Tomoe Gozen at the table

In Tomoe's time, meals were not divided into starter, main course, and dessert as in the West. The meal revolves around rice (shushoku), the nourishing pillar, accompanied by a bowl of miso soup (shiru) and one or two small salted or pickled dishes (sai/okazu) placed alongside. The higher one's rank, the more sai multiplied. Sweets hardly existed as a dessert: sweetness came from the rice itself or from fermented beverages. For a warrior on campaign, this foundation was reduced to the essentials that could be carried.