Dialects of Foodways in Japan: Its Cultural and Economic Implications

日本における「食の方言」－その文化的．経済的含意

10.6641/PICCFC.11.2009.12

日野みどり(Midori Hind)

Chinese and Northeast Asian Cuisines: Local, National, and Global Foodways.

第11屆（2009 / 10 / 15）

15 - 1-15-26

英文;日文

The notion of ＂dialects of foadways＂ is advocated by Nose Yasunobu (野瀨泰申), Senior Staff Writer at Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Japan Economic Times日本經濟新聞). Put simply, it is the notion that ''there are regional differences in food characteristics, but the people involved are not always aware of this fact＂. As the starting point for Nose's idea is the surprise and doubt he experienced when working in Osaka. It was that ＂it seems the inhabitants of Osaka eat tempura with sauce＂. Nose could not fathom eating tempura, which is so quintessentially Japanese, with sauce since sauce is a condiment generally used with Western foods like croquettes and fries. Triggered by his doubt, Nose proceeded to cover such topics as food samples on restaurant counters and dietary culture. Since November 2002, he has written a serial column for the Nihon Keizai Shinbun's website, called ＂Eccentricities of Modern Japanese Cuisine(食物新日本奇行)＂. Nihon Keizai Shimbun is Japan's foremost economic newspaper. Its food-related content is, therefore, not part of its main area of coverage and the column is relegated to the ＂lifestyle/gourmet＂ section of its website. In his ＂Eccentricities of Modern Japanese Cuisine＂ column, Nose acts as the moderator by suggesting a theme, and then proceeds by introducing emails from respondents. The column aims ＂to consider with readers some topics I wish to know more about＂, and ＂to leave a clear conclusion＂. Regarding the latter, topics on the regional distribution of food culture are organized and regional maps of Japan are created using the results of internet voting. Each topic is developed roughly four times (over four weeks), originally with two updates per month, and it was intended for the series to end after one year. However, these plans were greatly exceeded. Continuing with weekly updates, it has run for over 7 years as of May 2009 and has covered, including special programs, 68 topics. Through the dialogue on the site, various ＂dialects of foodways＂ have been uncovered. Some examples include the existence of dishes that are only consumed in a particular region, or the phenomenon of one dish having different names in different regions, or different dishes having the same name. By shedding light on the regional peculiarities of foodstuffs and differences in the ＂dialects of foodways,＂ we can be watchful for the historical reasons these came to exist. For example, using Nose's matter of greatest concern, ＂tempura with sauce＂, the following reasoning was posited: Domestically produced sauce was sold in Osaka starting in 1894; however, at that time, it was labeled as 'Western soy sauce'. In Osaka of that period, when modernization and Western food culture was spreading rapidly, it is highly conceivable that putting 'Western soy Sauce' on food including tempura was considered fashionable, and it is likely that from there the practice spread through western Japan. The diversity of foods on a fine scale within Japan was strikingly pointed out by this kind of discussion. For 7 years the site has eloquently described how so-called ＂Japanese Cuisine＂ is by no means homogeneous. Furthermore, although this has been discussed for a long time, this site identifies anew the connections between Japanese cuisine and that of China and the Korean peninsula. For example, ramen and gyoza were brought to Japan by Japanese people living in China who returned after World War II, and in the process of spreading across the country, numerous variations were created. Like the existence of Korean influences such as the chilled noodles of Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, and the fact that Chinese noodles were put in Japanese style soba and udon broth, the existence of variations in each region was confirmed. As mentioned above, the online readers vote on topics that Nose posts, and the results are compiled on maps of Japan. As of May 2009, 94 such maps are posted on the site. With voting participation around the order of 2000 votes, statistically a sufficient sample size is ensured. For example, for ＂putting sauce on tempura＂ the response from the •17 provinces of western Japan exceeded 50%, and the 11 provinces where the response did not reach 10%were all from eastern Japan. On the map, there is a clear demarcation between ＂sauce is applied＂ in western Japan, and ＂sauce is not applied＂ in eastern Japan. Furthermore, on the topic of ＂do you call Chinese baozi buns 'nikuman' or 'butaman'＂, the eastern half of Japan is uniformly ＂predominantly nikuman＂, there is a cluster of ＂predominantly