What the Edo Can Teach Us About Sustainability

More than 200 years ago, in the mid-19th century during Japan’s Edo period, the city then known as Edo—present-day Tokyo—was home to around one million people. At a time when refrigeration and modern transportation had yet to develop, sustaining a population of that size required ingenuity. Ingredients had to be used fully, and resources needed to circulate efficiently rather than be discarded. Within Edo’s food culture lie clues to a rich and surprisingly sophisticated circular society—one that offers insights we may have forgotten today.

In this article, we explore the traditional food culture of Edo: not only how people ate well, but how they developed practical, resourceful ways to make the most of what they had.

The Food Culture Born in Edo, Japan’s Great Metropolis

Fish caught in Edo Bay helped shape and enrich the city’s food culture.

Edo’s food culture was supported by the rich fishing grounds of Edo Bay, now known as Tokyo Bay. However, this abundance was not simply a gift of nature. In the great city of Edo, with a population exceeding one million, human waste was collected by recycling traders and returned as fertilizer to nearby farmland. The nutrients from these fields flowed through rivers into the sea, creating plankton-rich waters. In other words, the activities of the city helped enrich the ocean. It can be said that this sustainable circulation system—unique to Tokyo, in which urban life nourished the sea—supported the superb seafood of edomae.

However, in an era without refrigerators or modern transportation, keeping fish fresh was a challenge. As a result, preservation techniques developed, such as curing fish with vinegar or soy sauce and fermenting it. For example, easily spoiled tuna was grilled with a glaze of soy sauce and mirin, a sweet rice wine used as a seasoning, in a dish known as kijiyaki, a style of grilled fish glazed with a sweet and savory soy-based sauce, or simmered with green onions in a hot pot called negima nabe. A variety of dishes born from such constraints became part of everyday meals in Edo.

There was also a strong commitment to wasting nothing. Fish heads and bones were not discarded; instead, they were grilled until crisp, crushed, and eaten as furikake (a savory seasoning sprinkled over rice). This preparation method was known as Yakigashira.

Nothing was wasted: even fish skin was transformed into a delicacy through skilled preparation, reflecting the Edo spirit of mottainai.

Beyond this, when eating rabbit or poultry, even the internal organs were used in cooking, and fish were prepared down to the entrails. Fish that had lost its freshness was not thrown away either; instead, it was simmered with strongly flavored seasonings to make it enjoyable to eat.

In this way, people in Edo made conscious efforts to minimize food waste. At a time when resources were limited yet large numbers of people lived together in the city, they built a sustainable society by using ingredients fully and keeping materials in circulation rather than letting them become waste.

Signature Flavors of the Edo period: Edo Miso and Koji

One distinctive feature of Edo cuisine was its sweet-tasting Edo miso. Made from just three ingredients—soybeans, salt, and rice koji (rice fermented with a natural mold)—this locally-sourced seasoning promoted a sustainable "farm-to-table" cycle long before the term existed. At a time without refrigeration, it could also be preserved for long periods, making it a sustainable food product.

Edo miso emerged when the city’s growing population led to a shortage of miso supplies. To increase production, makers boosted the amount of koji—a Japanese fermentation starter used in miso-making—to accelerate fermentation. The higher proportion of koji resulted in a naturally sweeter flavor, which eventually became the defining characteristic of Edo miso.

Edo miso, one of the defining features of Edo cuisine

At the time, soy sauce was expensive, so Edo miso—produced through large-scale methods that made it affordable for ordinary townspeople—became an essential seasoning.

Its distinctive, sweet and rich flavor also influenced what we now recognize as modern soba dipping sauce. In the Edo period, a method known as ninuki was used: miso and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) were simmered down and then strained to create a sauce for soba noodles. Later, when soy sauce and mirin became cheaper and widely available, soba sauce came to be made by combining these two seasonings. However, it is said that the flavor profile was modeled on the earlier ninuki style.

In this way, Edo miso had a lasting impact on the city’s food culture.

