1,800 Years of Steam

Yo Miko, when did konbini nikuman become a thing?

…

Yeah, Onii-chan asked me and I was totally blanking

…I know how to make ‘em, nya. But when they started? No clue, nyan

Onii-chan guessed “Edo period?” — and honestly I thought the same

…That’s a guess, nya

Yeah it was. So I looked it up

So I hit a wall right away

…What happened, nya?

Edo period Japan had an official ban on eating meat

…Nya. Buddhist influence, nya

Wait, you knew that?

…I know about “kusuri-gui,” nya. They called boar “mountain whale” and deer “autumn leaves” — said it was medicine, then just ate it, nyan

Official story vs. what was actually happening…

…But if you’re sneaking meat, you’re not gonna stuff it in a bun and steam it out in the open, nya. Way too obvious

…Oh. Right. Nikuman couldn’t have existed in Edo period

…Netsuki’s theory: 30 seconds, nya

Ugh… but Miko, you didn’t know the answer either

…I didn’t know from the jump, nya. You threw out “Edo period,” nya

…Fair

So then I went further back. And ended up somewhere wild

…Wild, nya?

Three Kingdoms. 3rd century

…Three Kingdoms, nya?

Zhuge Liang was coming back from a southern campaign and hit a flooded river he couldn’t cross. The custom was you’d sacrifice to appease the river

…

He refused to sacrifice people, so instead he wrapped meat in dough shaped like a human head and threw it in. Called it “mantou” — literally “barbarian’s head”

…That “mantou” became “manjuu,” nya?

Yeah. “Barbarian” wasn’t great for a food name, so over time it got softened to “manjuu”

And “wrap it and steam it” caught on in China. “Baozi” — steamed buns filled with meat — became a staple

…That made it to Japan, nya?

In 1241. During the Kamakura period, a monk named Shouichi Kokushi brought the technique back from China and passed it on in Hakata

But Japan had a meat ban, so the filling went vegetarian. “Vegetable manjuu.” The wrapping and steaming technique made the jump — just the filling changed to fit Japan

…The container traveled, but the filling adapted, nya

So in Japan, nikuman — with actual meat inside — didn’t happen until way later

…When, nya?

1927 — Shinjuku Nakamuraya

…1927, nya? Way more recent than I thought, nya

The founders, a couple named Soma, had baozi on a trip to China and adapted it for Japanese tastes. Lighter, smaller portions. They called it “Chinese manjuu”

Price was 5 sen each. Coffee cost the same back then — so basically 400 to 500 yen in today’s money

…Premium food, nya

Konbini nikuman is like 150 yen now. It took 100 years to drop to a third of the price

…From vegetable manjuu to nikuman: 700 years. Nikuman to konbini: how much more, nya?

That’s where one more key invention comes in

Miko, when do you think “buying nikuman and eating it warm right away” became normal?

…Fresh-steamed was always how it worked, nya. Obviously

That’s what I thought too. But nope

Until Imuraya developed a “store-front steamer” in the mid-1960s, keeping things steamed and warm while selling them was actually really hard. Before that, people bought them cold and resteamed them at home

…You bought cold nikuman, nya?

Yeah. That steamer unit next to the register at every konbini — that’s what made “warm and ready” possible

…Miko just assumed fresh-steamed was always the default, nya

We both whiffed (≧∇≦) — me about Edo period, Miko about fresh-steamed. Same level

…Don’t lump us together, nya. Miko’s mistake was smaller, nya

You’re competing about THAT?!

Anyway — that steamer tech is why nikuman landed next to the register in the 1970s. The case stays at 70 to 75 degrees. Drop below that and bacteria bloom. Go above and the dough gets soggy

…Temperature control, nya. Only 5 degrees of wiggle room. Same precision as maintaining a fermentation culture, nya

Looks totally boring from the outside, but there’s a lot going on in there

So to run through it — 3rd century: Zhuge Liang throws a “barbarian’s head” into a river. 13th century: it crosses to Japan as vegetable manjuu. 1927: becomes nikuman in Shinjuku. 1960s: finally sold warm. 1970s: lands next to the register

…1,800 years, nya

Yeah. That steamy white thing puffing away in the register warmer — 1,800 years ago it was getting thrown into a river

…But, nya. Onii-chan’s question was “Edo period?” The answer is “it didn’t exist in Edo period,” nya

…Yeah. But isn’t the Three Kingdoms thing way more interesting?

…If you tell Onii-chan “it started in Three Kingdoms,” will he even get it, nya?

He loves that kind of stuff, it’ll be fine

…By the way, nya

Hm?

…The nikuman Onii-chan brought home — it’s getting cold, nya

Oh no (ﾟ∀ﾟ)!

…1,800 years of history — and the one right in front of you goes cold while you talk about it, nya

The microwave! I’ll get the microwave!

…Steam it. Imuraya taught us that 60 years ago, nya