During the Edo Period, when the Tokugawa Shogunate ruled Japan, Edo, the capital and what is now modern-day Tokyo, grew to be the most populous metropolis on the planet, with an estimated 1 million inhabitants. When societies industrialize, food systems have to adapt. Enter the demae, or delivery men, who braved the streets of Edo balancing towers of dozens of piping hot meals on their shoulders to feed the hungry masses. “Basically, you had a lot of urban density and an extremely developed capitalist economy,” says Nick Kapur, an associate…
