わさび漬けWasabizuke

 人の世は生々流転、諸行無常である。どう懇願しても変わりゆくことは止められない。
 そうやって多くのものが失われた。街並み、家、くらしの道具。そして食文化。時代の移り変わりとともに、私達の記憶からも消えていく。
 完全に消え去る前に、伝えなければならない、と思うものはたいてい、成り立ちに手間ひまをかけているものだ。現代人はその手間ひまに、残念ながら価値を置かなくなった。せめて、記録として残したいと願う。
 八百源のわさび漬けはまさにその手間ひまの結晶だ。一流の味にこだわるからこそ、原材料を吟味し、一店舗での小売りを一途に守り通してきた。
 四角い杉の木枠と包装紙、中に入れ込む紙も、店構えも昔からそのまま。さりげなく貴重な越前焼の大壺や骨董の伊万里、石皿、富本健吉の皿、高橋節郎作品が店頭に。ご夫婦の趣味の良さが伺われる。 

「後継ぎはいても、もう継がせられないんですよ」とご主人は言う。
「いままでもデパートなどからも出店の要請があったけど、大量生産ができないからね。山葵も手で切っているし、新潟の酒粕も手絞りのよいものを仕入れようとしたら、少しずつしかできないことなんです」と奥様。

 向田邦子の「う」の引き出しは、うまい、と感じたものの栞などを入れておくものだった。その中に、もちろん八百源の山葵漬けはあった。熊谷守一が山葵漬けと引き換えに、店名を筆でしたため、著名人の紫綬褒章のお祝いに使っていただくなど、これまで数々の有名人が訪れた。
 「かつては予約が無ければ買えない店だったんですよ。平成に入りだしてから客足が引いていった。嗜好品だから余裕があるお客様はみなさん天空に行かれちゃって」

 私達のためにわさび漬けと味噌わさび漬けを盛ってくださった。鼻にツン、とくる辛さと酒粕の上品で豊潤な風味。日本酒が欲しくなる。これはまさしく絶品だ。味噌わさび漬けは豆腐の田楽や焼きナスにも合うに違いない。

 本物ということをいつまでもこだわる八百源にて心を込めて作られたわさび漬け、いつまでも消えないでいて欲しいと願うのは人びとの共通の思いだ。人びとが口伝えに語り継ぐ時代も過ぎる。私達にできることは足しげくこの店に通うことしか、ない。
 よいもの、よいことが消えていく。その事に対して過敏でいなければならない。

In our world, all things are in flux and nothing is permanent. We cannot stop its flow even if we wish to do so. And within the flux, many things have been lost. Landscapes, houses, and living tools. And the culture of food. As the generation changes, these things disappear from our memory.
Often the things about which we urge to tell younger generations before they disappear completely are things that have taken time and effort to be established. In our contemporary society, unfortunately people don’t see the value in something which takes time and effort. I would at least like to try to save it as a memory.
Yaogen’s Wasabizuke (pickles of Japanese horseradish called Wasabi) is a fruit of time and effort. They have thought seriously about the best taste, selecting the best ingredients, and focusing their retail business on only one shop.
Nothing has changed since the establishment of the shop – the Japanese cedar box, wrapping paper, inner paper, and the appearance of the shop. In the shop, a precious large vase of Echizen ware, antique Imari ware and stone plate, pottery by Kenkichi Tomimoto, and work by Setsuro Takahashi are casually on display. These items say a lot about the good taste of the owner couple.

‘Even though we have a successor, we are just unable to hand the business over,’ says the husband.
‘We have been approached by people like department stores about having a shop in their stores, but mass production is not an option if we want to keep the quality. We cut Wasabi by hand, and we buy in hand-squeezed Sake lees from Niigata Prefecture as an ingredient. So everything needs to be little and slow’, says the wife.

The ‘U’ drawer of writer Kuniko Mukoda was a place to put something that she felt ‘Umai (tasty)’, tagged with a bookmark. Wasabizuke of Yaogen was in that drawer, of course. Many famous figures visited the shop – the painter Morikazu Kumagai wrote the shop name with a brush in exchange for Wasabizuke, and Wasabizuke was given as gift to celebrities who received the Medal of Honour with Purple Ribbon.

‘In the past people couldn’t buy pickles from us without making a reservation. But from around 1990, the number of customers started to decrease, as it is a luxury item that people only buy when they are in a comfortable position financially. But our good customers all went up to the sky’.
They served us some of their Wasabizuke and Miso Wasabizuke. With a heat which comes through the nose and a rich and delicate flavour of Sake lees, it makes us want some Sake. This is an exquisite piece of food, indeed. Miso Wasabizuke must go well with Tofu Dengaku (bean curd baked and coated with miso) or baked aubergine.

Wasabizuke – wholeheartedly made at Yaogen where people believe in making something authentic. We don’t want it disappear, and this is a common wish of people. The era of oral instruction is about to vanish. The only thing we can do is visit the shop as often as possible, and tell about this delicacy to as many people as we can.
Precious things are disappearing. We should be sensitive to this.

八百源漬物店(やおげんつけものてん) Yaogen Pickles

〒390-0872 長野県松本市北深志1-5-24 1-5-24 Kitafukashi, Matsumoto City, Nagano 390-0872 JAPAN

0120-09-3986

Website: http://www.mcci.or.jp/www/yaogen/

  • 営業時間: 9:00~18:00
  • 定休日: 日曜日
  • Opening Hours: 9am-6pm
  • Close: Sunday