In the Edo period, a man called Jintaro in Inamiura, Kii Province (the present Inami-cho, Hidaka-gun, Wakayama Prefecture), devised the smoke seasoning method (also called the roast seasoning method), which removed the moisture from the fish by smoking, thereby making the product similar to today's arabushi.
江戸時代に、紀伊国印南浦（現和歌山県日高郡印南町）の甚太郎という人物が燻製で魚肉中の水分を除去する燻乾法（焙乾法とも）を考案し、現在の荒節に近いものが作られるようになった。