Feeding the Shogun: The Feasts of Feudal Japan

[@TastingHistory]

What other Japanese foods should I cover? Also, keep an eye out for other food in FX's Shōgun. It pops up here and there!

[@petergray2712]

The Fortune Cookie. AKA Tsujiura Senbei, which originated in Kyoto around 1870. You should do both the original Japanese version and the modern version. For history, you should examine the Japanese immigrant experience (including WW2).

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Buddhist temple food.

[@kokuinomusume]

A Meiji era gyuunabe/ sukiyaki? Or the Imperial Japanese Navy curry? Naporitan?

[@kiayaplews8593]

What about that grilled squid stuffed with rice? It was part of Japanese ekiben (train station lunchboxes) during a war, filling thousands of soldiers when rice was scarce.

[@georged.5595]

Maybe try something sweet? Like dango or another dessert.

[@8roomsofelixir]

The biggest impact of the Portuguese culture on Japanese cuisine is probably Tempura, which is directly based on the Catholic fritter dishes during ember day (têmporas in Protugese) fasts.

[@markflacy7099]

I'd put Castella as an equal if not close second.

[@alanmacdonald88]

The Portuguese brought back Churros from China. Then Spain adopted it.

[@gintasasd]

@@alanmacdonald88 yeah thats questionable there are way to many theories about its origin, so saying that it came from China would be very difficult

[@Xiroi87]

@alanmacdonald88 really? So the Arabs who were in Spain for 800 years didn't fry dough either?

[@Assassinus2]

Don’t forget konpeito!

[@Norbrookc]

I'm struck by the parallels between the shogun visiting a Samurai and the English monarchs visiting various nobles. In both events it was an expensive proposition for the host. Queen Elizabeth I used to visit nobles who she thought might be planning against her, and usually by the time she left, they were so broke they couldn't afford any of that.

[@danvol3835]

Yes, the Tokugawa shogunate was carefully planned to keep the "outside lords" poor and on their heels.

[@hierophrantic]

It's an interesting complement to Louis XIV's approach in moving the court to Versailles and obliging all the ambitious nobles to leave their power bases behind and come compete with each other in lavish, wasteful spending on his own home turf.

[@kenwarren9450]

There was a similar scenario with the Ethiopian kings many centuries past -- they spent most of the year going from one subject's estate to the next, and wherever they landed would be VERY expensive for the local gentry, with similar feasting and gift-giving.

[@stephanpopp6210]

And the Great Mughal too! One nobleman received Shah Jahan on a red carpet of velvet, two miles long. The gifts were meant to show to what lengths you would go to get the most precious gift for the emperor you could afford. Rubies and diamonds were appreciated, especially big ones. The emperor then would give you a gift he could afford, to show you that he's the boss and all your power depends on him. In the case above, if I remember correctly, it was an elephant with a silver howdah, a horse with a golden bridle, and a jewelled sword.

[@Vinemaple]

My understanding is that Nobunaga, or whoever thought up all the protocol for the Japanese nobility, had the same thing in mind. The endless trips in full ceremonial procession to and from the new, remote capitol, the minimum entourage size, the minimum standard of living, it's an effective way to keep feudal nobles in line by draining their treasuries. I do know the entire Shogunate government revolved around maintaining a unified state and preventing any secession or insurrection...

[@juanjuri6127]

"completely inedible, but that was not the point. it was all about the spectacle!" the fondant of the ancients...

[@Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger]

I will eat fondant with a straight face just to prove you cannot hurt me in any meaningful way. (god its like chewing sugary clay though)

[@melreams2904]

ha! that's a really good point. we serve less "food" that's literally inedible these days, but we absolutely serve food that's unpleasant to eat purely because it looks pretty.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

@@melreams2904 I've only ever seen "food" like that in cooking shows, never in real life.

[@lynfriel8481]

Add grocery store and mass produced frosting to the fondant inedible list. Looks pretty but yuck!

[@napoleonfeanor]

Yes, it seems to have been common among the elites but this case has really been overkill.

[@mycattypedthis2827]

I just love how straightforward Japanese are about naming things, as Ryori Monogatari literaly translates to "a tale of food", but at the same time they have like ten different nouns for rice

[@Alfonso162008]

Considering all the things that Max told about in this video, the names would be the only straightforward thing they'd have 😂

[@user-ov4wr5yu4r]

I think it's more like cuisine or cooking. Tabemono is just food, literally things to eat.

[@patricktorres4226]

It's a thing in Asian languages. I mean, it's more efficient to have a different name for uncooked rice, for cooked rice, and for rice growing in the field.

[@pv2639]

​@@patricktorres4226there's also harvested rice, unmilled rice, unpolished rice, polished rice

[@xXxSkyViperxXx]

every language in asia, at least east and southeast asia has different words for rice because rice is the daily food like daily bread. in religion, they actually translate daily bread like daily rice

[@brauchereye5305]

I took a comparative religions class in college: In Shinto, there is a strong emphasis on naturalness, which gives deep spiritual significance to the simplicity of Japanese cuisine, summed up in this proverb: "A Chinese Chef with his sauces can make pig taste like duck, but a Japanese Chef can make a carrot taste more like a carrot than any carrot you've ever eaten." That's stayed with me all these years.

[@ahmedbaumusvonderstamm]

They have to take a jab against the Chinese do they 😅

[@landofthehazymist]

thats kinda wot cantonese cooking is like, which ironically is a type of chinese cooking from southern china, hong kong, and macau

[@yummychips_]

it's not really a jab. Just a proverb comparing 2 spectrums of cuisine.@@ahmedbaumusvonderstamm

[@inisipisTV]

"Wabi Sabi" - Finding beauty and perfection within Imperfection - Sen no Rikyū (famous Japanese Tea master and teacher) Regarding Chinese cuisine about changing a certain dish to look into and taste like something else, has its roots in Buddhism. When the rich and nobility would do some time into Monastery life as a monk (it’s a standard practice) they are forbidden from eating meat. They resort into experimenting and cooking new ways of vegetables, roots, mushrooms and beans to imitate meat cuisine or to make them taste delicious without using heavy spices, which is also forbidden (sort of cheating on the point of being a monk, but it’s still ok on a technicality). It’s one of the reason they created Tofu, Soy-bean paste and sauces and mushroom cakes resembling meat.

[@TheRoofWatchers]

that explains why Japanese cuisine is so bland compared to the rest of Asia truly the England of Asia

[@donutchan8114]

The thought of a bunch of grown rich folks playing tea party while drunk as hell with pockets full of decorative sea jerky is absolutely hilarious.

[@gastonmarian7261]

Rich people stay being absolutely insane. A table full of food, none of which you could eat, sounds awful

[@benwagner5089]

@@gastonmarian7261 At least the Romans provided edible food and had vomitoriums for you to use so you could eat more afterward.

[@45calibermedic]

​@benwagner5089 A vomitorium is a large exit for a theater or stadium, where a mass of people can "spew out" of the building when the event is over. The word has nothing to do with Roman dining culture.

[@benwagner5089]

@@45calibermedic I had to look it up after you told me this. Thanks for that. It's no wonder the name has been misconstrued for the past 100+ years, I never would have thought of leaving the theater as being vomited into the public. Seeing as the mouth is usually for bringing food in, I'm not sure we'd appreciate the name had it been about diarrhea instead of vomit.

