The first historical document concerned with cooking is the "Nihonshoki" (Chronicles of Japan), in which the following description is included: Iwakamutsukari no Mikoto (the ancestor of the Takahashi clan) served a dish of bonito and hamaguri clams to Emperor Keiko when the emperor visited Ukimiya Shrine in Awa thinking of dead Yamato Takeru no Mikoto.
料理の記述の文献初出は、『日本書紀』で磐鹿六雁命（イワカムツカリノミコト、高橋氏の祖先）であり、景行天皇が亡き日本武尊を偲んで安房の浮宮へ行幸した際にカツオとハマグリの膾を出した記述である。