates to counter the old religious powers.
Each temple was placed under the direct control of the shogunate, and its territory and interests were recognized and protected, and the temples supported the finances of the shogunate.
In Kyoto, five temples were set up: Tenryuji, Shokokuji, Kenninji, Tofukuji, and Manjuji, in addition to Nanzenji, which was considered special.
Sub-temples 塔頭 (Tacchuu)
塔 means “grave” and 頭 means “the foot”. It is a retreat or tomb of a high priest who is the head priest or equivalent, built on the premises of the main temple.
http://www.tofukuji.jp
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/東福寺
Toki (斎)
The word “斎” can be read in several ways. The meaning and usage change depending on the reading. If you read it as “monoimi,” it means to refrain from certain daily activities for a certain period of time to avoid defilement. When you read it “Itsuki,” it means, in Shinto (神道), to serve God, or a person who serves God, by performing monoimi. If you read it as “toki,” it means a meal at a Buddhist temple, or a dish served at a temple during Buddhist rituals. It is used to mean the same as vegetarian food.
During the Edo period, the Dutch Curator of Dejima in Nagasaki was obligated to report to the Edo Shogunate every year. The itinerary was as follows: from Nagasaki to Shimonoseki by land, from Shimonoseki to Hyogo or Osaka by sea, and then to Edo by Tokaido.
Moreover According to the map, From Edo to Nagasaki (Nihon-bashi to Nagasaki to Dochu-ki),
Starting from Edo, we traveled overland (Tokaido) to Osaka, and after leaving Osaka, we passed through the Seto Inland Sea and the Kanmon Straits to Nagasaki.
If the above descriptions apply to all people of the upper and lower classes, then Masajo and Zankuro’s father should have passed through Kyoto 50 years ago… .
精進料理 (Vegetarian/ Buddhist Cuisine)
An old Japanese expression, “to strive for a goal” or “to work hard” is sometimes expressed as “精進する.” The word “精進” is a Buddhist term that originally meant “to work hard at ascetic practices.” One of the most important aspects of the practice is to keep the precepts. One of the precepts is the precept of non-killing. This is connected to the idea of samsara, which means not to kill living beings. Based on this precept, vegetarian cuisine is prepared by avoiding the killing of living things and avoiding the stimulation of vexations that hinder the monk’s practice. Nowadays, “vegetarian cuisine” has two aspects: one is the daily meal of practicing monks that is handed down and prepared at temples, or the food served after Buddhist events (i.e., 斎). The other is developing as a local gourmet dish served in restaurants near Zen temples.
In Zen Buddhism, eating is an important part of training. For example, in the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism (head temple: Eiheiji-temple), cooking and eating are considered especially important, based on the doctrine that daily activities, including eating, are already a part of the practice of Buddhism.
In Japan, Buddhist cuisine is said to have spread gradually with the arrival of Buddhism in the 6th century. After the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Zen Buddhism was introduced to Japan, and along with the spread of Zen Buddhism, Buddhist cuisine also developed. Later, it came to be prepared in homes and restaurants for ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, and Buddhist rites such as Obon (お盆). In the Edo period (1603-1868), restaurants began to cater to temples as subcontractors, and the food was often served to people of culture, irrespective of their religious beliefs. “Kaiseki ryori (懐石料理)” is said to have been derived from Buddhist cuisine.
Incidentally, there are occasional articles that connect vegetarian cuisine with the “肉食禁止の勅令 Meat Prohibition Decree,” the first issued by Emperor Tenmu (天武天皇) in 675, but I don’t think this has anything to do with it.
Kaiseki-Ryouri (懐石料理)
“懐” means pocket, and “石” means stone. The word “懐石” literally means to hold a stone in one’s pocket. It originated from Zen Buddhism. In Zen temples, it was originally decided that monks would eat only once in the morning. Monks are young. Naturally, they would get hungry and cold at night. So they would hold a warm stone in their clothes to ward off hunger and cold. It is said that the word “懐石料理” came to mean a simple or small amount of food that satisfies a slight hunger and warms the body. A stone heated for warmth is called “温石 onjaku,” and this method has existed since the Heian period. In this connection, a simple meal served before drinking tea at a “Cha-no-yu (tea ceremony)” is called “懐石 Kaiseki”. This is also closely related to Zen Buddhism.
How did the ascetic monks of Zen temples manage to find a heat source to heat the stones, by the way?
