Edo Castle as a Consumer: Procuring Fish for the Shogun’s TableYūjirō Ōguchi

Abstract

What did the shogun eat? How were the foodstuffs for his meals obtained? What might the investigation of these questions tell us about the part played by Edo Castle in the larger Tokugawa economy? This article attempts to find some preliminary answers to these questions. Starting from the procedures surrounding the shogun’s meals and the personnel involved in their preparation and service, it goes on to examine the consumption of fish as a particularly important foodstuff and to explore what the castle’s purchase routes for seafood may tell us about the economic interchange between Edo Castle and the surrounding commoner society.