III. Guide to Local Specialties (Part 2) Destination: Kamimaki-cho in the Mid to Late Edo Period

2024.03.01

Beniuri Oman Born from a Children’s Song

“Ama-ga-beni” (heavenly) was changed to “Ama-ga-beni” (nun) and then to “Oman-ga-beni” (Oman’s rouge). “Kyobashi, Nakabashi, and Oman’s rouge” is a children’s song that is associated with Oman Inari Shrine, which enshrines Oman-no-kata, who was a concubine of Tokugawa Ieyasu. This process of the change was described in Part 1. In Part 2, I would like to introduce some of the specialties that gained a reputation by using the name of Oman.

  • Oman Inari Shrine was built in Kamimaki-cho, which is now in the area from Yaesu 1-chome to Nihonbashi 3-chome.

The very first of the specialties that used the name of Oman was rouge. In Part 1, I wrote that people offered rouge to make wishes at Oman Inari Shrine in the Kyoho period (1716–1736). It seems too straightforward to make a specialty named “Oman Inari Shrine’s Rouge” from the phrase “Oman’s rouge.” However, the ease of intuitive understanding may always be a prerequisite for creating a hit product.

 

Among the works of Okumura Toshinobu, an ukiyo-e artist of the mid-Edo period, there is a portrait of a woman entitled Sanogawa Ichimatsu Beniuri Oman (Tokyo National Museum collection). Toshinobu, who specialized in the painting of beautiful women, left many lacquer paintings and this is one of them.

 

Sanogawa Ichimatsu (1722–1762) was a popular Kabuki actor. Because of his beautiful appearance, he was often portrayed as a woman in ukiyo-e prints. As an aside, it is said that the name “Ichimatsu moyo” (checkerboard pattern) comes from Ichimatsu’s preference for wearing kimonos with a checkerboard pattern (a grid pattern with alternating squares of different colors).

 

The dates of the birth and death of Okumura Toshinobu are unknown, but many of his works are dated around 1730–1740. Comparing this period with the time when Ichimatsu was active, it is assumed that the picture was probably drawn during the Kanpo period (1741–1744). The picture shows Ichimatsu dressed as a rouge peddler, holding a small cup with rouge in his left hand and a cosmetic brush in his right hand. Originally, “beni” in Oman-ga-beni meant cheek rouge. However, the makeup method changed around the Kyoho period, and at that time cheek rouge was not used much. So, “beni” meant lip rouge. The phrase “Kyobashi, Nakabashi, and Oman’s rouge” is written on the box that the peddler carries.

 

It is not certain whether a peddler dressed like this actually walked the streets because there is no other example. There is no doubt, however, that this picture linked the star of the time with a peddler selling rouge and that it helped to make the name Oman synonymous with an attractive woman. Based on this established image of a woman, new Edo specialties were later created without the help of “rouge” as a prop.

Advent of Okara-sushi with the Name of Oman

In the book 100 Secret Sea Bream Recipes, written by Kawarakedo Shujin and published in 1785, there is a recipe for Edo Oman sushi. This book is one of the 100 Recipes series, which are recipe books that introduce about 100 recipes for a single ingredient, such as eggs or tofu. From the middle to the end of the Edo period, the publication of recipe books became popular. Among them, the 100 Recipes series sold very well.

 

According to the book, Oman sushi is a type of pressed sushi that uses okara (soy pulp) instead of rice. The cooking method is to prepare salted sea bream or fresh sea bream sprinkled with salt and to remove the bones. The important thing is how to cook the okara. It is written that it should be seasoned with soy sauce and sake, roasted until it becomes dry, and then cooled completely. The prepared sea bream is then marinated in the okara, and a weight is placed on top.

 

This sushi called “Oman” was even featured in a book. How was this sushi invented and spread? I looked into it and found that it was also related to “Oman-ga-beni.”

  • From the Map of Hacchobori Reiganjima Nihonbashi Minami reprinted in 1863 (Owariya Seishichi version), a partial map from Kyobashi to Nakabashi. Oman Inari Shrine is in the red square on the far right. The Shrine is in Kamimaki-cho and Himono-cho is to the north of it. (Image is courtesy of the Special Collection Room of the Tokyo Metropolitan Library.)

The Edo record book Edo Chirihiroi (written by Shiranshitsu Shujin, preface dated 1767) contains the section “Oman Sushi.” According to it, the sushi was a specialty sold between Kyobashi and Nakabashi, and it was started by a sushi store opened by a man named Chobei at the beginning of the Horeki period (1751–1764). It is also stated that the name of the sushi came from the song “Kyobashi, Nakabashi, and Oman-ga-beni” sung playfully by children in Edo as they watched the clouds turn red at dusk.

