The rivers born in Tenkawa Village are connected by a single line that flows from Amanogawa to Totsukawa and then to Kumano River, which flows from Shingu Port to the Pacific Ocean.
Within that line, cultures and beliefs have come and gone.
When the forestry industry in Amagawa Village was thriving, still before the Taisho era (1912-1926) when truck transportation became popular, it relied on water transportation. The cedars that were cut down were carried down this river to the coast, and on the way back, they brought back salty, crispy, dried fish, fermented fermented sushi, and other delicacies from the sea.
It must have been a luxurious time for them to bring the sea food back to the mountains and eat it. There are still many such cultures in the villages in the intermediate areas.

I think this shows that watersheds are closely related to people's lives. I have come to think that I would like to express this progression from the headwaters to the sea as a course, and have decided to call it “watershed cuisine.

天川村から生まれた川は天ノ川から十津川、そして熊野川になり新宮港から太平洋に流れていく1本の線で繋がっています。
その線の中で、文化や信仰が往来してきました。
天川村の林業が盛んだった頃、まだトラック輸送が盛んになる大正時代以前には水運に頼っていました。伐採した杉はをこの川を下り海沿いまで運ばれ、帰りには塩辛いカチカチに干した魚の干物や発酵させた熟鮓など海の幸を持ち帰ったそうです。
海のものを山に持ち帰って食べる、それは贅沢なひと時だったのだと思います。中間地点の集落にもそんな文化がたくさん残っています。

これは流域というものが生活に密接に関係しているという事だと思います。私はこの源流から海に向かっていく様子をコースとして表現したいと考えるようになり「流域料理」と呼ぶことにしました。