butaman＂ in the Kansai region, and further west ＂it is a close match between the two＂. Although there is often a divide between eastern and western Japan (along the historical boundaries), there are also often cases where, generally speaking, the dividing line is near the ltoigawa-Shizuoka tectonic line. That is to say, there is a tendency for the boundaries of ＂dialects of foodways＂ to divide the main island of Honshu both along lines of physical geographyand cultural geography. Since November 2006, ＂Eccentricities of Modem Japanese Cuisine＂ has linked up with the social networking service Wagamaga, and the possibilities for participation on the site have increased. At the same time, town revitalization efforts which were using the ＂B-gourmet＂ popular food of the masses (distinct from the so-called haute cuisine) and its regional forms ＂local B-gourmet＂ were cooperating in the period of site development. As a result, ＂Eccentricities of Modem Japanese Cuisine＂ and Wagamaga began to deepen their participation in local revitalization events. In order to present the local B-gourmet food of each part of Japan in one place and to create rankings based on consumer voting, the ＂B-1 Grand Prix＂ event was started in 2006, where the number of participating groups and attendance have risen remarkably every year since. According to Nose, the goal of the B-1 Grand Prix, aside from being a competition of flavor, is to nurture cooperation between groups in each region which are engaged in regional revitalization using cuisine, in order that each movement can create a large ripple effect. With this intention, at the same time as the opening of the B-1 Grand Prix, a ＂Group Connection Conference for Town Revitalization through B-Gourmet＂ was established, with Nose as a sponsor. Even aside from the B-1 Grand Prix, local events which present and allow B-gourmet food to be eaten and efforts to preserve local food and beverages are continuing to increase, and remain of interest as promoters of local economic activity. In this way, due to the sudden growth of town revitalization through B-gourmet which occurred parallel to the development of ＂Eccentricities of Modem Japanese Cuisine＂, the column and Wagamaga now more frequently gather data. At this point, the existing food-related dialogue between the site members in both the column and the social networking service has gained the backing of food-based economic kickstart activities. It can also be said this has imposed upon the column and social networking service a function that they should perhaps naturally have had as a publication of an economic newspaper. It goes without saying that the point of view that cuisine has dialects is an excellent one. The viewpoint that further subdivisions of differences exist within a single cultural sphere provides a sufficient range to enable us to close in on the multi-layeredness of culture. Although this has been previously discussed experientially, the accumulation of maps of subdivisions in the country made through internet voting can be evaluated as a hitherto non-existent practice. In this paper, I also shed a light on ＂local B-gourmet＂ which emerged nearly simultaneously with the ideas of ＂dialects of foodways＂ being expected as a possible solution for local economic revitalization in economically depressed regions of Japan; while such a phenomenon occurred spontaneously, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun company as a result play a role in achieving greater cooperation and connection between the groups involved. If we consider local B-gourmet and regional economic stimulation from a cultural viewpoint, first, the specific local identity asserts itself through those regional characteristics and food culture that are local B-gourmet. At the same time, even while the concerned parties promoting the spread of local B-gourmet are competing with an understanding of regional food culture, they are also enjoying the solidarity and mutual exchange as practitioners of the same profession. Thus, in the background of local food culture is the confrontation between our globalized world and the micro-level regional diversity of cuisines. However, in spite of this, like the well-used sauce in modem Japan which has its origins in a Western-derived ＂Western soy sauce＂ and is currently eaten with tempura in the Kansai region (with Osaka at its center), it can be seen that the state of cuisine is not historically unrelated to globalization. Regarding the work aiming to use local B-gourmet for economic revitalization, I would like to point out that there exist some kind of negotiations over regional food as a cultural capital, such as in order for long-loved local foods to be used as a resource ＂for town revival, or perhaps for new ＂dialects of foodways＂ to be created for the purpose of local redevelopment.