伝統文化を知る

「多様なるジャパン」第２回　冬の食　鍋

白洲信哉＝文筆家、日本伝統文化検定協会副会長

冬においしいスッポン鍋

2013年ユネスコの無形文化遺産に「和食」が登録されたが、洋食に対する和食をいう新たな言葉は明治の近代化とともに生まれた。その原点が、「一汁三菜」だとか、ここで日本料理の変遷を述べる紙幅はないが、これから大寒へ一年で最も寒い季節、身体を温めるには鍋料理が一番だ。カキにブリシャブ。カニやアンコウにフグ、カモやイノシシにハリハリ、きりたんぽに石狩鍋など地方色もあり、何と豊かなことか。 

それぞれ捨て難いが、わが家冬の定番というと真っ先に浮かぶのがスッポン鍋だ。毎冬、祖父母の家に土鍋とスッポンを抱えた陶芸家が訪ねてきた。僕は必ずご相伴にあずかり、スッポンをさばく手伝いもした。最初はどう猛な顔に首を落としてなお噛み付いてくる。本当にうまいかと疑ったが、焼いても美味で、出汁（だし）に日本酒と薄口醤油（しょうゆ）ベースの透き通ったスープでゆったり煮て最後の生姜（しょうが）汁を回しかける。中でもエンペラに足の付け根黄金の脂部分と締めの雑炊は絶品だ。 

鍋料理も縄文時代以来の伝統である。うまいものを食べたいというグルメへの執着から生まれた深鉢土器で煮炊きすることは前回述べたが、今に続く「自然の恵みを頂戴する」多様で旬なる新鮮素材が基本にある。貝塚から出てこないのは犬の骨くらい、多種などんぐりに貝や魚類だけでなく害獣だという鹿や熊など今以上食材の宝庫だった。一般に仏教が伝わり肉食が禁じられたとされるが、江戸時代以前まで肉食文化も栄え稲作だけではなく一木一草あらゆるものに霊的なカミが宿り、その命を有り難く頂くことで生き抜く力を得てきたのだ。 

縄文人はまた住まいの中心に「火」を備え神様とした。竪穴式住居というと「ひげぼうぼうの野蛮人」のイメージがあるとは思うが、地面を掘りくぼめて半地下の床とし、中央に備えた石囲炉（いしがこいろ）に火をおこし煮炊きだけでなく照明やかやぶき屋根を火の煙で炙ることで害虫を除去、何よりは床の土に植物繊維やアスファルトを混ぜることで保温効果を高め、炉の火を埋火（うずみび）にすると床暖房と化すことで寒い冬の暖にも貢献したのだ。 

狭い国土だが、土こそ全て生命の源だ。自然を愛し育む中で農耕を営み、地方色ある粘土から陶磁器や、漆に貝などの自然素材から器が生まれ、旬の食材とがコラボすることで、世界でもまれにみる視野の広い彩り豊かな食文化、食卓を形成したのである。今に続くイノベーションの原点、いかに生きるかのヒントは縄文社会に散らばっている。囲炉裏（いろり）でおこした炭で炊いた土鍋料理がうまいのは言うまでもない。 

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【English version】

Diverse Japan” No. 2 Winter Food: Nabe (hot pot)
Shinya Shirasu = Writer, Vice President of Japan Traditional Culture Certification Association

Delicious suppon hot pot in winter

In 2013, “Japanese food” was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the new term for Japanese food in contrast to Western food was born with the modernization of Japan in the Meiji era. The origin of this new term is said to be “one soup and three vegetables.” I don't have time to go into the transition of Japanese cuisine here, but as the coldest season of the year approaches, nabe dishes are the best way to warm the body. Oysters and yellowtail shabu. Oysters and yellowtail shabu, crab, anglerfish, pufferfish, duck, wild boar, haribari, kiritanpo, Ishikari nabe, and so on…what a rich variety of local specialties!

Each of them is hard to throw away, but when I think of our family's winter staple, the first thing that comes to mind is suppon nabe. Every winter, a potter would visit my grandparents' house carrying an earthenware pot and suppon. I always accompanied him and helped him to cook the suppon. At first, he would drop his head to his ferocious face and still bite me. I doubted that the fish was really good, but it was also delicious grilled. It was simmered slowly in a clear broth based on dashi (Japanese soup stock), sake, and light soy sauce, and the ginger juice was added at the end. The fatty parts of the fish, such as the squid's emperors and the base of its legs, are especially delicious, as is the zosui (rice porridge) that concludes the meal.

Nabe cuisine has also been a tradition since the Jomon period. As mentioned in the previous issue, nabe cooking in deep-bottomed earthenware was born out of a gourmet's obsession with good food. The only thing not found in the shell mounds was dog bones, and the area was a treasure trove of foodstuffs, including not only various acorns, shellfish, and fish, but also deer and bears, which are considered vermin. Although it is generally believed that meat eating was forbidden in Japan after the arrival of Buddhism, until before the Edo period (1603-1868), meat-eating culture flourished, and not only rice cultivation, but also every tree, tree, and grass had a spiritual deity, and by gratefully accepting its life, people gained the strength to survive.

The Jomon also believed that fire was the center of the dwelling and was considered to be the god of the house. The Jomon also considered fire to be a god. The pit dwelling may conjure up images of “bearded barbarians,” but the Jomon dug into the ground to create a half-subterranean floor, built a fire in a stone hearth in the center to not only cook food, but also to light the fire and roast the roof with smoke to eliminate harmful insects, and most importantly, the floor soil was made of plant fibers and asphalt to increase heat retention. The most important thing was to mix the floor soil with plant fiber and asphalt, which helped to retain heat and, when the furnace was set on fire, it became an underfloor heating system, contributing to warmth in the cold winter.

The land is small, but the soil is the source of all life. Farmers cultivated their land while loving and nurturing nature, and ceramics were created from local clay, lacquer, shells, and other natural materials. The starting point for innovations that continue to this day and hints for how to live are scattered throughout the Jomon society. It goes without saying that earthenware dishes cooked over charcoal heated in a sunken hearth are delicious.