Yatai selling buckwheat soba date back at least to the 1600s, and major cities such as Tokyo could have thousands. A reference to
yatai in the modern sense is found as early as 1710. The word appears in an
Edo-period sharebon, a genre of literature revolving around the
pleasure quarters. Historian Hiroaki Ichikawa has said the origins of contemporary
yatai are in the
Tokugawa period, during which dignitaries of the court would often travel between the capital and their homes. As these dignitaries traveled,
yatai provided a simple food option. In the 1970s, the
yatai were often portrayed by media as romantic escapes from the pressures of the business world, profiling
salarymen who abandoned business careers to operate pushcarts. As
yatai regulations were implemented at the local level across Japan, Fukuoka's
yatai operators created a trade association and were mostly unaffected. The number of
yatai has dwindled in most major metropolitan areas, though leveled in the early 21st century in response to Japan's economic stagnation and
yatai's relatively low cost.
In Kumamoto Prefecture In
Kumamoto Prefecture, just south of Fukuoka, there had been a single remaining yatai in
Kumamoto City, Wakasa (わかさ), holding the last remaining license in the prefecture. The proprietress served oden and an assortment of drinks. The stall closed in May 2025 after 50 years in operation, leaving the prefecture without any remaining stalls. == In culture ==