[@45calibermedic]

@@benwagner5089 Sure thing, and interesting idea for an alternate name!

[@ShawnBird]

Max is the perfect host for this type of show, because he seems to genuinely like food in general. Any time period, any style, he finds something to enjoy.

[@napoleonfeanor]

Yes, he seems genuine and generally likeable. Plus he sticks to the topics. I discovered him relatively early by pretty much coincidence. It's something to comfort watch.

[@HeidiLynOVeran]

True. When it comes to food and History it'll be only Max Miller that comes into my mind. And also he's very honest in reviewing about the food he tastes. He doesn't sugarcoat.

[@anthonyjackson280]

". . .any style, he finds something to enjoy. . ." - you obviously have not seen his episode about 1950's american 'Fish Pudding'. It looked foul and from his reaction tasted foul as well.

[@C2C.]

And he has a wonder respect and appreciation for cultures, on top of historical interest.

[@ShawnBird]

@@anthonyjackson280 I don't consider that a 'style', it's an atrocity, possibly a crime against humanity.

[@italian504]

A few moments after this video released, I tried throwing in the spice mix of that rice into my rice cooker after doing my usual rinsing for lunch (And substituted the water for basic broth) and let me tell you, Cloves and ginger made the rice taste ridiculously good like he said even when you substitute the broth! Everyone should give it a legit try to change up your rice!

[@Dr.ZoidbergPhD]

What were your ratios?

[@lethfuil]

Given I love Plow, I'll definitely give it a try. ^^

[@Hallows4]

It’s nothing very special, but sometimes I make rice with canned chicken broth instead of water, just to liven things up.

[@katarh]

You can also toss in a chicken bouillon cube.

[@rachelbennett9150]

We make rice with butter, salt and bay leaves. It's delicious! Using stock instead of water will always improve things.

[@AlexanderYamada]

As a Japanese with a huge love of both food and history, I just want to say how much I appreciate the amount of research you've put in, as well as clearly taking the time to learn and pronounce Japanese words as accurately as possible. Thank you! 🙂

[@mostazezo]

question: do you stare at food for long hours in memory of ancient times

[@Baobabooo]

As a Japanese, I really appreciate how accurate your pronunciation is for each word! You must’ve done loads of research!! Thank you, thank you 😊 ありがとう✨ I love all of your videos!

[@ZatmanW]

you cannot be japanese, or the way he pronounced 狂言 Kaïogen would have driven you mad haha

[@forenamesurname4674]

@@ZatmanW he's being polite

[@MrInuhanyou123]

​@@ZatmanWbruh he's being nice about it lmao

[@frederikmathisen7357]

The amount of people who pronounce the Gun in Shogun like the weapon gun is hilarious to me, and I am just a Duolingo user

[@mikiohirata9627]

Almost yes Max was very good except Kyogen. It's just like what you would with Tokyo, k y o is contracted together to form one sound Kyo or Kyou.

[@BoSmith7045]

I don't have social anxiety. But I probably would definitely develop it after attending a banquet like that. Do I eat this? How do I show that I appreciate how fancy It is? How long do I stare at it? What if my back starts to ache? What if I can't eat what is served without loudly gagging? Can I get a drink of water? Can I go to the bathroom!?! I think I would just leave the country if I had to go to something like this.

[@uranusjr]

It’s not that much mentally different from attending a very socially significant party nowadays I’d say (like say if you’re invited by the president and the thing will be broadcasted worldwide). There are rules you gotta learn about if you reach that position. But if you have troubles learning those, well that’s fine too since we’re not making the attendee list anyway.

[@BoSmith7045]

@@uranusjr Yeah. If I did something weird at a State Dinner I would just be embarrassed. If I offend the Shogun or his host I might lose my head. THAT'S where my anxiety would come from.💀

[@uranusjr]

@@BoSmith7045 I mean back in those days people probably prefer getting their heads cut off than being publicly shamed for the rest of their lives. Both Asians and Europeans. So the stake isn’t that different.

[@gingerella7934]

Those banquets sound utterly exhausting to attend, never mind the efforts to make it all.

[@zhiracs]

@@R.P.-hw2rq between the break to watch the theatre and the noodles and buns I think by the time the banquet and the post-meal come around you'd be a bit sobered up

[@moguera]

Since you mentioned it in the episode, I think mochi is a Japanese food deserving of an episode of its own.

[@sandtats]

Mochi, a.k.a. choking the Japanese way.🤯

[@SuperKendoman]

Max made some Chinese nien gao, which is very similar to it. I think it was the Chinese new year episode a year or 2 ago

[@HauntakuTV]

@@sandtats Mochi is to be eaten carefully with a few small bites.

[@syahminorizan8064]

Remember, eat the mochi in small bites. Or you may choke.

[@JayGatz4]

I'm really delighted to learn that choking on mochi is a common experience. Never had it happen myself, but y'all are informing me of a very interesting world.

[@petergray2712]

13:27 "Shi" was actually the Chinese phonetic for both "four" and "death." In formal ceremony in China and Japan, the use of this phonetic was avoided. But the Japanese language also had a vernacular form consisting of native Japanese words, and the phonetic for four was "yon," which could be used freely without invoking death.

[@christopherreed4723]

You still see that avoidance of "shi" today. When I was taking Aikido in college, the numerous wrist lock techniques are numbered. "Ikkyo" ("First Teaching"), "nikkyo", "sankyo...and then "yonkyo", before moving on to "gokkyo" and "rokkyo". Random aside, these names also lend themselves to low humor, such as "the knights who say...'Nikkyo!'", or "don't let them yonkyo around". I'm sure there are more...

[@nairbvel]

I was going to make the same comment (without the knowledge of the Japanese alternative). If you want to see something really creative, look up "Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den" -- it's a modern Chinese poem where *every* word is a variation of "shi."

[@aliasfakename3159]

That explains why Sanji's little brother is names YONji (anime reference)

[@keltzy]

@@christopherreed4723 not entirely avoided tho. 四角　(shikaku) as "square" immediately comes to mind.　I always loved mixing words between English and Japanese. Working at a Ramen shop with a lot of billingual folks, we came up with Abunai-su, (Dangerous + nice) for when you narrowly avoid danger, and Abunai-fu (dangerous + knife) when you have a dangerous encounter with a knife.

[@Blumpkinthehobbit]

Si actually, shi sounds more like the chinese word for poop

[@toncek9981]

- I was at the feast with Shogun - Wow! Did you enjoy the food? - What food?!?

[@KhanhNguyen-mh5ec]

_It was a tea party.

[@labelledamedumanor4876]

I reckon these folks have a strict diet. Henry 8th would not be able to handle Japan.

[@NoLoyalMudHound96]

We gathered to simply admire the food as art , simply art.

[@erzsebetkovacs2527]

It is so interesting how they subbed gardenia for saffron, the traditional European yellow colouring of soups and sauces, originating from the Middle Ages.

[@atsukorichards1675]

I think gardenia/Kuchinashi (くちなし)must be less expensive than saffron.

