7 Delicacies of Lake Shinji
Lake Shinji, located next to Matsue City, is a location filled with the natural beauty of the San’in Region. Located to the west of Matsue City, the Lake is one of the bodies of water which gives Matsue its title as the “City of Water”. Lake Shinji provides many gifts to the people of Matsue, first among them, its renowned seafood, the most highly regarded of which are known as the “7 Delicacies of Lake Shinji.”
Lake Shinji has been drawing visitors for centuries, drawn not only by the natural beauty of the lake but also by attractions along its shores, including the Tamatsukuri Onsen, and nearby sites of religious importance, such as Izumo Grand Shrine.
When Matsue City was founded in the seventeenth century, Lake Shinji gained additional foot traffic due to its proximity to an important center of feudal administration. One such visitor was the Chinese-language kanshi poet Hirose Kyokuso, who visited Lake Shinji in 1854. Kyokuso played an important role in increasing awareness of Lake Shinji within Japan by coining the phrase “碧雲湖”, or “blue-cloud lake” to define the Lake.
Creating literary epithets such as these elevated the status of natural areas, marking them as particularly worthy of respect and particularly ideal for visiting. Lake Shinji’s epithet as the “blue-cloud lake” was additionally used in the 1915 “Lake Shinji Rowing Song”, further increasing the cultural relevance of the Lake in modern Japanese society.
People in the Lake Shinji region continued to draw on literary traditions to showcase their pride in the Lake. In 1930, the Shimane Shimbun newspaper published an article identifying the “10 Views and 8 Treasures of Lake Shinji”, a phrase used to refer to the West Lake in Hangzhou, China, an important focus of literary and poetic energies in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). This trend culminated in the late 1950’s, when the “8 Treasures of Lake Shinji” finally morphed into the modern “7 Delicacies of Lake Shinji”.
The “7 Delicacies of Lake Shinji” consist of whitebait, shijimi clams, eel, moroge shrimp, sea bass, amasagi smelt and carp. Each can be enjoyed at different times of the year, and are prepared in different ways.
Whitebait is a spring delicacy, and is often prepared as sashimi or tempura. It can also be served with kuroda seri, a local green of the Matsue area, takana pickled mustard greens and rolled omelet in a clear soup, known as tamago hari.
Shijimi clams are the most prized of the “7 Delicacies”, and are known throughout Japan as yamato shijimi, identifiable by their black shells and large size. Enjoyed primarily during the summer, they can be eaten in a variety of different ways, including being boiled in dashi soup stock and added to miso and clear soups, added as a flavoring to rice, made into boiled shigureni side dishes and even as part of a burger. Shijimi clams are further renowned for their ability to help cure hangovers and for the benefits they have for liver health. Aside from this, they help clean Lake Shinji of impurities, creating a freshwater habitat in which the other 6 delicacies can thrive.
Eels are also enjoyed during the summer, and when grilled make a magnificent complement to many types of dishes, especially when served over rice (unagi-don) or simply on their own.
Moroge shrimp are enjoyed in the autumn, and are usually boiled whole in dashi soup stock.
Sea bass are enjoyed in winter, and can be served in a variety of ways, including steam-grilling in hosho paper. The stomach of the sea bass is considered the most delicious part.
Amasagi smelt are enjoyed in the winter, and can be cooked in a variety of ways, although yanagikake, a dish consisting of teriyaki grilled smelt over rice and topped with whitebait eggs, radish, scallion and seaweed is a specialty of the region.
Carp is also enjoyed during the winter in the form of sashimi known as komaburi, consisting of threads of carp over rice, dressed with eggs.
It is possible to experience the “7 Delicacies of Lake Shinji” at multiple sites around Lake Shinji, although they are perhaps best experienced in the comfort of the many traditional inns, or ryokan, around the Lake, especially in the onsen at Shinjiko and Tamatsukuri. The “7 Delicacies of Lake Shinji” are also served at restaurants and in homes throughout Matsue City, and should not be missed upon a journey to the region. Savor the taste of tradition and local pride when consuming the “7 Delicacies of Lake Shinji”.
Lake Shinji is next to Matsue City, and can be easily accessed from the city either by bus, car or train using JR West or the Ichibata Electric Railway. The Ichibata Electric Railway runs along the north shore of the Lake, making stops near sites such as the Izumo Grand Shrine, Momen Kaido (“Cotton Road”) historic district, Shinjiko Onesen and Matsue Vogel Park, a park hosting species of birds from around the world.
Sources:
Bonfires and ceremonies to welcome all Japan’s gods
Hirose Kyokuso’s Chinese poetry and Matsue – The San’in Travelogue from 1854 and the three generations of the Mihonoseki family (JPN)
The Seven Treasures of Lake Shinji (JPN)
Lake Nakaumi Reclamation Project (JPN, PDF)
The Seven Delicacies of Lake Shinji
SHIJIMI – 1 of 7 Delicacies of Lake Shinji
Ichibata Electric Railway