Editing Soba (section)

== Etymology ==
[[File:Mori soba of Fuji-soba.jpg|thumb|''Mori soba'', served cold with dipping sauce and ''[[Allium fistulosum|negi]]'']]
The word ''soba'' (蕎麦) means "[[buckwheat]]" (''Fagopyrum esculentum'').<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rein|first1=Johannes Justus|url=https://archive.org/details/industriesofjapa00reinuoft|title=The Industries of Japan: Together with an Account of its Agriculture, Forestry, Arts, and Commerce. From Travels and Researches Undertaken at the Cost of the Prussian Government|publisher=Hodder and Stoughton|year=1889|page=[https://archive.org/details/industriesofjapa00reinuoft/page/55 55]}}</ref> The full name for buckwheat noodles is ''soba-kiri'' (蕎麦切り "buckwheat slices"), but ''soba'' is commonly used for short. 

Historically, soba noodles were called ''Nihon-soba'', ''Wa-soba'', or ''[[Yamato people|Yamato]]-soba'', all of which mean "Japanese soba". This was meant to distinguish soba from wheat noodles of Chinese origin, such as [[ramen]], [[sōmen]], or [[udon]].

In more recent times, ''soba'' can refer to noodles in general, regardless of origin or composition. For example, ''ramen'' was traditionally called ''chūka soba'' (中華そば) or ''shina soba'' (支那そば), both meaning "Chinese noodles", though the word ''[[Shina (word)|shina]]'' is now considered offensive.<ref name="Cwiertka2006">{{Cite book|title=Modern Japanese cuisine: food, power and national identity|first=Katarzyna Joanna |last=Cwiertka|publisher=Reaktion Books| year= 2006|isbn=978-1-86189-298-0| pages=144–145| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oK-7LOlWNpEC&pg=PA144}}; [https://books.google.com/books?id=oK-7LOlWNpEC&pg=PA145 p145]</ref> ''Soba'' can be used to refer to wheat noodles, as in ''[[aburasoba]]'' or ''[[yakisoba]]''. In [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]], ''soba'' generally refers to [[Okinawa soba]], also made from wheat flour.<ref name="Honbano_OkinawaSoba">{{Cite web |title=Okinawa soba |script-title=ja:沖縄そば（茹麺・生麺） |url=https://honbamon.com/product/26-okinawa-soba/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727073205/https://honbamon.com/product/26-okinawa-soba/index.html |archive-date=2021-07-27 |access-date=2021-07-27 |website=Honbano Honmono |publisher= |language=ja |quote=(translation): ...Okinawans call this noodle ''soba'' or in dialect ''suba''...}}</ref><ref name="Nahanavi2018">{{Cite web|url=https://www.naha-navi.or.jp/en/magazine/2018/07/13079/|title=Okinawa Soba|date=2018-07-02|access-date=2021-07-27|website=NAHANAVI|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306170336/https://www.naha-navi.or.jp/en/magazine/2018/07/13079/|archive-date=2021-03-06|url-status=live|publisher=Naha City Tourist Association|language=en}}</ref>