🍱 Dojo kenchinjiru

Yasugibushi is a folk song that has been passed down in Yasugi City since ancient times. The “loach scooping” movement, in which the dancer holds a colander and dances with humorous choreography, is well-known. According to one theory, this loach scooping gesture was adapted from the movements of men working in iron sand curation workshops. Even though loach is “dojo” in Japanese, the “dojo” in this dish's name does not refer to the river fish “loach” but instead refers to soil, which is also “dojo” in Japanese. That being said, even before the creation of Yasugibushi, loach food culture had taken root in Yasugi City. As goes the saying, “one eel and one loach,” it was a nutritional food to boost one's energy. Loach was such a familiar ingredient that it was even recorded in the fish category of the Record of Izumo's Domestic Products which was a compilation by the Matsue domain of the products of the territory at the end of the Edo period. In Yasugi City, which ranks second in the nation in loach production, the aquaculture business began in earnest after the war. Currently, it is focusing on branding the Aozora Loach that was grown in rice fields. There are a variety of loach dishes, including fried loach, Yanagawa hotpot, and candied stew, but dojo kenchinjiru, which is made with loach and plenty of other ingredients from the mountains of Shimane Prefecture, is popular.