WHAT KIND OF LUNCH WE WERE TREATED TO…

In a small town of Tsuyama near Kobe guests are served not just Russian lunch, but the kind that once, in 1854, Vice-Admiral Putyatin offered as a treat to Messrs. Tsutsui Khidzeno-Kami-Sama and Kawadji Soemono Tosiakira Japanese, Japanese Incumbent Representatives, whom he lead negotiations with on the First Russian Japanese Trade Treaty. This lunch menu was a true result of meticulous research, a nearly 100% presentation of the original.

When the staff of the Japanese Famous People Museum, located in the City of Tsuyama, got the idea of finding the Putyatin's Menu via not unknown Masakhis Sudjukawa, a great friend of Russia, they turned for assistance to a historian and writer, Vitaliy Guzanov.

Vitaliy Guzanov is very well known for his wonderful assays about Russian and Japanese ties, both in the past and present. He responded to the request of the Japanese most favorably and next to immediately, first thing asking the Russian Navy Archive to produce the data on the Officers Mess Room's menus for Pallada and Diana frigates, corresponding to the period of 50-s of the XIX century. Alas, neither menus nor other indirect documentary testimony were found in the Navy Archive. And then Vitaliy Guzanov resorted to other sources, literary, since they were preserved. As it turned out, a writer Igor Goncharov, the author of excellent fiction and as well as documentary prose, which authenticity and truthfulness is beyond any doubt, happened to have taken part in Putyatin's expedition.

It would be worthy to look at the following lines. They are cited from Goncharov's book "The Pallada Frigate". "The tables were all set. For the Incumbent Representatives and Master of Ceremonies at the reception of the Admiral's Quarters. <…> They do not eat bread, so they were served hot rice continuously. They do not use plates. Therefore, they were treated to soup and fish soup in tea cups. At the Crews Mess where the retinue were seated, some cakes and fruit were decorating the table. The guests started from that and, prior to soup, did away with all sweet cakes and candies, presumably thinking that if those were set on the table then there should be no waste of time. Out of meat dishes we had plov with mutton and ham.

They drank moderately. They tried wine with great curiosity, taking small sips. At dessert, in imitation of Sakae served was mulled wine. The Representatives sipped slowly out of curiosity either. Than we placed a box of sweets in front of each of them, also in imitation of their eating traditions. They could not help gasping with pleasure or surprise, so good were the boxes of expensive red wood, with wooden mosaic, let alone the sweets meeting the eye with motley colors."

Out of this and other sources tapped from Igor Goncharov, Vitaliy Guzanov drew the Putyatin's menu requested by the Japanese, which consisted of the following: tea with sugar, fruit, jam, cakes, sweets, fresh vegetable salads, rice, meat soup, Ukha (fish soup), Plov of mutton, ham, fried mutton, fried and boiled fish, wines (usually brought from the Madeira Island, brandies, mulled wines, and Champaign.