🍱 Sawachi ryori

The representative cuisine of Kochi prefecture is sawachi ryori. This is not the name of a specific dish, but rather a style of cuisine where food from the mountains and sea, that Kochi abounds in, are lavishly dished up on a large platter (36-39cm). Various kinds of food are served up: seasonal raw fish dishes such as sashimi or skipjack tuna tataki; varieties of sushi including sugata zushi and inaka zushi (vegetable sushi); platters known as kumimono where sushi is served alongside stewed items, foods dressed with various sauces, deep-fried food, or sweets and fruits. There are also platters serving items such as steamed bream, somen noodles, and zenzai (a soup made from azuki beans). In Kochi, inviting guests over for a feast is known as "okyaku"; even today, okyaku culture is deeply rooted. Sawachi ryori arose as a way of serving food during these okyaku. It was created as a way to serve about three servings of food on one dish. The food is replenished as it is eaten. You can recognise the scale of an okyaku party by the number of platters served. The origins of sawachi ryori date back to the Edo period, when food would be served on great platters at the end of samurai banquets. Eventually, it spread further after the Meiji period, as okyaku cuisine. It was also a symbol of one's social status: wealthy families would gather expensive Imari, Kutani and Arita ware dishes, and store accessories in their storehouses such as sake cup stands and lacquerware stands to place their platters on.