Yatai (food cart)

Ayatai(屋台)is a small, mobilefood stallinJapantypically sellingramenor other food. The name literally means "shop stand".
The stall is set up in the early evening on walkways and removed late at night or in the early morning hours.
Though the practice of mobile food stands dates back to the 17th century,yataibecame popular and widespread in theMeiji period(1868–1912) and were two-wheeledpushcartsconstructed of wood.Yataiwere popular during and following World War II, but Japanese authorities imposed regulations ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, citing health concerns.Today, they are prevalent inFukuoka, but continue to dwindle.
Yataiare typically wooden cartson wheels, equipped with kitchen appliances and seating. Handles and seating fold into the cart while it is being transported.A pushcart usually measures 3 by 2.5 meters.Vendors serve a variety of foods such asramen,gyoza, andtempura.Beer,sake, andshōchūare usually available.Carts open after sunset and close in the early morning.
Yataiselling buckwheat soba date back at least to the 1600s,and major cities such as Tokyo could have thousands.A reference toyataiin the modern sense is found as early as 1710. The word appears in anEdo-periodsharebon, a genre of literature revolving around thepleasure quarters.
Yataiare descended from food stalls established outside of Buddhist shrines from the 5th to 7th century.Historian Hiroaki Ichikawa has said the origins of contemporaryyataiare in theTokugawa period, during which dignitaries of the court would often travel between the capital and their homes. As these dignitaries traveled,yataiprovided a simple food option.
Yataisaw a brief resurgence in the 1900s asindustrializationcontributed to rice shortages, and farmers flocked to the city. Kobayashi Kurasaburo, a far-leftist radical, condemned the rise ofyataicarts as a product of industrialization eradicating traditionalJapanese food culture.The presence of large industrial workforces in urban centers often corresponded to the presence ofyatai, and this includedyatairun by foreigners to Japan, particularly from occupied countries, such asTaiwanandKorea.After Japan's surrender in1945,yataiflourished as Japan rebuilt its economic infrastructure,though many operated illegally or through ablack market.Yataiat the time served gyoza, Japanese dumplings, heavily seasoned with garlic, which was thought to increase heartiness.This marked an era of standardization foryatai, as corporations, seeing an economic opportunity, began selling "ready-made"yataicarts in the 1950s, in exchange for a portion of sales.
As Japan's economy boomed, many of theyataitransformed into storefronts, giving rise, particularly, to several ramen chains, such as Harugiya Ramen inTokyoand Ide Shoten inWakayama.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.In the 1970s, theyataiwere often portrayed by media as romantic escapes from the pressures of the business world, profilingsalarymenwho abandoned business careers to operate pushcarts.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.
The contemporary hub ofyataiculture are theNakasuandTenjindistricts inFukuokaCity ofFukuoka Prefecture.Asyatairegulations were implemented at the local level across Japan, Fukuoka'syataioperators created a trade association and were mostly unaffected.The number ofyataihas 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.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 thatyataimust be passed to a direct descendant, or closed, upon the retirement of the operator.However, Fukuoka has relaxed these regulations and recently announced the availability of 14 new licenses as of 2019.
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 ayataioperator 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 ofyataioperators at the time.
The ornate floats seen in some of the Japanese festivals, such as in the seasonalTakayama FestivalsinGifu 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).