🍱 Satsuma
Satsuma" is a well-known local dish in Yawatahama City and other areas in the Nanyo region. Although it is a white fish, "satsuma" is made all over the prefecture, and the fish varies from region to region. Other than sea bream, satsuma is made with a variety of fish, including kozuna (red sea bream), ezo, horse mackerel, barracuda, himechi, mullet, sardines, and other miscellaneous fish, and in the mountainous areas, it is made with iroko, carp, crucian carp, and chub mackerel. In Uwajima City and Ainan Town in the southwestern part of the prefecture, barley rice was often eaten in the old days. Satsuma" is a dish that fishermen ate on their boats, and it is also called "Iyo Satsuma. There are various theories about the origin of the name "Satsuma," including that it came from Satsuma Province (Kagoshima Prefecture) and that the cross-shaped slices of rice placed in a bowl to blend well with the broth look like the family crest of the Shimazu family of the Satsuma Domain. There is also a theory that the name "satsuma" comes from "satsuma," meaning a husband assisting his wife in cooking, but it is not clear which is the true origin.