[@GrenadineOctopus]

From cooking in a tiny kitchen without sitting room to being sponsored by a major TV network, you've come so far, Max!

[@brendamartin7280]

Yes! He is wonderful and very entertaining!!!

[@cieradurden9397]

I just want to say that there are so many things I appreciate about this channel, but one significant one is that I deeply appreciate you always trying to pronounce names as they're meant to sound in their home language. You clearly take the time to learn and practice, and it shows!

[@kajony]

New to this channel (and already addicted) and 100% agree with you!

[@findingwithterry]

Good job on knocking it out with the pronunciation. No expectation that you sound like a native speaker, just appreciate that you took the time and care to get it "foreigner" right. And great video overall. The Sengoku period and the following Edo period are super interesting times in Japanese history. Thumbs up!

[@lillithcollins5192]

I think he's been working on it since his last one on Japan. Proud of him.

[@jacobuponthestone9093]

And I suppose your pronunciation and inflection and context is spot on.

[@TheZenomeProject]

He does this for Icelandic stuff, too. For a media host, he generally does a great job with pronunciation. He really does tend to study phonetics before he films videos.

[@uranusjr]

The only somewhat signifncant mistake is “kyogen” (more like kee-ou-gen not kai-ou-gen) but you can really tell how much work was put into this.

[@findingwithterry]

@@uranusjr Agreed ;-) He got the "ry" combo right but I guess no one's perfect. Still, all good and I always appreciate the effort and enjoy the end product.

[@Dfathurr]

One thing i noticed about the the dish that Max serving, is the "heaping" amount of rice. At first glance you might think " doesn't the rice seems too much?" considering if you had an experience eating in Japan or having native Japanese friend, most of them don't really eat a lot and most of the dish is small serving and you need to tell the waiter or writes in menu if you want "larger" size. But, if you watch another youtuber named Samurai Matcha (different with that goofy Matcha Samurai 😅😅) he did a challenge on samurai eating habit and researching that explains, basically unlike today's Japan. Samurai era Japan had less protein intake and more calories intake. To the point that the rice eaten is like 5 times that of modern Japan used to eat. So, either it's just for American serving or Max did really research it. It actually quite accurate

[@dud3655]

That's honestly... like about as much rice I eat on the regular, even a bit less, I just love the stuff, it gets so much better if you throw in an onion and a bit of garlic.

[@atsukorichards1675]

You are right about it. In Edo Era (and before that, I believe) people ate more rice and other grains, for that was the "main food /主食" and animal meats were less eaten.

[@dud3655]

@atsukorichards1675 At the same time a good part of the country was buddhist, so they chose not to eat meat on purpose.

[@atsukorichards1675]

@@dud3655 yes, you're right. They (who were near the water) could eat seafood, and I read that some people found ways to eat birds and animals, too, sneakily cheating by calling them other names like "Botan (paeonia)" for wild boar meat, "Momiji (maple leaf)" for deer and "Sakura (cherry blossoms)" for horse. (By the way, the hare is counted by "-wa (~羽)" which is normally used for counting birds, so they considered it was not an animal but a bird, I heard...)

[@Sean.Cordes]

Burdock is dope as hell for anyone who's never had it. Pairs super well with all kinds of izakaya dishes and ramen and sushi. Just awesome.

[@kimandre336]

Burdock is bitter enough to become an ingredient for beer as a non-traditional gruit.

[@atsukorichards1675]

Burdock/gobou/ごぼう has certainly strong characters, hard fibers, unique smell, hard for teeth...( I heard a story of WWII prisoners had complained that the Japanese had given them "tree roots" for meals.) We use Gobou in Kinpira (a kind of stir fry), miso soups, Yawata-maki (cooked gobo wrapped in thin-sliced beef), cooked in seasoned rice, and Tataki-gobou (one of the New Year's Day dishes). Gobou is usually peeled/scraped with the back of the cooking knife, and cut diagonally, thin-matchstick, or shaved like a pencil (a method called "Sasagaki").

[@G1NZOU]

@@kimandre336 We Brits also use it for soft drinks, Dandelion and Burdock is quite a nice drink for anyone who's fond of root beer.

[@clareryan3843]

@@G1NZOU yep👍 someone accidentally stocked the local supermarket (New Zealand) 'International' section with Dandelion and Burdock cordial - Im a sucker for weird food Ive never heard of before: ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS👍👍 must have sold out, they never restocked🙁

[@Mokiefraggle]

There's a place in San Francisco that makes fancy, gourmet-ish onigiri (rice balls) that does one with a braised gobo filling that was super-tasty. A little bit of an expensive place, and they put _way_ more nori than necessary on the exterior of the rice, but it was pretty good.

[@dhawthorne1634]

Gobo is very fibrous, has a rather aggressive smell and oxidizes very quickly. You peel it like ginger, by scraping it with a spoon, then it is best to slice it on an extreme bias so you are cutting across the grain but still get long strips. Have a bowl of hot water with a splash of lemon juice to put the gobo in as you cut it and let it soak while you prep whatever else you are going to be making with it. This will tenderize it, keep it white and soak away some of that pungency. (My preferred dish to make with it is Kinpira). While not period-accurate; marigold, chrysanthemum, saffron and tumeric can also be used to color the broth in small amounts, but will each add it's own flavor to the mix. Saffron will probably change it the least, though I love the smell of marigolds and would likely use this instead. For a fish-free dashi, use more sheets of kombu, some dried shiitake (I save the stems for this) and sun-dried daikon strips. If you are using any konjac ingredients, don't rise or pre-boil them, as it will also add some fishy flavors. If you are using a cold-stock soak stock like this recipe, it is best to start the soak the night before. Polishing rice to remove the outer bran makes for white rice, but that is not good enough for sake. A table sake is milled to about 50% and the high-end Daiginjo mills it to 90%, meaning there is only 10% of each individual grain left. This leads to a lighter, more fruity and floral sake that is best served cold. Nigori (unfiltered) sake is also best served cold. Warmer sakes tend to be the middle-quality that have more spicy and earthy notes to them. Taru, aged in cedar barrels, are also good warm, no matter the polishing ratio. The "burns like mustard" is real wasabi. The tart sauce is likely made from Umeboshi (pickled sour plums). Another dish the Portuguese brought to Japan is Castella. "The Bread from Castile". Castile was a nation from what is not central Spain. The bread in question is actually more of a dense cake. It uses high-gluten flour (such as bread flour), is sweetened with honey and is mechanically leavened by whipping both parts of a separated egg into a foam then folding in the other ingredients. After baking it is then basted with a honey syrup to moisten it back up. For a bit of historical fiction based on this time period, check out the anime Samurai Champloo. While it takes a lot of liberties with accuracy to play up the comedy, the socio-political, architecture, aesthetics and most cultural depictions are quite accurate to the mid-to late Edo (Tokugawa) period.

[@Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger]

Konjac/Shirataki noodles smelling like fish has always been one of life's great mysteries to me. I still love the stuff, but oh that scent.

[@c1ph3rpunk]

Fish free dashi? Heresy!

[@dhawthorne1634]

​@@c1ph3rpunkActually, it's quite common. Certain recipes call for it specifically and Buddhists always substitute it as they are not allowed to consume life. Personally, I became allergic to seafood in my 20's and have to substitute for vegan versions of anything with fish or shellfish in it.

