Is a Feast Just the Taste of Instant Food?
Hello. This is Bongun.
This is a story from about eight years ago.
Do you remember when "traditional Japanese dietary culture," or what we call "Washoku," was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage? It was widely covered in the news at the time, and I remember feeling quite proud.
The Olympics are in full swing in Tokyo right now, but can you explain the characteristics of that "Washoku" to people from overseas?
"Washoku" has the following four characteristics:
・Uses diverse, locally-rooted ingredients to bring out the "flavor of the ingredients"
・The ideal "nutritional balance," based on one soup and three dishes, contributes to health
・"Enjoying the sense of the seasons by using appropriate furnishings and tableware"
・"Closely related to annual events, deepening bonds between family and community"
We bring out the true flavor of seasonal ingredients and serve them in distinctive tableware to enjoy the season. The Osechi dishes prepared in tiered boxes for the New Year are a prime example of this. Cuisine that plays a central role in deepening family bonds along with various Japanese events. That is "Washoku."
That Washoku culture has existed in Japan since ancient times. The cuisine passed down in each region and the flavors passed down in each home were handed down from parent to child along with these events.
However, after the war, it gradually changed with the import of Western values and food culture. The home kitchen environment also changed significantly with economic development. With the spread of electric refrigerators, city gas, and the improvement of kitchen sinks, it became easy to make stir-fried and deep-fried dishes, which were previously difficult to manage in terms of temperature. Because of this, the diet shifted from one centered on locally grown vegetables to one high in animal protein and fat, found in meat and milk, and in contrast, the intake of traditional "rice" (carbohydrates) decreased. Then came the dining-out boom. Family restaurants and fast-food chains appeared one after another, making Western food more accessible.
Also, dexterous Japanese people developed instant foods, retort-pouch foods, and frozen foods. Coupled with the spread of microwave ovens, "easy," "quick," and "labor-saving" cooking became preferred in ordinary households.
The era has arrived where dishes are completed with simple operations like boiling for a short time, adding hot water, or adding water or milk and cooling. While it is convenient to be able to eat easily at any time, preserving and processing food reduces nutritional components and changes both flavor and texture. If you try to compensate for that flavor, the seasoning inevitably becomes strong.
As a result, the modern dishes preferred by the average Japanese person are increasingly dominated by distinct, heavily seasoned items. Some are served on durable plastic tableware as unbalanced meals lacking nutritional value. And "koshoku" (eating alone), where one eats that meal by oneself, has also increased.
Modern dining seems to be an era of "eating what you want," "when you want," and "as much as you want," and furthermore, "eating alone" because you don't have to worry about others. It is a meal without conversation, with a smartphone in one hand.
With the rise of preservation technology and the diversification of imported ingredients, "seasons" no longer exist. We may have already become people whose "tongues" cannot even judge the quality of ingredients and dishes.
So, we rely on restaurant evaluation books chosen by world-famous foreign companies. Or perhaps it is based on online reviews. We might be satisfied by seeking criteria for judgment from others and following trends.
Due to the diversification of food, changes in the times, and differences in values between generations, it may be inevitable that the inheritance of food culture is becoming difficult as it once was. Even for "Osechi," the representative of ancient annual events, buying online from famous stores is the norm these days. Opportunities to pass on important dishes and flavors from mother to child are disappearing.
The "disease of not wanting to fail" that is rampant among Japanese people is not limited to young people. The generation mocked as the manual generation has become parents and is raising children. Because only the know-how is passed down without learning from failure, the essence of cooking is not conveyed.
Also, while you can learn the basics from recipe books, you cannot read the story between the lines. The UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage registration of "Washoku," which I felt proud of, gradually feels as unreliable and precious as an endangered species of medaka fish.
・Flavor of ingredients
・Nutritional balance
・Enjoying the sense of the seasons by using furnishings and tableware
・Closely related to annual events and family and regional bonds
I will make sure to remember the four characteristics of "Washoku." Not to explain it to foreigners visiting Japan for sightseeing, but so that I can properly explain to future Japanese people born and raised in this modern age that they possess a culture filled with the wisdom of their ancestors that they can be proud of to the world.
And I want to ensure that I do not lose the tongue that can savor "Washoku" myself.
Because I love Japan.
Because I love delicious food.
Now, how are your tongues doing?
***
Part 3: A feast is the taste of home
https://note.com/booooooongun/n/na4341adb419a
Part 5: A feast is the taste of convenience store food
https://note.com/booooooongun/n/n65849ca2e5ef