33 The rising of Edomae sushi(2)
Originally, Edomae was not a cooking term at all.
It was a geographical word:
the sea right in front of Edo Castle,
and the low-lying waterfront districts that faced it.
From the south around what is now Tsukiji,
through Kayabachō and Nihonbashi,Kanda,
up towards Asakusa in the north—
this eastern belt of rivers, canals, markets, and warehouses
belonged to the world of Edomae.
By contrast, the stylish western neighborhoods we know today—
Daikanyama, Hiroo, Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku—
were never part of “Edomae” in the original sense.
They didn’t face the sea.
They didn’t sit “in front of Edo Castle.”
Edomae was the front line where city and sea met.
From those waters came fish.
Fishermen went out into the bay “in front of Edo,”
brought back flounder, kohada, anago, shellfish, and more.
That catch was called Edomae no sakana—
“seafood from in front of Edo.”