Food and fantasy in early modern Japan [electronic resource] / Eric C. Rath.

ISBN:

9780520947658

Title:

Author:

Rath, Eric C., 1967- author.

Personal Author:

Rath, Eric C., 1967- author.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 242 pages, [8] pages of plates) : illustrations (some color)

Contents:

Japanese Cuisine, a Backward Journey -- Of Knives and Men: Cutting Ceremonies and Cuisine -- Ceremonial Banquets -- The Barbarians' Cookbook -- Food and Fantasy in Culinary Books -- Menus for the Imagination -- Deep Thought Wheat Gluten and Other Fantasy Foods.

Subject Term:

Food -- Social aspects -- Japan.

Food habits -- Japan.

Cooking, Japanese -- Social aspects.

Geographic Term:

Japan -- Social life and customs.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2010

Publication Information:

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
394.120952 RAT	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

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.

Author Notes

Rath Eric :

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 .

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

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. Japanese historian Rath (Univ. of Kansas) uses culinary texts to examine this symbolic significance in late medieval (1400-1600) and early premodern (1600-1868) Japanese cuisines, and contrasts them with modern Japanese cuisine. While he views modern Japanese cuisine as an instrument to solidify a homogeneous national identity, he argues that the earlier cuisines were employed in more artistic and intellectual ways. In the late medieval period, master chefs (hchnin) used their creative and technical skills to create elaborate ceremonial food displays for their elite patrons meant--not to be eaten--but to evoke status, authority, martial values, and marital and spiritual virtues. In premodern times, as advances in publishing began to occur, these displays were partly replaced by popular cookbooks where authors employed literary language to describe fictional dishes and imaginary banquet settings, which helped readers evoke both a voyeurism and escapism from a rigid social structure. Because people take food's materialist nature for granted, the exotic Japanese culture/cuisine provides a contrast that helps to highlight its symbolic function for Western readers. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. D. M. Gilbert Maine Maritime Academy