Seafood ── Shellfish and cephalopods
Hamaguri
a clam whose two shells fit no other pair, hence its wedding role
Because each shell fits only its original pair, this clam symbolizes marital harmony and appears in wedding-banquet soup. Grilled, it releases a rich broth the moment it opens, with plump, deeply savory meat, in season through spring.
- Shellfish
Lineage
What it's made of
Because each shell fits only its original pair, this clam symbolizes marital harmony and appears in wedding-banquet soup. Grilled, it releases a rich broth the instant it pops open, with plump, deeply savory meat. It is said to appear under the name Kuwana's grilled clams in Edo-period travel writing, long known as the dish that greeted travelers on the Tokaido highway.
How it's made
It burrows into estuary sand and mud, traditionally dug up with a rake or a toothed scoop called a jorenn. Facing declining stocks in recent years, regions are said to be releasing farmed spat and capping catch sizes to help numbers recover. It is said to fill out best just before spring spawning, then thin out over summer as spawning drains its reserves.
Why it took this shape
The brackish waters where the Kiso Three Rivers meet Ise Bay, mixing fresh and salt water, are said to give this clam a thin shell and plump meat. Kuwana, once a post town on the Tokaido highway, is said to have made grilled clams its signature way of welcoming travelers.
Before You Go
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- Roadside stations, direct-sale stands, and marketsHow to enjoy buying food near where it's produced, visiting and shopping at morning markets and fish markets, what to expect at farm stands, and finding local food at roadside stations (michi-no-eki).
- Foods to look for in winterA guide to foods often seen in Japan around winter — nabe hot pot, fugu, oysters, crab, year-end soba, and osechi — with rough pointers for finding them.
Dishes in the same style
- AkagaiA bivalve whose blood contains hemoglobin, tinting its flesh red. A traditional Edo-style sushi item, with a crisp bite and an iron-tinged flavor; even its frilled mantle edge is eaten, often vinegared.
- AsariA small bivalve familiar from beach clam-digging outings. Once purged of sand, it releases a strong broth in sake-steaming or miso soup, its flesh springy, best filled out just before spring spawning.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Known for it here
- Known for it here: Mie, Kuwana
Raised in the brackish waters where the Kiso Three Rivers meet Ise Bay, giving thin shells and plump meat — famous since the Edo period.