Japanese Food & History: Matsumae Tororo

Matsumae translates as In Front of Pine, Tororo as Slimy Texture. But this pack only contains shredded Kombu and squid, no pine needles/nuts, no slime. So what is the connection?

Matsumae is a village in Southern Hokkaidô, which became the feudal domain of the Kakizaki from Shimokita in Aomori when they crossed the Tsuruga Strait and settled in Hokkaidô. There they used their position to exploit the Ainu, taking over their trade routes to Honshû, which included Kombu Kelp and dried squid. So the term Matsumae is often used to denote a dish that includes both ingredients, like Matsumaezuke, where sliced kelp and dried squid are mixed with Sake, soy sauce, Mirin and other ingredients like turnip, daikon or herring roe, left to soak up the liquid seasoning. This particular package uses one of the more slimy kelps, likely Gagomekombu 籠目昆布 ⓈKjellmaniella crassifolia, which is mainly harvested in Southern Hokkaidô.

Interestingly, a similar dish is eaten in the Yanagawa area/Date City of Fukushima, called Ikaninjin, with a similar recipe just omitting the kelp. The reason for this can be found in the feared Musical Chairs of the Edo period, where clans who had become into disfavour of the Tokugawa Shôgunate were forced to move to a new domain within Japan, as happened with the Matsumae/Kakizaki in 1807, bringing their recipe for Matsumaezuke with them, before being allowed to return to Hokkaidô in 1821.