In this paper, we will explore the political construction of washoku by analyzing Japan’s recent strategy of gastronationalism and gastrodiplomacy. We will argue that the definition of washoku, as inscribed in the UNESCO’s International Cultural Heritage List in 2013, is the result of a process of invention of tradition whose aim is to homogenize and preserve national identity and project this identity abroad. While emphasizing the role of food as an essential element of national identity, we will also show that the promotion of washoku is also motivated by the need to address several issues of broader domestic politics. Starting from the assumption that Japan’s low food self-sufficiency rate could be improved only by increasing the demand for Japanese food, the government implemented a strategy of promotion of washoku at home (gastronationalism) and abroad (gastrodiplomacy) in order to increase both the domestic consumption of traditional food and the export of agrifood products.
University of Naples L'Orientale, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-0397-1780
Titolo del capitolo
The politics of washoku: Japan’s gastronationalism and gastrodiplomacy
Autori
Felice Farina
Lingua
English
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-506-6.09
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Anno di pubblicazione
2021
Copyright
© 2021 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Titolo del libro
Food issues 食事
Sottotitolo del libro
Interdisciplinary Studies on Food in Modern and Contemporary East Asia
Curatori
Miriam Castorina, Diego Cucinelli
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Numero di pagine
202
Anno di pubblicazione
2021
Copyright
© 2021 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Editore
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-506-6
ISBN Print
978-88-5518-505-9
eISBN (pdf)
978-88-5518-506-6
eISBN (epub)
978-88-5518-507-3
Collana
Studi e saggi
ISSN della collana
2704-6478
e-ISSN della collana
2704-5919