The History and Culture of the Kitamaebune

Rice has always been a staple good in Niigata. Not many people in Niigata owned their own ship as plenty came by to purchase goods already. Kaisen wholesalers rose up to serve as an intermediary between the rice producers and the Kitamaebune captains. This gave rise to the culture of hospitality in Niigata.

Where people and things come and go, culture is born. Furumachi is full of traditional restaurants that serve delicious Niigata food and local sake and are the stage for geigi performances of dance and shamisen playing that you can enjoy even to this day. At its peak, Furumachi had over 400 geigi girls who were known for their skills in performance such as their wonderful song, dance, and shamisen playing. Although their numbers have dwindled, there has been a movement to train more women who aspire to be geigi, even women from other prefectures, in an effort to proactively preserve and revitalize the local geisha culture.

The proprietress is also very knowledgeable about delicious local Niigata cuisine. We asked her about popular food items in Niigata. “Niigata is definitely known for its great-tasting rice. And do not forget about edamame. For pairing with Japanese sake, I recommend pickles of Niigata’s seasonal vegetables such as eggplant, winter greens, and daikon radish. Niigata is also known for its fresh fish, but when pairing sashimi, Japanese sake is a far better choice than beer because with beer it may taste fishy. In the summer we make a whale soup using whale fat, eggplant, and Japanese ginger. At our restaurant, we serve it with cold somen noodles to dip into the soup. The local cuisine of Niigata is not only delicious, but also provides stamina. Since there are many delicious food items in Niigata, I think it is best to ask about what is in season.”

Motoyoshi Nakajima, the head chef of Nabejaya, spoke of Niigata cuisine as follows. “Niigata is abundantly rich with bounty from both the land and the sea. An old-fashioned market, located very near to Furumachi, still stands and is full of fish and vegetable sellers. I frequently visit there first thing in the morning to choose the ingredients for the restaurant myself. I can sense the change of the seasons just by looking at the ingredients sold in the market. As soon as the delicious winter greens are gone, I anticipate the coming of spring with its asparagus, mountain greens and snow-aged carrots. Some of our customers visit the restaurant many times a month, so I try to change up what ingredients we use to provide as much variety as possible.”

Kazushige Ikinari, the owner of Ikinariya, says that Niigata is unique in that since it faces the Sea of Japan it always has an array of fresh fish.

Mr. Ikinari explains that salmon is the most special fish to the people of Niigata. “In Niigata, salmon is highly regarded which is why salmon is familiar to all the locals and there is a long-established tradition of not wasting any part of the fish. The flesh can be salt-preserved or made into an appetizer called “sake bitashi” after drying it in a cold breeze. The head cartilage is used to make a New Year’s dish called “hizu namasu.” Other salmon dishes include a Niigata soup called “koutou” made from salmon broth and root vegetables, and “totomame” (boiled salmon roe) which can be sprinkled on top of local dishes such as “noppe” or “zoni.” We like to gratefully eat each salmon without wasting any of it. This is the salmon culture of Niigata.”

Nowadays, unlike in the past, there are fewer households that buy whole salmon, which has made it more difficult to make some traditional salmon dishes at home. Therefore, Mr. Ikinari says that he likes to provide traditional local cuisines to his local customers. “Whenever we serve traditional salmon dishes to our local customers on special occasions such as New Year’s celebrations, it delights them with a sense of nostalgia. Part of our mission is to continue making these local dishes to preserve the food culture of Niigata.”