Soba

Buckwheat has been eaten in Japan from early antiquity, but it was in the 17th century that soba became common, though it must have been known earlier. The increased popularity of soba at this time was encouraged by a rise in the production of buckwheat, in the wake of the period of peace and prosperity that followed the setting up of centralized government in Edo (present-day Tokyo) in 1603 after decades of civil strife.