Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan
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.
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Contents
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Introduction
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1 |
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1 Japanese Cuisine a Backward Journey
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11 |
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Cutting Ceremonies and Cuisine
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38 |
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3 Ceremonial Banquets
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52 |
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4 The Barbarians Cookbook
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85 |
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5 Food and Fantasy in Culinary Books
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112 |
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6 Menus for the Imagination
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121 |
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abalone bakufu banquet bird called carp century Cha no yu chefs chestnuts chicken chopsticks confectionery consumed Cookbook Cookery cooking culinary books culinary texts culinary writings culture cutting daikon daimyo Delicacies DOki dried early modern Japan eaten eating Edo period elite EndO Genkan EndO’s flour foodways fowl Genkan grilled guest Guide to Meals gyOji Harada HOchO hOchOnin honzen Ibid included ingredients Japan Japanese cuisine Japanese Food jiten kasutera Kawabata KidodO knife ceremonies konbu konpeitO Kumakura Kyoto cuisine lord’s main tray medieval menu miso mochi namasu names nanban Nihon ryOri Noodles oral pickles Portuguese prepared readers recipes restaurant rice cakes sake salt samurai sashimi sauce sea bream sea cucumber seasonal second tray Secret Writings served shikisankon shogun shoku ShOsekiken side dishes slices snacks soup Southern Barbarian soy sauce spiny lobster style sugar sushi sweets tea ceremony tempura third tray tofu Tokugawa uirO vegetables Wagashi Wheat Gluten Yamanouchi House