Food
Rice
Unsurprisingly, rice was a staple food, and was so important as to be considered a measure of wealth. Farming in Japan has never been an especially easy affair, and the life of a farmer could be a difficult one indeed. Much of Japan is mountainous, and yet even after the land was unified under the Tokugawa, each province needed to have some rice-growing potential. A few areas were idea and by the 16th Century had come to the realm's 'breadbaskets' - especially Ise Province and the Kanto Region. The Kanto in particular was well suited to agricultural development, with wide, flat stretches of land for fields and rivers to provide irrigation. Other, more mountainous provinces, like nearby Kai, presented their lords and farmers with many problems, and required a great deal more effort to optimize production. Rice fields were cut into the sides of hills, and rivers arduously dammed and diverted. Yet the work was vital - famine was an ever-present danger, and one from which few were immune.
Other Foods
In addition to rice, the following foods were eaten when and where available: Potatoes, radishes, cucumbers, beans, chestnuts, persimmons, various nuts, tofu, yams , sour plums, apricots, peaches, apples, oranges, ect. Some other foods include seaweed, abalone, carp, bonito, trout, tuna, octopus, jellyfish, clams and whale. In a particular pinch, the Buddhist/Shinto injunctions that tended to prohibit the eating of meat could be lifted, allowing the hungry to catch pheasants, wild geese, quail, deer, and boar. Soldiers under siege, when hunger became as dangerous a foe as the enemy, often killed and ate their horses. Fifty different types of plants were available for cooking, such as daizu and azuki sasage. Generally flavorings suh as sake, shoyhu (soya sauce), imported pepper and rice vinegar, as well as kelp were used.
Before setting out for war, samurai would eat a meal that included dried chestnuts , kelp, and abalone, served on small lacquered plates - as well as sake. The sake was served in three cups - as the number three was considered good luck.
Sake
The most popular drink among the samurai - aside from perhaps tea - was sake. Sake, as mentioned was made from rice and was normally produced during the winter months. Over the centuries many different types of sake were perfected, but usually the alcoholic content tended to be low. Drinking was fairly common, at least among the samurai class, and found its way into many occasions-from social gatherings to the aftermath of battle.
