History of Soba

Soba has been around since the ninth century, having been brought with Buddhism from China by Japan's first priests. The coarse and unrefined appearance of buckwheat noodles, in particular, appealed to the ascetic tastes of the Buddhists. One Zen sect temple in Asakusa became so rich and famous for its sale of the humble dish to Buddhist pilgrims, that in the 1780s it was forbidden to carry on the pecunious trade. Merchants took over the business and spread the buckwheat blessing among the populace.

The religious origin of soba restaurants is borne out by the fact that many of the high-class establishments, such as Rengyoku-an or Mansei-an of Tokyo, carry the suffix -an on their names, which means "hermitage." Thus the lowly noodle is purveyed by, on the one hand, the most plebeian, and on the other, by the most sublime sabi establishments.

The mental association between long noodles and long-lasting good luck gave rise to the custom of eating New Year's Eve noodles (toshi koshi soba.)