 

On the other hand, in the “Edo Specialties in a Chinese Poem, First Version” written in 1836 by Kinoshita Baian, under the pseudonym of Hougai Dojin, the name Kinokuniya Oman Sushi, Kamimaki-cho Shinmichi is clearly mentioned as the first store that sold Oman sushi. It is not known when the store opened, but it had been in business for generations and was well known throughout the area. It was also written that the taste of laver and eggs was good and that the name of the master’s wife, Oman, was famous. Since laver and eggs, which do not appear in the 100 Secret Sea Bream Recipes, are mentioned in this book, Oman sushi may have changed over time. New information also includes the store name Kinokuniya and the address Kamimaki-cho Shinmichi. Among other things, it is worth noting that the master’s wife named Oman attracted customers.

 

However, it is doubtful that a woman named Oman actually lived there. As I mentioned earlier, Oman Inari Shrine was located in the same Kamimaki-cho. It would be more natural to think that the name of the shrine was given to the sushi sold in front of the shrine. It would be more likely that there was simply a beautiful wife there than that a woman named Oman happened to be there. Or it is even possible that there was no such wife. It would not be surprising if the association with the word “Oman” led to rumors of a beautiful wife.

 

There is no way to verify the truth of this assumption. What can be said is that when people in Edo heard the name of the sushi “Oman,” the phrase “Kyobashi, Nakabashi, and Oman-ga-beni” must have immediately come to mind and that they could easily imagine where they were sold.

  • 100 Secret Sea Bream Recipes written by Kawarakedo Shujin and published in 1785, containing the recipe for Edo Oman Sushi

  • In 75 Days published in 1787, Fushiya Riemon is listed as an Oman Sushi store. The image is taken from a replicated book (compiled by Yamada Seisaku, published in 1923, Yoneyamado) (Both images are courtesy of National Diet Library Digital Collections.)

Oman-ga-ame (candy) Brought Excitement to the City

In a gourmet guide to Edo Records of Valuable Foods in Edo City published in 1787, several famous stores selling Oman sushi are introduced.

 

Near Oman Inari Shrine is Kinokuniya Fujiemon in Nishi-Shinmichi, Nihonbashi Minamidori 4-chome (near today’s Nihonbashi 3-chome). The store evaluated as serving the best food is called Fushiya Riemon, which has two stores: the main store in Sakai-cho-dori Moto-Osaka-cho (near today’s Ningyo-cho 1-chome, Nihonbashi) and a branch in Asakusa Namiki-cho (near today’s Kaminarimon 2-chome). A store called Sushiya Rokuemon in Ningyo-cho-dori Tadokorocho (near today’s Nihonbashi Horidome-cho 2-chome) is also introduced. This store sells a wide variety of sushi, such as Ori-sushi and Sasamaki-sushi, in addition to Oman sushi. Oman sushi, sold on the coattails of Oman Inari Shrine and the children’s song “Oman-ga-beni,” became a generic name for okara sushi as well as a specialty representative of Edo before anyone knew it.

 

Another half century had passed since the advent of Oman sushi. At the end of the Bunka period (1804–1818), a strange-looking candy seller appeared.

“One Oman-ga-ame is four mon.” A man dressed in a woman’s costume sang it in a woman’s voice and danced through the street. He wore a hat on his head and carried a pole on his shoulder to hang a basket covered with blue paper. His red apron fluttered as he walked.

 

He was selling a candy named Oman-ga-ame. The strange appearance caught the attention of passersby and made them stop. A curious person stepped out of the crowd to buy one, offering a four-mon coin. Then, the candy seller sings a verse from the Tokiwazu-bushi* with a woman’s gestures as a way of saying thank you, “I remember that I have been loved by you since I was a child, not just yesterday or today.” Men and women of all ages who were watching gave him a big hand. People took out their coins, one after another, and said, “Continue the performance.”

 

*Tokiwazu-bushi: One of the schools of Joruri, where a story is told with a melody. Also called “Tokiwazu.” It developed to accompany Kabuki.

  • Collection of Kyoka Poem by Merchants of Edo compiled by Ishizuka Hokaishi et al. (preface dated 1852). The book describes the peddlers of Edo and their sales pitches. Oman-ga-ame is also described.

  • A foreign candy seller appearing in Iccho Drawing Collection published in 1770. (Original drawing by Hanabusa Iccho, compiled by Suzuki Rinsho, Kariganeya Gisuke version) (Both images are courtesy of National Diet Library Digital Collections.)

