82-065 A Cultural History of Japanese Food: Reading History Through What We Eat
3 units, Carnegie Mellon University
What makes food "Japanese"? Sushi, ramen, tempura, and curry rice are recognized worldwide as Japanese, yet each arrived in Japan from somewhere else, was remade by Japanese cooks and eaters, and then traveled again with Japanese migrants, corporations, and television. This micro course uses food as a lens for reading roughly 1,500 years of Japanese and global history. We begin with the basics of Japanese cuisine and the deceptively simple question of who makes and eats "Japanese" food, then follow Japan's trade and diplomatic encounters with China, Korea, Portugal, the Netherlands, Britain, India, and the United States through the dishes they left behind. We turn to the Japanese diaspora in the United States, from Seattle's oldest Japanese restaurant to the incarceration camps of 1942-46 and the sushi boom of the 1980s, and examine two case studies in the globalization of Japanese food: Benihana and Iron Chef. We close with critiques of "culinary nationalism" (is ramen Japanese, Chinese, or Korean?) and the soft-power politics of "Cool Japan." Readings mix history, memoir, and short fiction with television and podcasts. No prior knowledge of Japan or Japanese is required; students bring their own food histories to the table.
Prerequisites: none listed
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