Tsukudani: The Fishy Preserves that Saved a Shogun

June 29th is “Tsukudani day,” a minor holiday for a fish-and-seaweed preserve dish — that happens to be the food that saved Tokugawa Ieyasu’s life.

By Himari Semans

A lot of holidays go unnoticed. Take, for example, National Waffle Iron Day, or the Hug Holiday. Both of which just so happen to occur on June 29th. So, basically, you should eat enough waffles to induce a dopamine rush strong enough to get you through a day of unsolicited embraces.

Meanwhile, here in Japan, we won’t have to endure sugar-loading and awkward hugs.

Instead, June 29th in Japan commemorates tsukudani (佃煮), the food that kept Tokyo’s founding father alive.

Illustration of a beef-based tsukudani dish.

Best Friend Dead, Long Road Ahead

In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康) became, indisputably, the most powerful man in Japan. Ieyasu was the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, whose hegemony would last for the next 200 years. His bloodline would rule over Japan from within the walls of Edo Castle (now the…