Title
「Gokeijin Zankuro」 Shibata Renzaburo (Author) Shincho Bunko
「御家人斬九郎」 柴田錬三郎（著）新潮文庫
Scene
“Yaozen in Sanya” appears twice in the story.
The first time is when Masajo, Zankuro‘s mother, is served to a meal by her relative as a condition for her to perform the kotsuzumi. This relative is a member of the same family but of a much higher rank and income. And he is “Hatamoto”.
The scene begins with the words of the waiter.
… “This is the specialty of [Yahozen]. It is made by boiling daikon (Japanese radish), selected from among a hundred grown in Nerima (練馬), in water from the upper reaches of the Tama River (多摩川), on top of a small sea bream caught in Sotobo (外房). The price of the daikon alone is 2-shu (二朱).” 1-shu (一朱) was enough to buy 18 kg (一斗) of rice in those days.
On the other hand, Masajo said, “The name of the restaurant is famous, and it’s pretentious, but it is a dish of two small sea breams, about the size of cat food, with no real flavor. You people make me endure hunger with this kind of food? It is really ridiculous.”…
「御家人斬九郎」 柴田錬三郎（著）新潮文庫
The second time is as follows.
… At that time, there was an old chef named Umigoro in Sanya, who was considered to be the best in Edo. At that time, the most representative restaurant in Edo was “Yaozen” in Sanya. One of its specialties was a single sliced radish alone on an expensive Kutani-yaki plate. The price was 1-shu (一朱) . In those days, 1-shu could buy 18kg (一斗) of rice. It was a dish prepared by Umigoro…
「御家人斬九郎」 柴田錬三郎（著）新潮文庫
There are some inconsistencies in the descriptions in the two episodes, but both appear as a dish of a slice of radish served on an expensive plate.
Historical Background
Yahozen was a real restaurant. And it still exists today.
According to the store’s website（http://www.yaozen.net）…
In the Genroku era (1688-1704), Zenshiro Kuriyama, a farmer, started a grocery store. Grocery store is “yao-ya” in Japanese. So, “Zen-shiro of Yao-ya” and He was called “Yao-zen“. Later, in 1717, he established a restaurant. By the fourth generation, during the Bunka-Bunsei era (around 1820), it had become such a high-class restaurant that even the Shogun of the time would stop by, and the reputation of “Yaozen” became firmly established when it came to Edo cuisine. The fourth generation is famous. Although he was not a chef, he was regarded as the most sophisticated man in Japan. He also had a deep knowledge of haikai and shamisen (three-stringed Japanese banjo), and was one of the leading cultural figures of his day.
When Perry came to Japan in the first year of the Ansei era (1868), he was in charge of cooking the feast during the negotiations between the United States and Japan. In its heyday, Yaozen’s annual sales were about 4,700-ryo (1871). Although the time period is different, the annual sales of 4,700-ryo is the same market value as that of the Asano family in the Akou domain, famous for the “Ako Roshi”. Even further back in time, it is the same as that of Sakuzaemon Honda, one of the three magistrates in the early Tokugawa era, who was Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank). This means that Yaozen had the same level of business scale as a feudal lord even though it was only a restaurant.
Dish/ Menu/ Foodstuffs
On the Yaozen’s website, there is a recipe for “Yaozen’s Furofuki Daikon,” but I can’t find any mention of the dish in the story, which is a “sliced radish”.
There are two famous anecdotes about Yahozen, the story of “Ichiryo Nibu Chazuke” and “Harihari Zuke“. (http://www.yaozen.net/recipe/recipe_03.html ) Incidentally, a cup of this chazuke cost about $4,000, and a bowl of pickles cost $2,000. I think that the “sliced radish” dish that appears in the book may have been an adaptation of this story by the author.
I also looked up the master chef “Umigoro” who was introduced when this dish appeared in the story for the second time, however, I could not find him. In fact, I learned that one of Sharaku‘s famous ukiyoe paintings is called “Koshiro Matsumoto IV’s “Sanya no Sakanaya Gorobei,” and I imagine that the author, Renzaburo Shibata, may have created this character by arranging this Ukiyoe.
Where/ How
You can currently taste the dishes of “Yaozen” through mail order.