[@kaltaron1284]

I have to admit that I never connected the dots between Castella and Castile. Or maybe I forgot. There are other anime that are a lot closer to reality like Rurouni Kenshin. But Samurai Champloo is a fun ride, I'll give it that. Thre's also one that focuses on the Shinsengumi but the name eludes me right now.

[@kaltaron1284]

@@dhawthorne1634 To be fair only the most radical Buddhists will not consume life. Most accept the negative karma from it. Having a major food allergy sounds horrible. Or at least quite troublesome.

[@Ozai75]

I love basically any Japanese pickled veggies. They're exceptionally good when you have them with something like Gyudon, or Unadon, things that are very oily/fat because they cut right through that and give off an amazing brightness to the dish. So good.

[@TuckerSP2011]

I watch a lot of Japanese travel videos and they still serve rice in the lower left on the tray, with miso soup on the right, the main course in the center and small dishes of pickled vegetables between the various dishes.

[@atsukorichards1675]

Yes, that is still our way of basic dish layout!

[@Belgand]

I'm told that it's common to teach young children left and right by referring to them as "rice hand" and "soup hand".

[@galliman123]

I'm always swapping them around 😅

[@Project308]

Appreciating the aesthetics of a dish probably explains why current time bento meals look so elegant and designed (at least from what I can see from cooking video's, japanese live action shows and anime).

[@HauntakuTV]

I love the rice bowls even when the western version has mayo on it

[@zipherfoxhound571]

If you want to see something modern that is probably quite close to the elaborate banquet mentioned in the video, there is a type of japanese cuisine called "Osechi-ryōri". It is a set of food boxes eaten by japanese family on the new year for good luck and prosperity in the coming year. So all the foods have some kind of hidden meaning and beautifully arranged (and all of them are edible).

[@原太平]

Im Japanese myself but I never really thought of how so much of the customs and mannerisms from the past seep into what we have today (definitely in a different style tho) so it was really refreshing watching this! We arent served on the little tables anymore, but often at restaurants our food would be served on little trays called “obon”. Traditional Japanese restaurants definitely focus on food presentation and often times spiney lobsters (or any other fresh fish prepared as sashimi) are served together with the head/tail as “sugata-zukuri” which translates as “prepared to imitate original form” 😂 Keep up the good work!!

[@south_is_north]

The gardenia definitely feels like it's supposed to be a replacement for saffron based on my knowledge of portuguese cuisine of the time!

[@eduardonunomarques]

Not that I am familiar with Portuguese food of the time, but the moment Max said it makes things yellow I has this scene in my head: "and then we'd put in bits of this flower that would make it yellow, but it's expensive AF and we don't have any" - "a flower that makes things yellow, you say? I got you".

[@pepper6174]

All these old banquet traditions are completely unhinged, it’s incredible how many ways of displaying your status the nobility comes up with with all that time on their hands. I do wonder why so many of them all had the same idea of the importance of seating.

[@zennvirus7980]

Has to do with the serving order and the... quality of the food. Both etiquette rules, European and Asian alike, date to the times when hunters would bring in the game they hunted. After cooking, the best pieces, the meatier ones, like tights or breasts, would be presented to the lord of the house (whether king or shogun) and his close relatives/vassals, while the more bony and with less meat were left for the rest. So seating was important because it related to the quality of your food, which in turn related to the quality of your relationship to your lord. Leave that to stew for a few centuries, and the nobility will push it to the extreme, where they would indulge in this massive, symbolic depiction of the phrase "I'm so wealthy, affluent and prosperous, that I can afford to make food pretty, and pretty inedible, and you will still get to eat at my table". Of course, that wasn't an affair for every time, or for any type of guest. Still, eventually, any properly bored nobility with more time and money than good sense, would lose sight of what luxury entails (in terms of cost), giving birth to those decadent, debaucherous times that enraged the peasantry that supported the nobility, which bred revolution, which replaced the social conventions such as this with new ones that had more or less the same symbolism, which in time would devolve into the same hotbed for decadence and debauchery that would restart the mess all over again. Tuesday, for Humanity.

[@jts1702a]

It all goes down to the Zhou Book of Rites - the Yinjiu Li (Wine-drinking ceremony) is a ritual designed to teach the hierarchy of seniority in a given social situation. As a revived Confucian regime, the Tokugawa Shogunate did a lot to remake the old canon in new contexts.

[@pepper6174]

@@zennvirus7980 Very interesting angle, i’ve never thought about that connection. The more they change the more they stay the same, right?

[@pepper6174]

@@jts1702a Thank you, i really aught to brush up on my non-european history. Last time i did was bill wurtz’s less celebrated ‘History of Japan’

[@cheetochinpo]

@@pepper6174 how about 🎶*sunrise land*🎶

[@Dabednego]

I love making pickles in the fridge! I use carrots, shallots and radishes and I make a brine of vinegar, salt, sugar and msg and I add a little mustard seed and dill as well.

[@JenMaxon]

Yeah - I made radish pickle at the weekend. Lovely crunch

[@jingalls9142]

I like making those tsakumono?? Pickles. The little cucumber quick pickles with the rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, lots of ginger and garlic and chili flake. Where you almost crush the cucs on your cutting board that's has been heavily salted. If you roll them by 1/4 ea h cut you get the little bamboo shoot looking cuts. They are the best.

[@cydvicious88]

Feel up to sharing your recipe? That sounds sooooo delicious!

[@USMarshmallow]

Those sound amazing, oh my goodness. I'll have to try that! I normally just do cucumbers, but maybe I could do daikon radish that way, too!

[@Dabednego]

@@cydvicious88I don’t technically have a recipe as much as I cobble together different recipes for fridge pickle brines (Joshua Weissman’s MSG pickles et al.) Typically you want a ratio of one part vinegar to two parts water with about a tablespoon or two each of salt and white sugar and 2 teaspoons msg. You bring that to a boil and then pour it over your veg and let it cool before putting in the fridge for at least a day. Most recipes will call for cucumbers but you can use any solid vegetable you want (radishes are my favorite because the sweet-sour brine plays really well with the peppery crunch. If you can find french table radishes they are especially peppery!) Just make sure to slice them super thin with a mandolin (and USE THE HAND GUARD, I’ve cut my fingernail clean off before and it not fun.)

[@stevecastro1325]

19:50 Your chopsticks skills are very sufficient. I say this as a non-Asian who 1st learned to use them as a teenager working in a Chinese restaurant.

[@jorenbosmans8065]

Did Max say "like my dad makes it"? Now I am interesting in a history of Max Miller

[@imagingeruranoob]

you are so icon for really correctly pronouncing all the recipes and names in other languages.. looooove your channel this is so special interest of mine i'm obsessed

[@HinataUchihaInuzuka9]

Even today there’s a dish called Chikin Nanban, which is a battered and fried chicken dish with a sweet and sour kind of sauce and tartar sauce. I used to order it every day at university when I lived in Japan. So delicious!