Basic Rules of Shojin-Ryori (精進料理)
Vegetables, mushrooms, tofu (豆腐), fu (麩), and konnyaku (蒟蒻) are often used as ingredients in Buddhist cuisine, but according to the precepts, there are two ingredients that must be avoided. The first is animal ingredients. Originally, meat that was not seen or heard of being killed was allowed to be eaten, but later on, the concept of “compassion” was emphasized, and it was decided that all living things should not be eaten.
In Buddhism, however, the precepts were applied only to animals, and not to plants.
The other is vegetables called “五葷 gokun” which include garlic, leeks, chives, onions, and chives. One of the reasons why “gokun” vegetables are not included in Buddhist cuisine is because of their strong smell, but the most important reason is that they stimulate the libido and hinder the practice of Buddhism.
In other words, these forbidden vegetables are energizing foods, and in modern times, they are health foods.
(Flower of Chives)
Recipe
If you search for “精進料理,” you will find a plethora of recipe sites on the Internet.
Shojin-ryori (Vegetarian cuisine) of Tofukuji Temple
塔頭「天徳院」 (Tentokuinn Temple)
The temple is open to the public twice a year, in spring and fall.
There are two options: “Special visit with lunch” (reservation required) and “Special visit with green tea and sweets” (no reservation required).
Incidentally, the food is provided by a long-established ryokan, Hatoya Zuiho-kaku (京湯元ハトヤ瑞鳳館), in Kyoto.
https://tentokuin.jp
Tentokuji Temple is one of the sub-temples of Tofukuji Temple, founded in the Muromachi period (1336-1573), and is famous as the temple of the bellflower.
Bunei Seikan (文英清韓), who became the 227th chief priest in 1614, was an eminent scholar. He wrote the inscription on the Hokoji (方広寺) temple bell at the request of Toyotomi Hideyori (豊臣秀頼). The Hokoji bell inscription incident (方広寺鐘銘事件) is a historical event that is said to have triggered the Battle of Osaka (大坂の陣 1614-1615). Because he was too good, he got into a terrible mess. Moreover, he was involved in a major historical incident. The temple was demolished at that time. (It was rebuilt in 1789.)
塔頭「勝林寺」(Shorinji Temple)
Built in 1550. It is called “Bishamon-ten (毘沙門天) of Tofukuji Temple” because it was located northeast of the main temple Tofukuji. Therefore, it has Bishamon-ten as its main deity.
On the temple’s website, catering lunches and Osechi dishes of Buddhist cuisine are sold online.
Incidentally, this Buddhist cuisines are prepared and produced by “Yaoji (矢尾治).“ Established in the first year of the Meiji Era (1868), “Yaoji” is a Buddhist cuisine restaurant specializing in catering to the head temples of various religious sects.
https://shourin-ji.org
https://京都精進料理矢尾治.homepage.jp/aboutus
Restaurants around temples
If you search on the Internet, you will find that most of the restaurants around temples have vegetarian (Buddhist) cuisine on their menus. A search for “KyotoTofukuji Temple and vegetarian cuisine” will bring up many restaurants.
At the End: Thank you for your attention
In the “枕草子” written by 清少納言 (Sei Shonagon), vegetarian/buddhist cuisine is so poor that it is one of the reasons why people do not want own children to become monks.
（The famous beginning part. I couldn’t find the part of the explanation because of the difficulty of the ancient writing style.）
But what about the vegetarian cuisine that we can now easily enjoy at restaurants around temples?
There are nutritional studies on the menus offered at vegetarian cuisine restaurants in Kyoto.
The results of the survey showed that the salt content was high, fat tended to be high, protein and carbohydrates were in the right range, vitamin B12 and vitamin D were somewhat lacking, but most minerals and dietary fiber were in abundance. In other words, the salt content was high, but the rest of the nutritional balance was very good.
The daily diet of monks is reported to be deficient in nutrients, but the vegetarian food served in restaurants to the general public is clearly different.
○ 精進料理の特徴と栄養学的解析 ： 高岡素子 神戸女学院大学論集 61(2), 157-165, 2014-12 神戸女学院大学 Characteristics and Nutritional Evaluation of Buddhist Vegetarian Cuisine DOI info:doi/10.18878/00002042
http://www.tofukuji.jp
(Flower of Chives)
https://shourin-ji.org
