Abalone

• Japanese: 鮑, 鰒,　蚫 or　石決明 (awabi)

Abalone is a shellfish often eaten raw or marinated (i.e. as sushi or sashimi). It became particularly common, or popular, in Japan in the late 18th or early 19th century, though it was probably eaten before then as well.

In the Edo period, abalone was a prized export good; considered in a category known as tawaramono alongside kelp and sea cucumber, these and other marine products were so highly prized throughout the region that they were able to be exported in place of bullion, playing a key role in stemming the outflow of silver from the country in that period. Harvested in a variety of areas around the archipelago as well as being obtained in trade with the Ainu, the abalone meat typically had to be dried for export, but once it became more popular for domestic consumption in the late 18th to early 19th centuries, fishermen were able to save quite a bit of cost and labor by selling it raw to local shops and restaurants.

Abalone was also believed to help alleviate eye ailments.

References

• Robert Hellyer, Defining Engagement, Harvard University Press (2009), 123.