![Classical Japan: 7th c. to 12th c.Population Stagnates, even declinesEpidemic Disease, Cooling, Deforestation and OverproductionTaxes based on RiceIrrigation sporadic, difficult to maintainIron in short supplyTypical Diet: "brown rice, wheat, barley, salt, seaweed, bean paste [miso], vinegar, melons ... lots of rice wine. ... mushrooms, chestnuts, and local fish and game." (Farris 2009, 48)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/japanslides-earlyjapanesefoodhistory-111006102514-phpapp01/85/Early-Japanese-Food-History-11-320.jpg)
![Special Occasions"salted salmon, tuna, bean curd, dried bonito, squid, herring roe, and dried herring - all purchased at a nearby town - eggs, dried nameko (an edible fungus), sea bream, fried bean curd, aya (sweetfish), horseradish, and the list goes on. ... "Sugar was a luxury item [but] even people in the northern, poorer sections of the country could buy it and did." (Hanley 1997, 87)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/japanslides-earlyjapanesefoodhistory-111006102514-phpapp01/85/Early-Japanese-Food-History-21-320.jpg)
![SourcesSusan Hanley, Everyday Things in Premodern Japan: The Hidden Legacy of Material Culture, UCP, 1997William Wayne Farris, Japan to 1600: A Social And Economic History, U Hawaii Press, 2009Yamakawa, Nihonshi Sogo Zuroku [Comprehensive Visual History of Japan]Edo: Art in Japan, 1615-1868 by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DCOther Pictures by Jonathan Dresnerhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/jondresner/](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/japanslides-earlyjapanesefoodhistory-111006102514-phpapp01/85/Early-Japanese-Food-History-35-320.jpg)
Early Japanese Food History
- 1. Early Japanese Food HistoryPatterns and Change
- 2. Japan
- 3. Jōmon (13,000 bce to 900 bce)Seasonal MigrationsWinter: Hunting deer, boar, monkey, rabbitSpring: Coastal ShellfishSummer: Fishing, ForagingAutumn: Mountain Foraging, nuts, berriesLater Jōmon: HorticultureSwidden (Slash & Burn)Melons, Burdock, Beans, Barley, MilletPottery
- 5. Yayoi (900 bce-250 ce)Early AgricultureJaponica Rice, cast seeds, dependent on rain5 Grains: Rice, Barley, Millet, Wheat, Buckwheat. Also Soybeans.Swidden, Fishing, Hunting continuePigs Domesticated. Octopus traps.Later: Rice paddy irrigation and seedling transplantimported iron toolsProblems: Spring Hungers and Warfare
- 6. Yayoi Pottery and Tools
- 7. Tomb Culture (3rd - 6th century)Yayoi patterns continueStonewareSake fermentationChopsticksPopulation GrowthPolitical Consolidation
- 8. Tomb-era Pottery and Kamado
- 9. Nagoya: Atsuta ShrineSake Barrels & Shinto Priest
- 11. Classical Japan: 7th c. to 12th c.Population Stagnates, even declinesEpidemic Disease, Cooling, Deforestation and OverproductionTaxes based on RiceIrrigation sporadic, difficult to maintainIron in short supplyTypical Diet: "brown rice, wheat, barley, salt, seaweed, bean paste [miso], vinegar, melons ... lots of rice wine. ... mushrooms, chestnuts, and local fish and game." (Farris 2009, 48)
- 12. Classical Japan, cont.Agriculture: more oxen, plant-based fertilizers, double-cropping dry fieldsoils (hemp, sesame, bean)Peasant classes lived on edge of starvation, continued swidden, hunting, foragingElites lived on tax and tribute from estates"Their diet was surprisingly poor, mostly polished rice, various vegetables, fish and shellfish, and lots of rice wine. ... susceptible to all sorts of chronic diseases." (Farris 2009, 73)
- 13. 18c Watanabe ShikoFarmer's Ox
- 14. Medieval Japan (13th to 16th c.)Population growing: epidemics, famines slowAgriculture:Iron Tools available again, rising use of oxenmanure as fertilizer, water wheel irrigation"Island Dry Fields", double-cropping of rice beginsChampa Rice"more side dishes such as salted fish and noodles" (Farris 2009, 128)
- 15. 17c Screen: Water Wheel
- 16. Medieval Screen: Rice Planting
- 17. New FoodsZen Buddhist Monk Eisai brings Tea from China. Buddhists also introduce sweet bean paste, steamed buns, and TofuForeign Influences: Teppan yaki, Tempura, Castela cake, pepper.Soy sauce, ginger, wasabi become widespreadMiso, soy and rice form complete protein
- 18. Early Modern Japan (17th to 19th c.)Agricultural Boom: Peace DividendWidespread double-cropping, seed selectionFertilization: "Night Soil", seedcake, fishColumbian Exchange: Sweet Potatoes, green beans, maize, red peppers, pumpkins, watermelon, spinach, chili peppers, peanutsSpread of beriberi as polished rice became more commonHunting declined, except wildfowl; domesticated pig, chicken popularLunch
- 20. Everyday Food"What we think of as the traditional Japanese diet of steamed rice accompanied by soup, one or more side dishes, and pickles, developed slowly... Even samurai families often had a daily diet of coarse grains or rice mixed with other grains with a side dish of fish or something extra for the master, but only soup, pickles and possibly boiled vegetables for the rest of the family and the servants." (Hanley 1997, 86)
- 21. Special Occasions"salted salmon, tuna, bean curd, dried bonito, squid, herring roe, and dried herring - all purchased at a nearby town - eggs, dried nameko (an edible fungus), sea bream, fried bean curd, aya (sweetfish), horseradish, and the list goes on. ... "Sugar was a luxury item [but] even people in the northern, poorer sections of the country could buy it and did." (Hanley 1997, 87)
- 22. Early Modern Food"in Japan, one-pot meals had one or more grains - usually including rice - as their base, and other foods, particularly vegetables, were added appropriately during the cooking process." (Hanley 1997, 79)Shinano: 20 different rice strains, buckwheat, beans, daikon radish, vegetables, grasshoppers, horse chestnuts, wild greensUrban Restaurants: sushi, soba, ramen, rice cake/bean soup, eel, tea houses
- 23. 17c Kusumi Morikage: Rice Cultivation Four Seasons, left panels
- 24. 17c Kusumi Morikage: Rice Cultivation Four Seasons, center panels
- 25. 17c Kusumi Morikage: Rice Cultivation Four Seasons, right panels
- 26. Yamaguchi: Flooded Rice Field w/ Tractor
- 27. Yamaguchi: Dry Rice Field w/ Hoe
- 28. Yamaguchi: Replanted Rice Field w/ Blower
- 29. Rice Harvest
- 30. Nagoya: Rice Harvest Drying
- 31. Bento Lunch on Lacquer
- 32. Kanazawa: Rice Bales as Restaurant Sign
- 33. Osaka Rice Docks
- 35. SourcesSusan Hanley, Everyday Things in Premodern Japan: The Hidden Legacy of Material Culture, UCP, 1997William Wayne Farris, Japan to 1600: A Social And Economic History, U Hawaii Press, 2009Yamakawa, Nihonshi Sogo Zuroku [Comprehensive Visual History of Japan]Edo: Art in Japan, 1615-1868 by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DCOther Pictures by Jonathan Dresnerhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/jondresner/