Feeding Japan

The Cultural and Political Issues of Dependency and Risk

Andreas Niehaus, Tine Walravens, Andreas Niehaus, Tine Walravens

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9783319505534
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

This edited collection explores the historical dimensions, cultural practices, socio-economic mechanisms and political agendas that shape the notion of a national cuisine inside and outside of Japan. Japanese food is often perceived as pure, natural, healthy and timeless, and these words not only fuel a hype surrounding Japanese food and lifestyle worldwide, but also a domestic retro-movement that finds health and authenticity in 'traditional' ingredients, dishes and foodways. The authors in this volume bring together research from the fields of history, cultural and religious studies, food studies as well as political science and international relations, and aim to shed light on relevant aspects of culinary nationalism in Japan while unearthing the underlying patterns and processes in the construction of food identities.

Table of contents

• Feeding Japan
• Part1 Inventing Japanese Food Identities
• Part2 Feeding the Nation: Japanese Food Identities in Times of Globalization
• Part3 Japanese Food Identities Inside-Out
• Part4 Agricultural Politics of Self-Sufficiency and Dependency
• Part5 Post-Fukushima Food Education and Food Safety
• Index