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Ayatai (屋台) is a small, mobilefood stall inJapan typically sellingramen or other food. The name literally means "shop stand".[2][3]
The stall is set up in the early evening on walkways and removed late at night or in the early morning hours.[4]
Though the practice of mobile food stands dates back to the 17th century,[5]yatai became popular and widespread in theMeiji period (1868–1912) and were two-wheeledpushcarts constructed of wood.[2]Yatai were popular during and following World War II, but Japanese authorities imposed regulations ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, citing health concerns.[6] Today, they are prevalent inFukuoka, but continue to dwindle.[7]
Yatai are typically wooden carts[2] on wheels, equipped with kitchen appliances and seating. Handles and seating fold into the cart while it is being transported.[8] A pushcart usually measures 3 by 2.5 meters.[4] Vendors serve a variety of foods such asramen,gyoza, andtempura.[6]Beer,sake, andshōchū are usually available.[6] Carts open after sunset and close in the early morning.[4]
Yatai selling buckwheat soba date back at least to the 1600s,[5]: 22 and major cities such as Tokyo could have thousands.[9] A reference toyatai in the modern sense is found as early as 1710. The word appears in anEdo-periodsharebon, a genre of literature revolving around thepleasure quarters.[3]
Yatai are descended from food stalls established outside of Buddhist shrines from the 5th to 7th century.[10] Historian Hiroaki Ichikawa has said the origins of contemporaryyatai are in theTokugawa period, during which dignitaries of the court would often travel between the capital and their homes. As these dignitaries traveled,yatai provided a simple food option.[9]
Yatai saw a brief resurgence in the 1900s asindustrialization contributed to rice shortages, and farmers flocked to the city. Kobayashi Kurasaburo, a leftist intellectual, condemned the rise ofyatai carts as a product of industrialization eradicating traditionalJapanese food culture.[5]: 30 The presence of large industrial workforces in urban centers often corresponded to the presence ofyatai, and this includedyatai run by foreigners to Japan, particularly from occupied countries, such asTaiwan andKorea.[5]: 34, 46 After Japan's surrender in1945,yatai flourished as Japan rebuilt its economic infrastructure,[9] though many operated illegally or through ablack market.[5]: 67 Yatai at the time served gyoza, Japanese dumplings, heavily seasoned with garlic, which was thought to increase heartiness.[5]: 66 This marked an era of standardization foryatai, as corporations, seeing an economic opportunity, began selling "ready-made"yatai carts in the 1950s, in exchange for a portion of sales.[5]: 66
As Japan's economy boomed, many of theyatai transformed into storefronts, giving rise, particularly, to several ramen chains, such as Harugiya Ramen inTokyo and Ide Shoten inWakayama.[5]: 84 However, city officials grew wary of health risks posed by the traveling food stands and, ahead of the1964 Tokyo Olympics, new regulations were created which led to a decline inyatai.[6] In the 1970s, theyatai were often portrayed by media as romantic escapes from the pressures of the business world, profilingsalarymen who abandoned business careers to operate pushcarts.[5]: 86 Scholars suggest this was the product of limited independent options for Japanese men in the time on account of a widespread salaryman system of lifetime corporate employment.[5]: 87
The contemporary hub ofyatai culture are theNakasu andTenjin districts inFukuoka City ofFukuoka Prefecture.[11] Asyatai regulations were implemented at the local level across Japan, Fukuoka'syatai operators created a trade association and were mostly unaffected.[7] The number ofyatai has dwindled in most major metropolitan areas, though leveled in the early 21st century in response to Japan's economic stagnation andyatai's relatively low cost.[9] Nonetheless, in Fukuoka prefecture, the number of carts has declined since the 1960s from 450 to just 100 as of December 2018. The process has been accelerated by a 1994 law stating thatyatai must be passed to a direct descendant, or closed, upon the retirement of the operator.[6] However, Fukuoka has relaxed these regulations and recently announced the availability of 14 new licenses as of 2019.[12]
InKumamoto Prefecture, just south of Fukuoka, a single yatai remains inKumamoto City, Wakaki (わかき), which holds the last remaining yatai license in the prefecture. When the owner retires, the yatai culture in Kumamoto will come to an end. The proprietress serves oden and an assortment of drinks.
Satomura Kinzo wrote a short story about ayatai operator in 1933 titled "Chronicle of Starting a Shina Soba Shop." The story is a far-leftist look at the struggle of the working class, emphasizing the difficult financial situation ofyatai operators at the time.[5]: 29
The ornate floats seen in some of the Japanese festivals, such as in the seasonalTakayama Festivals inGifu Prefecture, are also known asyatai. In contrast to the human-borne floats common to most Japanese festivals, they consist of elaborately-decorated wheeled carts, some of which also contain intricate mechanical puppets which perform during their procession. During the remainder of the year, several of the floats are displayed in the town's festival float museum, known as theYatai Kaikan (屋台会館).
