Japanese Food and Culture

Brandon Brown

Section 5

When you think of Japan, what do you think about cars, electronics, or food?

When I think of Japan one of the main things I think of is food. More than the food is the culture that goes along with it. For me the Japanese culture is fascinating from the past to the future. You may ask yourself what are some of the different aspects of the Japanese culture compared to ours. Some of the things that are different include the arts, architecture, clothing, sports, pop culture, and cuisine. Their culture is considered to be a hybrid which means that they are influenced by many different cultures. These cultures include the North Americas U.S. and Canada, the European cultures, the Asian cultures, and their own past. We do share some aspects of the culture by us being influenced by them and vice versa. The more that Japan becomes a superpower the more we learn about their culture. Here I will be discussing Japanese history, clothing and pop culture, and of course their cuisine.

Japan has had a long and futile history. Japans history begins around 10,000. Their first era was the Joman. This period lasted from 14,000 BC - 300 BC. During this prehistoric time the people of this area were hunter gatherers and formed tribal clans. The next era that the culture evolved to was the Yayoi. This period lasted from 500 BC- AD 300 and was a period of time when we start to see the culture start to develop. Three main developments come from this time you have rice cultivation, they have found metal work, and pottery. This pottery was not as ornate as the pottery found in the Joman period. This being because they did not have the pottery wheel which was introduced in the Yayoi period and it was handmade. They have found that rice pattys had been found in great amounts for mass production. Yamato clans start evoling around the Kofun period of 300-645. During this period Yomato clan takes control and changes the government to resemble the Chinese government. The government becomes very military based in the Kamakura era and stays that way for time to come. In 1543 the Portuguese started trading weapons and fire arms were put into use by the military. In 1600 – 1868 enters into the Edo era. This is a new time for the Japanese culture in that we see a middleclass arise and peace settles across the nation. This period also has the U.S. setting up in ports for it commercial ships. Then we have the Showa era during 1926-1989 this area sets up modern Japan. You have the Japanese getting involved in WWII and becoming part of the Axis powers with Germany and Italy. After WWII with the help of the U.S. Japan becomes a democracy and now becomes one of the world powers in the world.

Japan’s clothing and pop culture is very different from ours. Since they are considered a hybrid culture they take what they find cool from each culture and make it their own. In Japan today like here there are many subcultures. Especially with the female population and the way they dress. They have styles that are influenced by the hip hop culture of Americas and the club and dance music of Europe. Their visual entertainment plays a huge role in the way they dress and act. Some of the visual entertainments, such as manga and anime which are comics and cartoons, have spawned a subculture with the teens and young adults called cosplay. This is where the dresses up and acts as their favorite character from a manga or anime. This is something that here in America we may see as childish is wildly regarded and part of the norm for young people in Japan. The car culture in Japan much like ours is huge. Back in the fifties and sixties even for them cars were just a utilitarian item used to get from one place to another. But as did with our culture came need to have cars for other reasons than just as transportation. The companies in japan started making better looking cars modeled after some American and European cars and made these small cars faster. There is a huge subculture of people who have cars customized and tuned for their personal preference. Another part of their entertainment culture is they love karaoke. This is a major pastime for the Japanese they pack themselves into small rooms with groups of friends and sing all night. They use this as a stress reliving device because they work so hard they need some way to relax. Other parts of the Japanese culture of today are that they take their jobs very seriously and seem to cherish what they have. They seem to have a killer work ethic and that is meant in a literal way. The Washington Post reports that death from too much work is common place. It also reports that a 45 year old man died of heart failure. He worked at a Toyota plant as a chief engineer designing one of their new hybrids.

Now we get to the cuisine of Japan. The cuisine in Japan ranges from steak to seaweed and from cooked to raw and more. The main staple in Japan like most Asian countries is rice. You can date rice being used back 2000 years. As was said before rice patties date back to the Joman era in 300 BC. In Japan Rice means meal which is gohan. Sushi is a way to prepare seafood in the raw. It is known to be 1300 years old. This came about by southeastern Japanese learning how to pickle their seafood. It is a technique of pressing fish with rice to cause fermentation. The common ingredients are tuna, squid, prawn, and other aquatic life pressed and rolled with rice and sometimes with seaweed. Some other forms include tempur a technique where they deep fry food in vegetable oil. Then we have sashimi which is raw fish that is thinly sliced and usually eaten with a sauce. Yakitori is a process where meat on skewers and grilled. They also have various pork dishes like tonkatsu. This is a pork cutlet that has been rolled in crumbs of bread and deep fried. Like fondue they have a style of cooking meat but without oil like in fondue they use boiling water. This is called shabu-shabu. Noodles are another staple in the Japanese diet just like rice. Lo mein a type of noodle that is stirred in boiling water and not fried. Then we have soba which these noodles are made from buckwheat. Undon is also another type that is made from flour. These noodles can come in a combination of ways and served with many dishes.

The Japanese culture has so many fascinating attributes. So now when you think of Japan what do you think about? The Japanese as a culture have been thought a lot and have seen many types of change. The culture being a hybrid reminds me of us and how we are a melting pot of many cultures. Because of the work ethic and their role in technology the superpower Japan we may start taken some of their cultural habits.

Citations

http://www.japanesefoodculture.org/exhibitors2009.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Japan

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/history/food/cuisine.html

http://www.thejapanfaq.com/FAQ-Primer.html

http://www.askasia.org/teachers/essays/essay.php?no=131/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/12/AR2008071201630.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2043.html

http://www.eatsushi.com/whatsushi.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lo_mein