What is japanese food?

What is Japanese Food?

Lilia Yamakawa

            Japanese food is all around me since I was little. I grew up in a traditional temple with a mother and father who could cook Japanese food. I ate Japanese food every day at school, home or out. Whenever I go to a traditional Japanese restraint I am impressed by the beautiful arrangement and the taste. This made me want to look into Japanese food more. Though what is Japanese food? Why is it so tasty and beautiful? Why is it said to be so healthy? I would like to talk about what Japanese food is in this blog post.

            Tsuji Shizuo, who is a chef and owner of a famous cooking school, defined a typical Japanese meal being a soup and three main dishes(一汁三菜): sashimi, a grilled dish, and simmered dish, fallowed by rice, pickles and tea. (Shizuo Tsuji, A simple art)  This “typical dish” is not very common in a normal modern Japanese family but the bases are still remained. A meal that is eaten commonly at a home is consisted by a soup, rice, and grilled dish or a simmered dish with some vegetables. (Nakamuragakuenndaigaku, 2012) Since when did this typical Japanese meal start? When I searched the web and a few books, it seemed to be not clear when Japanese food was invented. The rice growing started in the Jomon period and tea and other special dishes were brought from China with Buddhism. After, this was called Shojin Ryouri: vegetarian cooking, which is served in Japanese temples. It seems more like Chinese food than Japanese food when you hear this.

            Yes, Japanese food IS originally Chinese food. Tough the Japanese part of this food is that it was changed in many ways to fit the Japanese’s taste. They soon started to use miso and vinegar just before they put the non-seasoned food in their mouths. Gradually in Kamakura to Muromachi period, when soy-souse came across, people started to season their food during cooking.  In Edo period, japan started to use ingredients from Europe: potatoes, pumpkin, and red peppers.  That is when the Dashi began to be important to Japanese food and when the basis of the Japanese food began. (Harada Nobuo, 2010)

Still, the definition of Japanese food is not clear. It is very hard to distinguish Japanese food from foreign food because if you look at it in a way, Even curry rice or Omurice could be Japanese food. For example, the word omuraisu is a combination of omelette, a French word, and rice. The most common way of making it is to fry the rice and vegetables with ketchup, wrap it in a thin layer of eggs, then spread ketchup on top. Because rice may be Chinese, and omelets are made in many countries, and ketchup is probably American, Japanese regard omuraisu as a foreign food. But I definitely think that Japan is the only country that commonly eats rice with ketchup.

Therefor, even if a dish is not traditional or originally made in Japan, it might be regarded as Japanese food, especially by people in other countries, because it has developed somehow in a Japanese way or with Japanese ingredients, and when a foreigner actually eats one they will regard it as a new Japanese food. We Japanese have used foods from other cultures, but in a special Japanese way just as we borrow words, and products, and even ideas, but change them to make them right for us. It seems that we are good at this process.

References

Shizuo Tsuji, (1980)  Japanese Cooking, A Simple Art

Nakamuragakuenndaigaku, (2012) Shikkari Tabeyou Ichiju Sansai

Harada Nobuo, (2010) Washoku to Nihonn Bunka: Nihonn Ryouri no Shakaishi