Chickens consumed in early modern samurai residences: A study of bird remains from the Ichigaya Honmura‐cho site, Tokyo, Japan

Abstract

AbstractChicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is thought to have been introduced in Japan during the Yayoi period (5th century BC to 3rd century AD). However, according to historical documents and archeological materials, chickens were not commonly consumed as food until the early modern period. Many remains identified as chicken have been recovered from the archeological sites located in Edo, early modern Tokyo; however, the consumption pattern of chickens, such as age profile and sex ratio of consumed birds, has seldom been analyzed. To clarify how chicken consumption became popular in early modern Japan, we analyzed the bird assemblage from the Ichigaya Honmura‐cho site, mainly inhabited by samurai people between the 17th and 19th centuries. Our results revealed that chickens had been consumed at the site since the 17th century but chicken consumption as food might have increased and become more frequent after the 19th century. Moreover, it can be suggested that the chickens targeted for consumption were not limited to immature and female individuals, as it is in modern Japan.