= Udon recreated Tongsinsa kalguksu =

How the Joseon Tongsinsa influenced udon noodles from kalguksu.

— Sanuki udon

うどんの歴史、「塩」でひもとく さぬき麺機（三豊）会長、本出版
2020/03/09

https://www.shikoku-np.co.jp/udon/news/ … zYzgNKxj7o

Yuji Okahara (70), chairman of Sanuki Noodle Machine (Mitoyo City), a noodle-making machine manufacturer, has published a book, “Fueki Trend,” which explores the roots of Sanuki udon. In addition to approaching the history centered on the existence of salt, which is indispensable for udon, he also touches on the current situation surrounding udon shops, saying, “I hope we can contribute to the further development of Sanuki udon.”

Mr. Okahara investigated the Kukai folklore theory, which claims that Kukai brought back the noodles from the Tang empire but wheat and salt were not widely available in Japan until the start of the Edo period 400 years ago. He pointed out that there was no culture of eating udon like it is today 1200 years ago.

He is developing a new theory that it is based on the Korean noodle dish “Kal-guksu” that was introduced from the Joseon kingdom via the Joseon Tongshinsa (Envoy from the Joseon Kingdom to the Edo Shogunate).

The manufacturing method of Kal-guksu is the same as Sanuki’s local dish “Udon noodles” that does not use salt. A stone mill that grinds wheat has also been introduced from the Korean Peninsula. “After the “noodles” born in China were established in Korea, they were introduced to Japan after the Muromachi period (1336–1573).”

Also, I am worried that the number of udon restaurants in Kagawa prefecture, which was about 870 a few years ago, has dropped sharply to 570. “We are losing our competitiveness without updating our technology and thinking. We should constantly explore the changes in quality that our consumers demand and continue to refine how we make our favorite noodles.”

— Haemul kalguksu

When Japanese expert on history of udon earnestly looks into Tang China origin folklore theory for udon, he finds it all incorrect, and then proceeds to trace it back to Korean influences.

Japan did not cultivate wheat or have widespread salt production according to his findings.

Even the stone grinding wheel comes from Korea when Japan paid huge sums of money to finance the Tongsinsa to bring new trends and technology to Japan from Joseon Korea every twenty years. I wonder how much Edo Period culture and technology were transfers from Joseon through the Tongsinsa.

Then, if udon was inspired by kalguksu, it seems soba buckwheat noodles likely from Korean maemil guksu?

Wikipedia even admits that Japanese soba started in Tokugawa times. The Tokugawa Shogunate requested the Tongsinsa envoys from Joseon Korean bring the latest technology, books, and new trends, when udon noodles were copied from kalguksu according to the Japanese udon expert.


Soba
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soba

The tradition of eating soba originates from the Tokugawa period, also called the Edo period, from 1603 to 1868. In the Tokugawa era, every neighborhood had one or two soba establishments, many also serving sake, which functioned much like modern cafes where locals would stop for a casual meal.[4] At that time, the population of Edo (Tokyo), being considerably wealthier than the rural poor, were more susceptible to beriberi due to their high consumption of white rice, which is low in thiamine.[5] It was discovered that beriberi could be prevented by regularly eating thiamine-rich soba.[6]

That beriberi stuff was Meiji Japan when the navy and army were dying in droves from eating machine polished white rice sucked from Korea. It is nonsense to say Tokugawa times deliberately ate buckwheat to combat beriberi, the wiki editors don’t know their own food history.

Wikipedia buckwheat noodle entry has more varieties listed under Korea.

It seems when not just potters were kidnapped during Imjinwaeran invasion by the Japanese, but farmers to bring technical knowledge of agriculture as well during the Tokugawa Shogunate. Even wasabi cultivation started during Tokugawa times and was popularized by Tokugawa. Although direct historical links have not been disclosed, I suspect by the timing of kidnapped Koreans that much of the dietary changes were due to Korean influences after Hideyoshi as a predecessor kidnapped so many Koreans during the unprovoked Japanese invasion, what Japanese like to ascribe to fanciful but false Chinese folklore theories.

Arirang Prime — Ep209c04 Joseon Tongsinsa
https://youtu.be/ixEoZXiovf0