I introduced Ramen history in Japan in this previous article and promised that I was going to tell you about modern history.
Thank you for waiting, I write about that today.
Let’s get started!
◆1940s
After WWII, Ramen shops have reopened around Japan. Postwar poverty helps Ramen’s come back.
Ramen could be cooked from cheap ingredients, but it tasted very good.
Mainly, Ramen was eaten and loved in the black markets in each place.
In Fukuoka in the late 40s, the first thick style Tonkotsu Ramen was born.
◆1950s
In this decade, there were a lot of important inventions.
Miso Ramen born in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Tsukemen(dip style Ramen) and Aburasoba(directly meaning Oil noodle, it’s non-soup noodle) born in Tokyo.
These styles are still popular now.
In the late 50s, famous food company Nissin released the first instant noodle named “Chicken Ramen” and Marutai released “Marutai Stick Ramen”.
These inventions made the name Ramen common in Japan.
Like this, companies started to take part in the Ramen field.
◆1960s
More companies were into the instant Ramen market.
At the same time, a large number of Ramen shops spread to all over Japan dramatically as franchises. It made Ramen more popular.
In 1968, the predecessor of Jiro opened.
◆1970s
In 1971, a great one was born. It was “Cup Noodle from Nissin”.
Thanks to the Cup Noodle, you can eat Ramen easily. All you have to do is make hot water and pour it into the Cup Noodle. Cup noodles helped a number of busy people.
A lot of legends were also born in this decade. Tenka Ippin, Yoshimuraya, Hope Ken and Jirou.
The predecessor of Hidakaya(one of the biggest chain Ramen restaurant) also opened in 1975.
◆1980s
During this time, local administrations and many media paid attention to Ramen.
Kitakata city in Fukushima used Ramen as boost the local economy. TV shows picked up many kinds of local Ramen, movies about Ramen and magazines featuring Ramen were released.
In 1985, well known Ramen giant Ippudo opened. And one of the big name Ramen chef Minoru Sano opened Shina Soba Ya in 1986.
End of the 80’s, Tonkotsu Ramen boom had just begun.
◆1990s
Kannana Dori 7 Route War happened. I’m gonna talk about this next time.
Well known nostalgic TV show “TV Champion” started in 1992. The show held “Ramen King Championship” many times. There is no doubt the show helped boost the Ramen wave.
The champion of the event is still active in Ramen world nowadays.
In 1996, Aoba opened in Nakano, Tokyo. Aoba’s double soup style got attention and people re-evaluated the Ramen as soup.
This triggered the creativity of a lot of players come after.
◆2000s
In 2000, Ganja opened. Ganja made thick Gyokai Tonkotsu Soup Tsukemen popular.
Taishoken(Tsukemen originator) closed in 2007. These two events boost the thick Gyokai Tonkotsu Tsukemen boom. The Tsukemen legend Rokurinsha was also born in the 2000s, it’s 2005.
Thick Gyokai Tonkotsu style became obsolete in this decade.
A famous Ramen revolutionary, Keisuke Takeda created shrimp soup based Ramen in 2006. It can be said that his invention is one of the greatest inventions in Ramen world.
Speaking of the 2000s, the internet has grown dramatically in a variety of fields. It was the same for the Ramen industry. Thanks to that, the most confident Ramen review site “Ramen Data Base” opened.
◆2010s
Originalities and variations were accelerated more and more. New ingredients started to be used and became common. Red snapper, shellfishes, vegetables only, gibier, sheep, mushrooms, etc.
Before the 10s, strong and thick tastes were mainstream. But in this decade, gentle, light and clear soup came up again. At the same time, many Ramen restaurants opened with cafe-like-interior.
The situation after WWll helped Ramen to get population among people. Evoluted uniquely in each area.
Secondly, commercialization and franchising amplified Ramen all over Japan.
In the 1980s, Ramen got attention from a lot of media like TV shows and magazines and it boosted the Ramen boom. This boom made it evoluted more. At that time, evolution concentrated on making soup thicker, richer, saltier, oilier and making noodles thicker, harder etc. The first significant evolution might be “emphasizing evolution”.
After going through the mid 00s, a huge number of new styles came and continuously evolved.
What’s come next? We would see what we can’t even imagine just now.
Let’s see the Ramen world’s future together!