This study was conducted to elucidate when and how the dietary habits in the Kansai area evolved that are characterized by the mild taste and light coloring of prepared food. We evaluated the number of times the words "shoyu (soy sauce)", "usu-shoyu" and "ki-shoyu" appeared in 76 major cookery books published during the Edo period, with "tamari" and "irizake" used for comparison. The characteristic use of these seasonings, the authors origins and the dates these books were published were also extracted. The number of times written were 2,808 for "shoyu" 314 for "tamari", 1,166 for "irizake," 230 for "usu-shoyu" and 205 for "ki-shoyu". Although the name "usu-shoyu" was found, "'usukuchi-shoyu" was not found. " Usu-shoyu" and "ki-shoyu" appeared mostly in the cookery books written by authors from the Kansai area. The number of references to "tamari" and "irizake" decreased during the early part of the Edo period, and references to "usu-shoyu" and "ki-shoyu" increased during the middle of the Edo period. These results imply that the dietary habits characterized by a mild taste and light coloring in the Kansai area were formed in the middle of the Edo period.