[@kimandre336]

Chikin Nanban is a modern post-WWII invention. It was first created in 1955 (Showa 30, Japanese year-counting convention) in a western style Japanese food restaurant called London (ロンドン) in a city called Nobeoka (延岡), Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu (AKA the big south island). But yes, anything that is called "nanban" in today's Japanese culinary sense could be about food that has a strong vinegar flavor like cooked-and-marinated nanbanzuke, essentially a Japanese interpretation of escabeche, but cooked. (I see something common with Jamaican equivalent of this.)

[@karencorcoran4628]

We have burdock growing all over. We use the whole plant. I however have never pickled it. I definitely will be doing that this spring. Thank you Max. You are actually the best!!!

[@mariecherrytree]

I married into to a Japanese household. Most of the meals I prepare are generally traditional Japanese teishoku style, lots of different colors, textures, and flavors. We also have a lot of pickled vegetables or vinegared vegetables. Rice is of course a staple in the pantry but my husband absolutely loves pasta especially spaghetti and meatballs so we mix western dishes in with the traditional. The japanese diet and lifestyle really made such a difference in my overall health as well.

[@atsukorichards1675]

Good to hear!

[@poledra73]

I just found out today that the old Shogun movie is being remade so this is very timely. I absolutely love that you have branched out to Japanese cuisine and would love to have more episodes covering the history of different dishes. Sushi, sashimi, why dangerous foods such as puffer fish became a thing. Imperial banquet menus would be awesome. (Side note: I watched a doco years ago [may have been Lonely Planets; not sure] that featured a Vietnamese Imperial Banquet with dish after dish being served in front of them kneeling on the ground. Would love to know more about that. Future video??)

[@yfelwulf]

9 Shots and Sharp swords must have been a fun party.

[@edcrichton9457]

Samurai were not allowed to carry weapons in presence of the Shogun. But on the way home who knows what stupidity they got up to.

[@spartanhawk7637]

"Hey, Hanzo, take a look at the Shogun's honor guard." "Oh, he's already swaying on the fourth bowl. This is gonna be a night to remember."

[@apresmidi153]

musui's story: the autobiography of a tokugawa samurai has a bit about this!

[@saidtoshimaru1832]

@@edcrichton9457They did have to carry their short swords.

[@michelleboyle6497]

If anything, I would think that these liquor-soaked banquets would be very stressful, since a failure to maintain decorum could mean that the offender would be compelled to commit suicide. There’s a very famous drama about that: 40 Samurai Without an Overlord

[@aohige]

"The sharing of sakazuki" goes all the way to modern day, and even to this day the reference is widely acknowledged in the culture. Although in modern days it's mostly a Yakuza thing lol.

[@Menuki]

Considering yakuza started as samurai or ronin who protected regions when the standing ruling class did not, it’s not surprising they’d uphold samurai traditions

[@meshuggahshirt]

They do it at Shinto weddings too

[@atsukorichards1675]

​@@meshuggahshirt"san-san-kudo," you mean. The bonding over sakazuki.

[@rykx0r]

I remember watching the first Shogun miniseries with my dad growing up. I bought him the box set of it as a birthday gift! And ironically enough, I recently shared Tasting History with him. I can't wait to show him this episode and maybe try making some eventually.

[@chezmoi42]

Yes, I remember watching it, too. I'm very fond of Japanese art and films, and Mifune is one of my favorite actors. The most memorable food-related scene is still stuck in my mind, where Blackstone hung a game bird from the eaves to age, which grossed out the household. I could be wrong, but IIRC, the servant who disposed of it was executed for his pains.

[@rykx0r]

@@chezmoi42 Yep! “Lord God forgive me. I’m responsible - not Fujiko. I killed him. I ordered that no one was to touch the pheasant but me. I asked her if everyone understood and she said yes. I ordered it with mock gravity but that doesn’t matter now. I gave the orders, knowing their law and knowing their customs. The old man broke my stupid order so what else could Fujiko-san do? I’m to blame.”

[@rykx0r]

@@DeReAntiqua You don't seem like someone whose opinion I would value.

[@rykx0r]

@@DeReAntiqua You must be fun at parties.

[@rykx0r]

@@DeReAntiqua Sorry your Twitter account got suspended, btw.

[@TalKScribe]

Great video, and I especially appreciate that unlike the mini-series, no one was beheaded or boiled alive in this one.

[@user-mq4vl7nq5o]

Still waiting on Max to release his video on the gaijin soup from shogun. Ingredients: Water 1 english sailor (live)

[@Nariasan]

And yes, actually many restaurants still serve food in Honzen Ryōri style here in Japan... they just happen to be prohibitively expensive restaurants. (One I can recommend that is affordable is at the Tenryu-ji temple restaurant in Arashiyama. You can partake in a menu similar to that of the Buddhist monks.)

[@MrAsaqe]

One of the few dishes that haven't been filtered down to the masses like Wagyu (I had it at a Yakiniku joint and it's flavor and the way they served it was not at all far from a prime rib slice, with a side of wasabi in lieu of horseradish)

[@Nariasan]

@@MrAsaqe Wagyu is actually pretty common, at least in the Kansai area. Maybe it's because of our proximity to Kobe. In any case, unless you splurge for the _really_ pricy wagyu, it is really no different from a good quality beef cut anywhere else. And yakiniku tends to use more average/less desirable cuts of wagyu. And even then, if it's not kurogewagyu, sometimes it's just wagyu in name. The really good stuff ends up served with a blue stamp that qualifies it as wagyu (basically a certificate of authenticity). No blue stamp means it is, alas, just average wagyu.

[@krankarvolund7771]

I love how specific japanese dishes are "Food with Vinegar" "Daikon and such" XD

[@chasethevioletsun9996]

If you want to have/see the Spiny Lobster (Ise Ebi) "as a boat", go to Daiki restaurant in Ise, Mie. They literally serve it to the Emperor when he is at the Grand Shrine, so its likely as close to the historical account as you will get.

[@Dragon359]

On the one hand, those banquets are fascinating to learn about. On the other...attending one of those would be aggravating for me.

[@ULTRAOutdoorsman]

Everything else at the time would have been aggravating also, to be fair

[@Danthrax81]

Right?

[@Menuki]

And I thought using the right fork was scary…..

[@HauntakuTV]

@@Menuki Most were probably drunk during these meals, so a simple mistake would probably not be noticed or would be brushed aside.

[@russellg1473]

@@HauntakuTVother comments say wars would be started over behavior in these ceremonies. It is a diplomatic event. I’d imagine everyone to be under scrutiny, that seems to be the whole point

[@davidyoung745]

I’d never eaten burdock root before I moved to Japan, but it’s one of my favorite veggies now. It can be used in soups just shredded and dropped into the broth along with the other ingredients. It can be pickled with all the variety of flavors that implies. It can be fried into crispy chips. But probably the most common way to eat it is in kinpira gobo, a simmered dish of thin strips of burdock and carrot glazed in soy sauce and sugar.

[@CleoHarperReturns]

LOVE when you do ancient Japanese cuisine. Thanks, Max!

[@Yora21]

Daikon is one of my favorite Japanese words, as it's a great example of most Japanese words having very plain and simple meaning. It's just "big root".

