Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan

by Eric Rath

Overview

How did one dine with a shogun? Or make solid gold soup, sculpt with a fish, or turn seaweed into a symbol of happiness? In this fresh look at Japanese culinary history, Eric C. Rath delves into the writings of medieval and early modern Japanese chefs to answer these and other provocative questions, and to trace the development of Japanese cuisine from 1400 to 1868. Rath shows how medieval “fantasy food” rituals—where food was revered as symbol rather than consumed—were continued by early modern writers. The book offers the first extensive introduction to Japanese cookbooks, recipe collections, and gastronomic writings of the period and traces the origins of dishes like tempura, sushi, and sashimi while documenting Japanese cooking styles and dining customs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520262270
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	12/02/2010
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	258
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Eric C. Rath is Associate Professor of Japanese History at the University of Kansas and the author of The Ethos of Noh: Actors and their Art.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations and Tables
Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Japanese Cuisine, a Backward Journey
2. Of Knives and Men: Cutting Ceremonies and Cuisine
3. Ceremonial Banquets
4. The Barbarians’ Cookbook
5. Food and Fantasy in Culinary Books
6. Menus for the Imagination
7. Deep Thought Wheat Gluten and Other Fantasy Foods

Conclusion: After the Fantasies

Appendix: The Southern Barbarians’ Cookbook (Nanban ryorisho)
Notes
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This volume is a cogent reminder that to truly understand the importance of food in our lives, we must examine not merely its material role, but also its symbolic significance."—Choice

Editorial Reviews

This volume is a cogent reminder that to truly understand the importance of food in our lives, we must examine not merely its material role, but also its symbolic significance.

Choice

There is no English-language research on the subject of early modern Japanese cuisine as extensive or imaginative.

Social Science Japan Jrnl - David Eason/University at Albany

"This volume is a cogent reminder that to truly understand the importance of food in our lives, we must examine not merely its material role, but also its symbolic significance."--Choice

"There is no English-language research on the subject of early modern Japanese cuisine as extensive or imaginative."--Social Science Japan Jrnl

From the Publisher