Translations:Tofu/17/en

The tofu that was introduced from China is thought to have originally been hard tofu such as island tofu from Okinawa, hard tofu from Hakusan City in Ishikawa Prefecture, Gokayama City in Toyama Prefecture, and Iya region in Tokushima Prefecture. A firm variation of tofu was introduced in Tosa Province, today's Kochi Prefecture, by Mr. Park, the lord of Akizuki Castle and prisoner of war following the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) and he was given a town and generous protection, and his family and subordinates ran many hard tofu shops and had a monopoly on them. Gradually, production methods were devised to produce smooth tofu with a pleasant texture, and modern silken tofu was born. The book Tofu Hyakuchin (豆腐百珍), published in 1782 of the Edo period, lists 100 recipes for cooking tofu.