ABSTRACT
In 2013, washoku (Japanese dietary practices) was added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Due partly to some misleading news reports, this was generally misunderstood as referring to iconic Japanese dishes, such as sushi and tempura. However, what was registered was ‘not a specific cuisine or dish’, but the ‘form of our daily home meals (consisting of rice, soup, side dishes and pickles), dietary customs for annual events, festivals and ceremonial occasions that strengthen bonds between people in local communities, and local specialty dishes’(Kumakura 2014). One of the pictures of washoku on UNESCO’s website thus presents the scene of a family dinner with dishes of rice, miso soup and grilled salmon, and a few side dishes of boiled vegetables and pickles. The whole family – father, mother and two children – is sitting at a table, putting their hands together presumably saying Itadakimasu, the Japanese word used before eating to express gratitude for the gift of nature and to those who produced and prepared the food. The other pictures show scenes of a community gathering to prepare rice cake to celebrate the New Year, or the distribution of school lunches where a bottle of milk is provided to each child together with rice, soup and a main dish (UNESCO 2013). These pictures tell us that washoku comprises various social practices related to preparing food and having meals, including relatively new practices. It is a mix of ‘tradition’ and more recent additions, including more Western, ready-cooked and imported foods. That washoku was proposed as a Cultural Heritage probably reflects a concern that such practices are endangered; indeed, Japanese food consumption practices – both in terms of diet and how, when and with whom people eat – have changed drastically since the mid twentieth century.