[@slwrabbits]

and it literally IS a big root! WHOMP

[@LyrialEra]

Similar to how earth is just big ground, gotta love extremely literal words for stuff lol

[@mistformsquirrel]

@@gwennorthcutt421 English as a language can often be found in back alleys, mugging other languages for loose grammar and vocabulary. (Don't remember where I got that quote, but it's loooong been a favorite of mine)

[@SiKedek]

@@gwennorthcutt421And it's "denwa" (電話) in Japanese - literally 'electronic talk'. This was loaned through their respective Chinese character pronunciations in Mandarin "diànhuà" and Korean (전화) "jeonhwa".

[@blakksheep736]

​@@SiKedek speaking of Chinese, it is very funny how many appliance names are either (function)-box, (function)-machine or electric-(function). One of my favourite is camera, which translates to zhào xiàng jī, which literally means "photo appearance machine".

[@thatsme9875]

a very popular dish in Japan is Castel, a type of airy sponge cake, named after the nation of Castille (modern day Portugal).

[@dumbdeep3036]

Castille formed into Spain?

[@ZakTheFallen]

You're thinking of Spain. Castille and Portugal were both around at the same time, Castille would later gain control of the rest of Iberia and become Spain, while Portugal remained independent.

[@dawsonlewis2619]

Yeah, castella is a local dessert of Nagasaki, so when domestic tourists visit, it's the go-to souvenir. Since it was introduced by Portuguese merchants and missionaries, it has been mistakenly attributed to Portugal.

[@nLinggod]

A banquest so bereft of actual food, they had to have a seperate meal afterwards to eat .... sounds like those super fancy resteraunts today that serve tiny amounts for enormous prices

[@inisipisTV]

Exactly. The real point in these "Power lunches" is to show off your wealth and power and artistic taste. Not for eating. The Guest in return must show their resolve not to gush over it or get intimidated with the wealth, without insulting the one who held the feast since there’ll be discussion and negotiations that will be done later, which if they’re not careful, can start a war.

[@jodofe4879]

Rich people never change. Feudal banquets and fancy restaurants are both more for show than for the actual food.

[@annasolovyeva1013]

It kinda depends on the place. Many places like that serve long sets of food, 8 dishes, sometimes up to 12. 8 tiny 50 g dishes is 400 g of food and that's quite a lot. Like imagine eating 8 chicken eggs, you aren't hungry after that amount of food. Especially given that their food is quite oily and calorically dense. Now imagine those eggs aren't eggs, but three starters, two mains, a plate of cheeses and jams, and two different desserts, each tiny.

[@garygreen7552]

What an informative lesson. The ceremonial elements reminded me of some thing I heard from a special friend. Many years ago my friend was a civilian engineer in the U. S. Navy. After working to install equipment on nuclear submarines he was invited for the noon officers' mess on a submarine tender. The executive officer, number two in command, served as his guide. He entered the officers' mess with the XO and was escorted to the head table. He was placed to the right of the CO's seat with the XO beside him. Everyone remained standing. When the commanding officer entered he went to his place at the head table and remained standing. My friend, a civilian engineer, was told that he needed to take his seat first. The CO was next to sit, then XO sat, and the senior officers took their seats followed by the junior officers. The meal was served by the officers' stewards. The food was not the star, but the ceremony was.

[@badwolftina8716]

I've just discovered your channel, loving it so far! And as a European: thank you sooo, so much for including metric measurements in all your recipes, that's helping a lot! I find cups to be incredibly confusing and it's always been a source of frustration to have to look up conversions for various ingredients online with messy hands when you're in the middle of cooking/baking something. I've put your book on my wishlist and will be mentioning it to friends and family when my birthday comes around again. 😍

[@eddybeals611]

I'm glad Max talked about the connection between shi and death in Japanese culture. Reminds me of a story of a samurai who was walking along a dangerous precipice. One wrong move spelled certain death. The samurai's foot slipped, and he fell off the side, shouting "Oh shiiiiiii-"

[@justicegaming1412]

13:27 For reference, these are the two kanji in question: 四 four 死 death They are only pronounced similarly, and while both can be read as "shi", the number four can also be read "yon" and often is read that way in compounds specifically to avoid the "shi" homonym. Four is still considered an unlucky number as many readings of it are "shi" still (usually readings to do with inanimate objects) as well as the number as a standalone.

[@Mokiefraggle]

I've noticed that this seems to also somewhat apply to the word for "seven" ("shichi"), as it's more often read as "nana." Never been 100% sure if that's really the case, but the fact that there are multiple ways of reading the kanji, and that one of them has "shi" in it and seems to be less common stands out.

[@atsukorichards1675]

​@Mokiefraggle You are right about number 7 (shichi/nana). But I think the reason for preference for "nana" is you can say it much easier than "shichi."

[@joaocemoura]

I was floored by the way max pronounced João! It was so perfect i actually felt kinda taken aback. the ão sound is usually such a foreign sound that even speakers of other romance languages have a hard time at it, so seeing a native english speaker nail it like that was incredible. I have lost count at the amount of times my own name's been mangled by english speakers so my hat goes off to you mr. Max, bravo

[@siyacer]

amazing

[@sjdenning1]

Probs cause he's an actor - mastery of dialects pretty important

[@okitasan]

He did a good job with the Japanese pronunciation as well!

[@ULTRAOutdoorsman]

@@okitasanNot really, "Kaiou-gen" is nowhere near the right pronunciation of "Kyougen." I was surprised there was still a young person in America that couldn't automatically pronounce just about any Japanese word.

[@themarcusismael13]

it’s a channel on history. either he does his job correctly and well or not at all. what’s surprising? Max is a professional

[@napoleonfeanor]

Japanese author: totally authentic Portuguese recipes! Also love this show. Genuine comfort watching. Interesting topic with a likeable man who just wants to entertain us through the combination of food and history.

[@rachelmap100]

I dyed some pieces of silk with gardenia pods. They came out golden yellow.

[@nopenohandleforme]

When I first came to Japan, I read the book Shogun by James Clavell. I had already studied Japanese history and the language in college, but living in Japan and reading Shogun (which while not completely accurate, is by far one of the most accurate depiction of that time I've ever read) changed me into the man I am now. Now I'm married and my wife and I are about to move into a real samurai house 武家屋敷 that we bought earlier this month (we have the real documentation from the Edo period, which our loan provider was shocked to see lol). Max, if you ever come to Japan and find yourself in need of guide in the Kansai area, I'd be happy to show you around. Or, write up a novel of famous spots to visit

[@morganalori]

Yes Max!! Road trip, eat all the local foods!!

[@johnavast5939]

Wow that sounds amazing brother - my dream is to visit Japan one day! Enjoy your new house and hope your family's happy there

[@EliotChildress]

That’s awesome! How did you find a house like that?

[@nopenohandleforme]

​@EliotChildress We got very lucky. We were already looking at houses in that area and that one happened to be on the market. It was very competitive because Samurai houses are very rare and don't come up for sale often. We made a good impression on the manager and so he passed on a guy that was living outside of the country in favor of us.

[@nakerusa]

Death tray is pretty metal! Also, Max Miller's Japanese excursion sounds awesome!