Many peddlers in the Edo period wore outlandish clothes to attract people’s attention. Some used musical instruments and props, while others wore disguises. Among them, candy sellers are described as “always disguising themselves in various ways” in the encyclopedia Morisada Graphic Explanation, which describes the life of people in Edo (drawn by Kitagawa Morisada, preface dated in 1853). They dressed like Chinese and played the charamela or shamisen. It says that they were dressed and acted like street performers. In such a situation, the most popular were the Oman-ga-ame candy sellers dressed in women’s costumes.

 

There seems to be no connection between this strange candy seller and Oman-ga-beni, which evokes a beautiful woman. However, there is a hidden connection between the two.

 

In writing the above description, I referred to the essay “Masaki no Katsura” by Seisodo Toho (date of completion unknown). This book begins with the following sentences to describe the Oman-ga-ame in detail: “Since the end of the Bunka period, there was a man selling candy in towns. He usually wore black cotton clothes with five large Kakumokko crests on them and carried a basket covered with blue paper on his shoulder.”

 

Kakumokko is the crest of Mojitayu, the founder of Tokiwazu. It was 1747 that Mojitayu first took the name of Tokiwazu. In the same year, Three Great Actors’ Kaomise Stage was performed at the Nakamura-za theater, featuring Ichikawa Danjuro II, Sawamura Sojuro I, and Segawa Kikunojo I. Nakamura-za is the troupe that is said to have founded Edo Kabuki in Nakabashi, which is mentioned in the lyrics of the song “Oman-ga-beni” (see Part 2 of the First Installment “Nakabashi Hirokoji in the Tenpo Period”). Furthermore, Mojitayu is said to have come from Himono-cho, which is adjacent to Kamimaki-cho.

 

In addition, please recall the portrait of Beniuri Oman drawn by Okumura Toshinobu. The person who was dressed as Oman was the Kabuki actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu. In other words, Oman, who sold rouge, was a man dressed as a woman. In those days, selling candy was like a costume contest. One way to stand out from the crowd was to use “Oman.” In an amusing way, he combined and adopted a Kabuki motif and a local legend. This story makes sense to me.

The Name “Oman” Stirred People’s Imaginations

What is interesting is that Oman-ga-ame became the subject of a Kabuki play in reverse. In 1839, Utaemon IV played the role of an Oman-ga-ame candy seller in the play Hanagoyomi Ironoshowake at the Nakamura-za theater, which became a great hit. Many Ukiyo-e painters, including Utagawa Kuniyoshi and Utagawa Kunisada, drew his figure and the Oman-ga-ame candy seller became a hero of the times. The boom, however, did not last long.

 

In 1841, an order was issued to strengthen discipline and prohibit extravagance. This is known as the Tempo Reforms. Kabuki plays were unjustly suppressed, and peddlers in fancy costumes were cracked down on. Oman-ga-ame candy sellers were also forced to withdraw from the streets.

 

On the other hand, an Oman sushi store called Kinokuniya Kichiemon in Kamimaki-cho is listed in the Edo’s Special Sake and Food Guidebook published in 1852. This indicates that sushi had been popular for a long time at least by that year. More surprisingly, in the Iwami area of Shimane Prefecture, Oman sushi, which is said to have been introduced from Edo, has been handed down as local sushi to the present day.

 

Oman Inari Shrine was desired and built by merchants with a wish for prosperous businesses. The children’s song that was born in this place eventually formed the image of a woman. Sometimes the image impersonated a real person and sometimes it appeared as a kind of show. Each time, the image evoked the memory of the land, and it continued to live in the city.

 

In a time before photography and video, information that came through the ears probably had a much greater influence than it does today. And such information left a lot of room for the imagination. The driving force behind Edo’s economy and vitality may be the powerful imagination of its people. The soft sound of the name “Oman” suggests such a background.

 

References:
Enseki Jisshu Vol. 3 (1908) compiled by Sashichi Iwamoto, Kokushokankokai
One Hundred Essays Not Yet Published Vol. 8 (1977) Chuokoronsha
Musei Asakura (author) and Yu Kawazoe (commentary) (1992) A Study of Shows: Sisters Version, Heibonsha

Yuko Shibukawa
Writer/Editor

Editor and writer mainly on food and crafts. Author of The Secret of Rice Omelets and the Mystery of Melon Bread – The Story of the Birth of Popular Menu Items (Shincho Bunko). Editor and compiler of Hand-crafting Your Life – The Earthenware and Life in Iwai Kiln in Tottori by Noriyuki Yamamoto (Stand! Books), Nichiniimashi – Ryukyuan Cuisine and Okinawan Words that Will Create a Better Tomorrow by Ayaka Yamamoto (Bungeishunju) and more.

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