ABSTRACT
A common, not to say ubiquitous sight in contemporary urban Japan are the window displays of restaurants and cafes that present ‘samples’ of their menus to inform and attract passers-by to the culinary pleasures that may be had within. The English derivation of the Japanese term ‘sample’ carries the implication that a portion of the original dish of food made and served in the shop’s kitchen has been removed and re-presented here. This display method broadly follows the pattern of food presentation established by arcades and department stores in Europe and America in the late nineteenth century (Friedberg 1993). It is a method of display continued today mostly by the purveyors of fresh and dried goods, confectioneries and pâtisserie.