[@dgh25]

"It's a good funk" should be the new "Hard tack"

[@TastingHistory]

😂

[@blakksheep736]

Clack clack

[@thor498]

Petition to make it a T-shirt

[@AzureRook]

2:26 konbu is kelp, nori is seaweed; dried seaweed is a great snack, i tried dried kelp and thought I got salt poisoning lol

[@alexhenao7072]

4:24 Excellent video as always Max! However, i have a correction as powdered dashi was not invented until post world war 2; the first company to bring one to market did so in 1964. Prior to that, all dashi broths were made from scratch using a combination of kombu and the "katsuobuoshi" bonito flakes you mentioned, steeped almost like a tea and then strained. Keep making great vids! Love it

[@marcos.bastos1905]

Shogun was one of the first books I've read that weren't meant for children or teenagers back when I was 12 or 13, a long time ago. I believe I still have that copy somewhere in the house. Loved the episode!

[@Michael-bn1oi]

Worth a re-read. Especially if you read it as a child.

[@jodieg6318]

What I find so fascinating is that even literally on opposite ends of the world, the feasts and banquets of the 15th century are very similar. It's always amazing when ypu look at history and see we are indeed all Earth people.

[@blakksheep736]

For humans have been humans forever.

[@HexIsme]

I like that Max is branching out to more ancient eastern dishes. Always cool to see the different cultures' takes on food.

[@napoleonfeanor]

Same, I find it very interesting but he obviously requires translated works

[@moshguy]

I'm so impressed how well the ad and the content went together. I wish all KZbin videos ad reads were this slick.

[@stevenr5534]

Max, you are the food historian to the people! I love that you introduce us to foods from so many different times and places. Food is an important part of knowing any culture. After that, elaborate peon of praise, an actual question. In the time we were looking at (the 1600s), what sweetner would have been mixed with the vinegar? Were the Japanese purchasing sugar from the Portuguese, did they have their own sugar beets or sugarcane crops, did they use honey, or did they have another sweetner?

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks, Maxwell! 🍙 I'm so excited for SHŌGUN (2024). I loved the mini-series from 44 years ago.

[@jeromethiel4323]

I freaking love pickled diakon. When i have access to an asian grocery, i will buy pickled diakon by the pound, and just eat it. Same with Kimchi. So good.

[@HauntakuTV]

Kombu is delicious

[@blakksheep736]

😆

[@irishsakura1]

This really hit close to home. This was the time when my family was created and established in Yokohama. The first recorded Ohtani was a retired samurai. The “pickled radish or vegetable” is what we call “takuwan”. You can get it at any Asian store. I grew up eating that a lot. I would take a piece and stuff it in rice and wrapped in dry seaweed.

[@sekhmet9808]

I am so looking forward to Shogun! This is such an awesome collab!

[@cronoz-sensei4259]

Whenever I watch your stuff, Im always surprised to see just how well you pronounce everything. Your japanese pronounciation is really on point, its great to hear someone finally pronounce the names for daikon as daai konn and not daaeekan as Ive and heard many people do. Keep up the good work Max.

[@germantoenglish898]

In England, one of the most popular canned sodas is made from Dandelion and Burdock.

[@PaulTheFox1988]

I've not had dandelion and burdock pop in forever, I'm craving some now that you mentioned it and I don't know whether to hate you for it or not 😂 For nostalgia's sake for me it has to be Ben Shaws

[@germantoenglish898]

@@PaulTheFox1988 It's yummy! 😋

[@Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger]

wish fish n chips!

[@napoleonfeanor]

How is it called?

[@marvelousjefferson7272]

No Poké plush?! Kingambit would have been perfect!

[@hambor12]

I assume because it’s a promotional episode for Shogun, he didn’t want to or wasn’t allowed to have an external property in the frame I’m sure it’s just for this episode

[@Angela-hn6mb]

I was wondering, but that make sense.@@hambor12

[@brendamartin7280]

I love the Pokemon stuff! I found a yellow cup like the one he used and have great fun using it!! My son is a dedicated Pokemon fan!!

[@anonomas6126]

I’ve been struggling with eating. This show has helped me actually want to eat. Thank you

[@LouisaWatt]

A pie of live snakes is the stuff of nightmares.

[@blakksheep736]

You mean the stuffing of nightmares.

[@LouisaWatt]

@@blakksheep736 😆🤣 yes

[@JudithOpdebeeck]

important detail about Shogun, that doesnt seem to be mentioned quite as much as i feel it should be, is that it is based on a book by James Clavell (1975). the story is based on that of William Adams and Tokugawa Ieyasu. it was previously adapted as a series in 1980, featuring John Rhys-Davies (of Gimli fame) as Rodrigues.

[@UrzuaTroskenia0369]

You described a spiced umami Japanese flavor I can barely recall that I tasted too when I was in a Yokohama Ramen shop along with an epic side appetizer of flat top of grilled chicken livers in a ginger sauce and very refreshing complementary kukicha iced tea pitcher's...i thought I was odd for liking Takuan as a snack I make from time to time, learned that flavor and others from eating anywhere it was given or sold while in Nippon, enjoy your visit.

[@naiomik6179]

Can we take a minute to appreciate Max's pronunciation? I have an amateur ear for Japanese myself but every word sounded pretty perfect. The inflections and length of certain syllables are really hard to accurately reproduce but he did an excellent job!

[@ZatmanW]

unfortunately, that"s the only bad tbing I would have to say about his rather great video : his pronounciation is awful and very much americanized.

[@MontySlython]

​​@@ZatmanWPretty sure there was only one word he severely mispronounced

[@kiribati472]

Kyôgen was seriously mispronounced. The others were ok, for a foreigner I‘d say.

[@kyokoyumi]

@@ZatmanW 僕もそう思う。彼のイントネーションはひどかった。

[@HauntakuTV]

@@kiribati472 Isn't it pronounced "kee-yoh-gehn"?

[@voidmstr]

I love pickled gobo. It’s the secret ingredient in salmon skin hand rolls.

[@helenjohnson7583]

I used to put pieces of whole burdock root into soup or stew(about finger-sized) and fish them out to slice them up afterwards. They were tender and added an amazing flavor and texture to soup. So sustaining and good!

[@nikkiewhite476]

Excellent video Max and thank you José for the captions! I adore Japanese food but I am allergic to fish. Bonito is in so many dishes I have to just make my own. One dish I love is Okonomiyaki there is such a variety of ways to make it. Of course I also love sushi and make that as often as I can. Japanese cuisine also uses cheese in vastly different ways, like melted over cabbage in broth.

[@jamesthepatriot6213]

Oh how PISSED would I be back then if I finally got invited to a fancy dinner and randomly the food was FAKE.

[@blakksheep736]

😆

[@christopheryanac977]

You would love doing this one I'm sure. The history of Japanese curry and rice 🍛 or karē risu. How it was influenced by the British that was influenced by India. Curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868-1912).

[@sandtats]

I was SHOCKED when my husband told me curry was the national dish of Japan!😳 Of all the amazing, beautiful, delicious traditional Japanese dishes...curry? (We have it at least once a week.😁)

[@blakksheep736]

​@@sandtats curry is universal.

[@sandtats]

@@blakksheep736 Yes it is. But it is Japan's national dish.

