料亭の文化 Culture of Ryotei

金沢ではどうして料亭が発展したのでしょうか。石川県立歴史博物館学芸課長の本康宏史さんは「一言でいうと、金沢は加賀百万石の城下町で武士が多く、武家文化が発達したからではないか」と指摘します。

本康さんによると、加賀藩の石高(こくだか)は「加賀百万石」といわれるように、他藩に比べて極めて高かったことから、当初は財政にも比較的余裕があり、藩挙げて消費を奨励したという経済事情が根底にあったとされます。

江戸時代、城下町の武家では、客人を招き食事を出す規模が大きくなると、自分の屋敷ではなく、宴会専門の建物で、料理人が食事を提供するようになります。江戸時代後半、都市文化が発達するとともに、金沢では「外食」の文化が定着していったといえるでしょう。参勤交代による江戸詰め生活も、食文化の意識を変えたのかもしれません。

一方、城下では茶屋街も5か所を数え、芸を愛でるとともに飲食を楽しむという習慣も、料亭発展の基となりました。茶屋に仕出し料理を提供する店舗も成長します。

明治時代に入ると、料亭は、没落して空き家となった武家屋敷を、敷地ごと店舗として買い求め、見事な庭があり、広い座敷を備えるようになります。さらに、明治29(1896)年には、陸軍の第九師団司令部が設置され、31(1898)年には鉄道が開通、金沢駅が開設されると金沢はふたたびにぎわいを見せます。日露戦争をはさんで「軍都」として発展する中で、師団関係者1万数千人の消費も料亭成長の原動力となりました。

戦後は高度経済成長とともに「加賀百万石」のイメージを大事にしたいとする行政や経済界の動きの中で、「もてなし文化」を代表する場として、金沢の料亭は発展してきたのです。

1952年には、金沢の伝統文化の継承と相互の研鑽を目的に、金沢市料理業組合を設立しました。全国では、東京、京都、大阪につぐ、長い歴史を持つ組織です。

現在も15軒の加盟店が、金沢の文化の一翼を担う存在として、心をこめて、精一杯のおもてなしで皆様をお迎えしております。

全国料亭・料理店案内(全国料理業生活衛生同業者組合連合会)
http://www.nihonryouri.jp/

Why did ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurants) develop in Kanazawa? Hiroshi Motoyasu, head of the arts section at the Ishikawa Prefectural History Museum, points out, “To put it simply, it's probably because Kanazawa was a castle town in the Kaga Domain, where there were many samurai and the samurai culture developed.”

According to Mr. Motoyasu, the Kaga Domain’s crop yield was far greater than those of other domains, to the extent that it was called “Kaga Hyakumangoku”, or Kaga of the one million koku (a traditional unit of volume). As a result, the domain had relatively strong fiscal wherewithal in the beginning, and the entire domain was encouraged to spend. These economic conditions were the basis for the development of ryotei.

In samurai households of the Edo period, when the number of guests invited for meals grew too large, they would have cooks prepare the food and serve it in a special banquet building instead of their own manors. During the late Edo period, as urban culture developed, the culture of eating out in Kanazawa also became established. The lifestyle of being appointed to Edo under the sankin-kotai system (daimyos alternating residence annually between their own domains and Edo) also may have changed people's awareness of food culture.

Meanwhile, in the town below the castle five areas of tea houses arose, where the customs of enjoying food and drink while appreciating art became the basis for the development of ryotei. Stores which provide catered food to tea houses also grew.

At the start of the Meiji period, samurai manors collapsed and become abandoned. Ryotei bought up these properties as restaurants, with their wonderful gardens and spacious tatami rooms already provided. Furthermore, with the establishment of the army’s 9th division headquarters in Meiji 29 (1896) and the opening of the railroad and Kanazawa Station in Meiji 31 (1898), Kanazawa once again became a prosperous city. The city developed as a military town before and after the Russo-Japanese war, and having more than ten thousand military personnel as consumers became a driving force for the growth of the ryotei.

After WWII, as both the government and business circles expressed a desire to preserve the image of Kaga Hyakumangoku while maintaining high economic growth, Kanazawa’s ryotei developed as representatives of it culture of hospitality.

In 1952, in order to pass on Kanazawa’s traditional culture and to allow chefs to teach each other, the Kanazawa Culinary Association was established. This organization has the fourth longest history in Japan, after Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

The organization currently has 15 member restaurants. They play an important role in Kanazawa’s culture and put all their heart and soul into extending hospitality to their customers.

Guide to Traditional Japanese Restaurants and Dining in Japan (Japan Culinary Association)
http://www.nihonryouri.jp/index_en.html