Editing Soba (section)

===Edo period===
[[File:Sunaba izumiya.jpg|thumb|Print depicting ''Sunaba'', a popular soba restaurant from [[Osaka]]. By Takehara Shunchōsai, 1796-1798]]
Modern soba originates from the [[Edo period]] (1603-1868), centered around the city of Edo (modern [[Tokyo]]). The earliest references to soba are associated with [[Buddhist temples in Japan|Buddhist monasteries]] and [[Japanese tea ceremony|tea ceremonies]]. 

The 1643 cookbook ''[[:ja:%E6%96%99%E7%90%86%E7%89%A9%E8%AA%9E|Ryōri Monogatari]]'' (料理物語) is the first to contain a recipe for making soba. After the [[Great Fire of Meireki]] in 1657, soba shops became increasingly common in Tokyo.<ref>{{Harvnb|Naomichi|2014|p=120}}</ref>

At first, soba was considered a low-class food, but its reputation improved by the 18th century, when it began to be eaten by [[samurai]] and other high status peoples.<ref>{{Harvnb|Naomichi|2014|p=124}}</ref> 

One estimate states that every city block had one or more restaurants serving soba.<ref name="Naomichi p122-123">{{Harvnb|Naomichi|2014|p=122-123}}</ref> These soba establishments, many also serving [[sake]], functioned much like modern cafes where locals would stop for a casual meal.<ref name="Watson">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S6oVJbezGfEC&q=edo+soba&pg=PA165|title=Golden arches east: McDonald's in East Asia|first=James L. |last=Watson|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-8047-3207-9|page=165}}</ref> In 1860, a meeting in Tokyo concerning the price of buckwheat was attended by 3,726 shops, indicating the popularity of soba.<ref name="Naomichi p122-123" /> Soba was also sold from mobile food stalls called ''[[Yatai (food cart)|yatai]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Naomichi|2014|p=217}}</ref>

At the time, much of the city's population was susceptible to [[beriberi]], due to high consumption of white rice, which is low in [[thiamine]].<ref name="Lien">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7RZSJAaNIHMC&q=edo+beriberi&pg=PA127|title=The politics of food |first1=Marianne E. |last1=Lien|first2=Brigitte |last2=Nerlich |publisher=Berg Publishers |page=127|year=2004|isbn= 978-1-85973-853-5 }}</ref> Soba, which is high in thiamine, was regularly eaten to prevent beriberi.<ref name="Udesky">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fg9HAAAAYAAJ&q=soba+beriberi+edo&pg=PA127|title=The book of soba|first=James |last=Udesky |publisher=Kodansha International |page=107|year=1988|isbn= 978-0-87011-860-9 }}</ref>

<gallery widths="130px" heights="130px" mode="packed">
File:Machikado-ya Tenzaru Teishoku 20220529-02.jpg|''Zaru soba'' is an early form of soba, because soba was originally steamed on bamboo trays called ''[[zaru]]''
Three children eating, Japan LCCN2001705662.jpg|Three children eating soba, 1890-1923
Fukuyama soba restaurant 1771.jpg|Soba delivery in Fukiya-chō, Tokyo. Print by [[Kitao Shigemasa]], 1771
Japanese Edo Soba Yatai 03.jpg|Replica of a ''[[Yatai (food cart)|yatai]]'' (food stall) from the [[Edo period]]
</gallery>