[@Mokiefraggle]

@@sandtats Japanese curry is kind of strange when you get down to it. It's not as spicy by far compared to Indian curry, and has sweet things added to it that you wouldn't see elsewhere. In particular, a common addition to Japanese curry is apple, or even honey. It's not too dissimilar from how Japanese Worcestershire sauce has pureed apple and tomato in it, making it both sweeter and thicker than the British version...Japan is honestly _full_ of sweet things, and makes sweet things out of stuff you wouldn't expect...like the various types of sweet bean pastes.

[@peasy-s7r]

What a great channel! Teaching history and cooking at the same time... i mostly watch it for the history facts though tbh because i have yet to come across a channel that does it like this

[@pilotswife06]

When we lived in Japan in 2013, we had the opportunity to go to a special “restaurant” in the Gion district in Kyoto, that served meals inspired by ancient Buddhist rituals. At the end, each person entered into a tiny room that was boiling hot, and they served us tea. I was pregnant with my oldest son and they prayed over my belly. It was life changing. I’m a Christian, but just having elderly Japanese men and women pray for the health of my unborn baby was… emotional. My grandmother was from Gifu, and my unborn baby got a blessing in his great grandmother’s home country. Absolutely beautiful. I still crave the tempura lotus root and daikon.

[@Yoromeki_kuzure]

Kyogen is a two syllable word, unlike kuh-yoh-gen you did here but since Ky consonant sound at the onset of a word doesn't exist in English I can see why lots of English speakers struggle mightily with words like Kyoto or Ryu (from Street Fighter franchise). Actually this is the very first time for me to pick up on Max mispronouncing a foreign word in a very conspicuous way and that's another sign of you putting tons of effort and proper research for each upload you do. Excellent work as always Max🎉🎉🎉

[@Mokiefraggle]

Yeah, there's a lot of sounds in Japanese that are not something that exists in English, so it's unsurprising that it caused a fumble here. Particularly, the "consonant followed by y and a vowel" is a thing that trips up a lot of English speakers...the name Ryu is a common one, as you pointed out. Loads of people, even those who can pronounce other seemingly more complex things in Japanese, still want to call him "Rai-yu" or at best "Ree-yu."

[@rickbuencamino358]

Hi Max. I just want to point out that per the book "Shogun", most Japanese at the time were pescitarians and were revolted at the thought of eating meat (which is considered barbarian food). In fact in one of the most influential experiences for John Blackthorn (Anjin-san) was when he butchered a pheasant that Torunaga had gifted him. His whole house staff was disgusted and the main chef had to buy a new sushi knife because Blackthorne used the knife to butcher the bird. Then he hung the bird to dry and it stunk up the house. The gardener decided to throw it away and was killed as punishment for defying his master, Blackthorn. Blackthorne was both upset and regretful about the incident until it was pointed out to him that the Gardener was old and sickly and chose to die with honor by saving Blackthorne's household from the foul smell caused by the rotting bird.

[@clobberelladoesntreadcomme9920]

It's funny that people think that fish isn't meat.

[@clareryan3843]

More funny people think fish doesnt smell😳 ok, so they eat REALLY REALLY fresh fish👍 But what about the bits that arent eaten or are chopped off before cooking?? How did they dispose of those??? My guess pigs or chickens🤔 There is NOTHING more pungent and lingering than dead fish smell

[@trustytrest]

@@clobberelladoesntreadcomme9920It's less that it's not meat and more that it's different from land animals. A lot of cultures historically put fish in a different category for whatever reason.

[@clobberelladoesntreadcomme9920]

@@trustytrest yeah but all the things that would "revolt" someone about eating a land animal apply equally to water animals. Seems like a cope.

[@merchantfan]

@@clobberelladoesntreadcomme9920 Well they're certainly less cute and lovable than land animals- there's a reason the label exists today in between vegetarians and meat-eaters. Or why some people like fishing but wouldn't want to go hunting

[@ezrariner]

Your channel is the best thing that came out of the lockdowns! I am so glad you found your calling bringing us this outstanding history.

[@veecsisvexed3720]

This episode reminded me of a favorite period Japanese movie that I love to comfort rewatch: Bushi no Kondate or translated as "A Tale of Samurai Cooking" (2013). So many points that Max described-- watching a play before the banquet, the three principal trays, the social cues on who gets to eat first-- it was reflected in the movie. Now I don't know how accurate the movie was based on history, but its a fun watch-- especially as the story focused on "kitchen samurai" or samurai who were disciplined to take charge in the kitchen.

[@R.FayeFaye]

Loved the history in this one!! This video posted on a Tuesday. On Friday my partner and I were looking for something to watch together. We opened up Hulu and this was the first thing suggested. ONLY BECAUSE I'd seen the Tasting History video did I say Yes to watching the series. 😂😂 FX def picked the right creator to advertise with!!!

[@stevejay5018]

this is 100% luxury meal back in old days , rice is life and during those times, rice is a big luxury they only can eat rice during new years

[@iwavns]

The painting at 1:47 is upside down 😅

[@jenny-DD]

When u have your own channel- you can hang your photos any way u want. Until then sit down and watch the show

[@mozzi_]

​@@jenny-DD why are you so offensive

[@HauntakuTV]

We need more food like this here in the west. Excellently crafted dishes with meaning and historic value.

[@mikiohirata9627]

That yellow Daikon pickles are called TAKU AN and it came from a monk who developed it. It's a lightly sun dried Daikon radish to dehydrate it then pickled in liquid of salt and probably that gardenia for the color. pickled for a few days. It leaves crunchy texture while concentrate the Radish flavor with saltiness and funk of fermentation process.

[@YamiKisara]

No pokémon plushie? What is this blasphemy!

[@CuriousPhilosopurr]

😮

[@thecaps7944]

It’s Polteageist, but red😂😂😂

[@Dominator4Hire]

Where's your pokemon plush? You usually have one in about every episode! Unless you didn't have one that felt fitting?

[@mattm54]

where is the pokémon plush???

[@Meetskink]

13:20 if I'm not mistaken that's still a rule that's often followed in Japan, most hotels won't have a room 4, buildings will go straight from floor 3 to floor 5, etc

[@blakksheep736]

Same way some buildings don't have a thirteenth floor?

[@Meetskink]

@@blakksheep736 exactly! It's the exact same concept except the number 4 is unlucky instead of the number 13 (as far as I'm aware 13 doesn't have any negative connotations in Japan, but I can't say that for certain)

[@Bob.Roberts]

No matter how full I am already from eating prior to watching these streams, I always end up hungry again halfway or so through. Great presentation!

[@moonchild8r]

You are the very first American I've seen who actually does some research and succeeds in pronouncing words and names from different languages the correct way instead of completely butchering the pronunciation. It might sound strange, but this is one of the reasons (apart from the unique and well-made content) why I became such a loyal supporter of your channel! I remember when I first heard you pronounce Turkish names and later on German ones, and I was so impressed with how good you actually sounded (like seriously, the Turkish pronunciation was top notch). Greetings from Bulgaria! :)

[@Марта-й7е]

Ех, българите сме много интелигентни. Поздравления за страхотния коментар!

[@moonchild8r]

@@Марта-й7е Хаха, благодаря много! Определено сме скрити лимонки ;)