Tableware and Food Remains
Tableware from several regions was excavated from the Ninomaru Goten site. These discoveries included bowls from Seto (Aichi Prefecture) and Mino (Gifu Prefecture), in central Japan, and blue-and-white porcelain plates and tea bowls from Imari (Saga Prefecture), in Kyushu.
Archaeologists also found remnants of meals, including the bones of pheasants and ducks and the shells of shellfish. Knowing what was eaten at the Ninomaru Goten helps researchers establish a richer understanding of everyday life at the castle and provides valuable information about food distribution and class in Tokugawa-period (1603–1867) society.
Shells
The Ninomaru Goten’s inhabitants consumed a range of ocean shellfish, including abalone, turban snails, red clams, oysters, and Asian hard clams. Shells from freshwater clams and pond snails were also found at the site.
Fish Bones
Bones from sea bass, sea bream, amberjack, and other ocean fish were found at the Ninomaru Goten, along with the bones of carp, a freshwater fish. Seafood was transported to Matsumoto from the Pacific Ocean or the Sea of Japan, a great luxury in the days before electric refrigeration and rapid transport. Most fish would have been salted before being shipped to Matsumoto, but even raw fish was not unheard of: records indicate that a raw sea bream was presented at an 1825 celebration that marked 100 continuous years of rule by the Toda family.
Salt Container
Refined salt was a favored seasoning among samurai and nobles. It was made by baking unprocessed salt in ceramic pots to separate out the bitter-tasting remnants of the brine (called “bittern”) and other unwanted particles. Fifty-nine containers of refined salt were excavated from the Ninomaru Goten site.
This container bears the mark of a salt maker in Senshu (Sakai, Osaka Prefecture), where salt is still produced today.
Korean Porcelain
Archaeologists found celadon ware from the Korean Peninsula during the excavation of the Ninomaru Goten. This green porcelain was highly valuable. The example here was likely produced sometime between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.