Another essential seasoning in traditional Edo cuisine was koji. At a time when sugar was scarce and expensive, the natural sweetness produced by koji expanded the range of flavors in everyday cooking. The Edo period was also an era when sake culture flourished. Sake lees, a byproduct created when fermented rice is pressed to make sake, were used as a seasoning to add sweetness and depth. Old culinary texts include recipes using both koji and sake lees. Some even note, for example, that sake lees should be added when simmering anko (a sweet red bean paste used in Japanese desserts). These records show how important these fermented ingredients were in the kitchen. Fermented seasonings like these also enhance umami. Umami, the fifth basic taste discovered in Japan, defines the distinctive flavor of dashi.

Fermented ingredients such as miso, koji, and sake lees were valued not only for flavor but also for their ability to improve preservation and nutritional value. Here again, we see a commitment to using food fully rather than letting it go to waste.

Edo’s food culture reveals a way of living that balanced sustainability with rich flavor and nourishing, health-conscious eating.

The Culinary Diversity of Edo

Chef Hiroshi Kaibara of Edomae restaurant Shibahama

Hiroshi Kaibara, who runs the Edomae specialty restaurant Edomae Ryori Shibahama, is also a researcher of Edo cuisine who studies historical cookbooks and brings their recipes back to life for modern diners. According to Kaibara, the defining features of Edo food were shaped by the geography that formed Edo Bay and by the fact that Edo was a major city with a population exceeding one million.

Abundant fishing grounds provided large quantities of seafood, sustaining the people of the city. However, supporting more than one million residents in an era without refrigeration required ingenuity and a commitment to using ingredients fully, without waste.

As a result, cooking techniques and preservation methods using fermented ingredients developed. Dishes made with Edo miso and sake lees also evolved, as these seasonings could be produced in large quantities at relatively low cost.

At the time, Japan was a highly stratified society, and Edo was home to people from many different backgrounds, including samurai, merchants, and Buddhist monks. Some samurai were assigned to Edo from other regions for official duties. As people gathered in the city from across the country, their local food traditions intersected. Monks, meanwhile, followed shojin ryori, a style of cuisine based on Buddhist dietary principles. The blending of these diverse food cultures further enriched Edo’s culinary landscape.

Edo also had a large population of single men who had come to work in the city. As a result, restaurants and sozai (Japanese ready-to-eat side dishes) became increasingly common. This vibrant dining-out culture expanded the range of available dishes, and even gave rise to booklets that ranked popular recipes in the style of a sumo tournament chart.

“Nichiyo Kenyaku Ryori Shikata Sumo Banzuke,” an Edo-period booklet ranking frugal everyday recipes, displayed inside Edomae Ryori Shibahama

This ranking compiles dishes that were especially popular among the people of Edo. On the right side are shojin ryori (a Buddhist vegetarian cuisine that avoids animal protein), while the left side features dishes made with fish.

At Edomae Ryori Shibahama, one of the dishes served from this ranking is maguro no kijiyaki. Kijiyaki refers to a cooking method in which ingredients are grilled with a sweet and savory glaze made from soy sauce and mirin.

Maguro no kijiyaki, featured in the “Nichiyo Kenyaku Ryori Shikata Sumo Banzuke” ranking booklet

In this way, knowledge about how to enjoy a rich food life was widely shared among the people of Edo.

According to Kaibara, the Edo understanding of shun (the peak season for a food) was also distinctive. Today, shun is generally understood as the time when an ingredient tastes best. In Edo, "shun" wasn't just about peak flavor; it represented a democratic approach to dining—eating what was most abundant to ensure affordability for all while protecting natural resources.

“For example, the fish sawara (Spanish mackerel) is written with the characters for ‘spring’ and ‘fish,’” Kaibara explains. “But sawara is actually at its most delicious in winter. The reason it includes the character for spring is that in spring it comes close to shore, making it easy to catch in large quantities.”

In this way, rather than chasing after expensive first-of-the-season delicacies, people in Edo ate according to the times when ingredients were plentiful. This practical and democratic approach—protecting resources while allowing everyone to enjoy good food—was another defining feature of Edo’s food culture. Kaibara says that each time he studies the food culture of the period, he is struck by how sustainable its ecosystem was. He believes that these social systems offer valuable lessons for the present day.

The food culture and mindset of Edo continue to shape modern Tokyo. When visiting the city, look beyond the flavors themselves and notice the ingenuity and sustainable spirit that seek to avoid waste and make the most of available resources.

Inside Edomae Ryori Shibahama