Japanese Cuisine
The cuisine of Japan has styles of food that move through time periods of history, ethnical settlement and race mixtures, foreign trade and immigration, interest and specialty, as well as regional. The broad categories are Nihonshoku (Japan Food) compilation of all cuisines in Japan and Washoku for Japans traditional cuisine. Broad categories that are not as commonly used, unless generalizing are: Yoshoku, Esunikushoku, Ajiashoku, in consideration of possible political term abuse. Then there are Country Style-Cuisines, Japan Regional Cuisine (郷土料理. Kyodoryori. Prefecture Specific), and Kateishoku (Homemade food. Family Style Specific). There are also cooking categories of special studies of cuisine, including, but not limited to: Takushoku (Otaku Cuisine), Rekishishoku (History Cuisine), and Nishishoku (Western Cuisine). Cuisine of Japan -Nihonshoku (Japan Cuisine) The word Nihonshoku was originally used for Japanese cuisine. Nihonshoku is more widely used than Nipponshoku or Washoku and was a general term for food eaten in Japan. It is the term that broadly covers all cuisine categories which started from: Washoku, Yoshoku, and Esunikushoku which is not as commonly used as it once was. -Kyodoshoku (Japan Regional Cuisine) The word Kyodoshoku is literally translated as local cuisine for region-specific dishes. It is based on local ingredients and local recipes of a region of origins from traditional to modern. The regionality also relates with its location as historically there might be ingredients brought in from other prefectures that are used more than other prefectures in some cases. Regionality is often seen in regional promotion, regional innovation, and regional identity. The modernization of food distributing, processing, storing, and technology has standardized "Nihonryori" or Japanese Cuisine as the standard and the regional identity in cooking has been diminishing over the years. -Kateishoku Kateishoku, literally means home cooking food and is an individuals choice of what sorts of food they choose to make in their home. Some will refer to it as a sort of cuisine called Kateiryori (home cooked cuisine) which gained popularity in the early 1980s from the "Ethnic Boom". In 1970s, Japan Home-Cooking ethnic styles of fashion, music, and food proved to be strong as Japanese explored the cultures of the world well into the 1980s. These inspirations of: United States, Europe, France, South East Asian, and more. Since the Meiji era, Japanese people have longed for explorations of ethnic culture and cuisine as well as exploration for a overseas exposure. However, it also raised those who were not interested in such explorations and changes to have heightened discrimination and prejudice, while those who were exposed and kept a learning mindset had a lowered discrimination and prejudice due to cultural awareness. In the late 1980s, there would have other broad categories to fill in missing terms of referance including: Nishisoku (western food), Ajiashoku (asian food), and Kateishoku (home cooked food). Many home cooked foods covered Washoku, Yoshoku, Chukashoku, and Esunikushoku, so more would refer to the term "Kateishoku" as it implied the meaning of those categories, however its usage overtime has led it also to be ambiguous in nature as it has no specifications of what is the combination of cooking styles involved of a persons individual "Kateishoku". -Esunikushoku (エスニック. Ethnic Cuisine) Esunikushoku means Ethnic Food and is foods unique to each ethnic group, but even though its definition is to be used in this way it is often used as a generic term to refer to non-Japanese food. In the beginning this included Asian Cuisine, Western Cuisine, and High Class Cuisine from America and France as well as Italy that started to bring a strong sense of strength from outside of Japan cuisine into the country. This would be celebrated by some as the cutting-edge cuisine and global arsenal of culinary shared techniques through training at establishments in Japan was a great oppurtunity for those learning a variety of cooking skills. However, this did not sit well with some and those who were gaining in social status and financial status were rated as heightened cuisine and separated by seemingly not as good cuisine. It states in its implication that Washoku is special food and anything Esunikushoku was ordinary food, which is nothing new for Japan as there would be classes of gourmet created right after the Ethnic Boom to divide Letter grades to types of food categories for food journalists. In 1985, Ryuji Tazawa created an article that conceptualized the term of B-Class Gourmet. What it stood for was inexpensive, non-luxury, ordinary people, casual food, which helps organize food groups but the system of letters makes a power structure currently of its opposites. Having one be expensive, luxury, special people, special food, is great for two audiences, but there are many in between, so there is still plenty of other letters awaiting a more diverse description to fit in the food editorial language of labeling food. This would be taken one step further as there would be people who would be bullied who tried to change the idea of Esunikushoku and its ranking, so many foreigners would be in little groups of the same ethnic immigrants. It would even be implied based on tone or body language based on reading the word order and situation to be a way to say lesser-than Japanese or lower-than or flawed to Japanese in its cooking, until it has been revised by the people of Japanese blood, Japanese heritage, and Japanese birthright. This had grown from much of the older crowd who still have a strong sense of nationalism that had actually slowed or stopped much of the culinary exposure of recipes during the pre-70s ethnic boom. The Change into Individual Cooking-Styles In the 1990s, general cuisine terminologies were causing arguments with people who lived in Japan their whole life, Hafu Bloods of two different ethnic groups, and incoming immigrants. This had occurred so often many youth who grew up in the time period became more interested in understanding the positive and negative of both sides and many did not engage to not cause even more social interruption as the mentality of the group is important in societal values of Japan. What was evident from food researchers and food writers was that it caused much divide among residents, especially those who had smaller populations and far away from tourism and international trade ports. Many avoid the entire argument elegantly with the blanket cuisine of "Nihonryori" which leads to one of its uses in modern day definitions that is different from its original use. The term was able to place all cuisines under itself and each cuisine would be called by its own ethnic group cuisine as it was intended as well as Japanese influenced cuisine. For example Italariashoku was once Yoshoku, but now it is simply has its own sub-category"Itariashoku". General Food Categories -Washoku (和食. Traditional Japanese Cuisine) The word Washoku originally was used for Japanese Cuisine as a whole. It was at one point used interchangeably with Nihonshoku (Japan Food) as they mean the same thing in the literal sense, but their implied meaning can change from one individual to another. Later it was referred to Japanese foods that were limited to a certain style of Japanese cooking limited to certain eras of Japanese cooking with its own set of rules. It also would gain the reputation to work harmonious with nature and limit itself to certain time eras techniques and presentation. Washoku and Nihonshoku tend to be used interchangeably amongst those following its direct definition. However with changes with the view of Modern Japanese Food and its progression into uncharted culinaria territory of new and old there is a much need to state a traditional dish to be Washoku. -Ajiashoku (Asian Cuisine) The word Ajiashoku was a term for asian countries east of europe. These are a sub-categories originally consisted of the countries of interest in the ethnic boom and were also known as "Esunikushoku": Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Cambodian. Foods under these groups were: Taishoku (タイ料理. Thai Food), Betonamushoku (ベトナム料理.Vietnamese Food), Indoneshiashoku インドネシア料理. Indonesian Food), Khmershoku (カンボジア料理. Cambodian Food, Kanbojia Food). The word Ajia (asia) begun to cluster more people together as more cuisine started to pop up as well as immigrants that made their way to live in Japan. This would end up predominantly including: Japanese-Jomon Lineage, Koreans, Chinese, Turks, Arabs, Persians, Indians, Aryans, Mongolians, Sri Lankans, and Sundas. It would not be limited to these groups as it included general asian areas of: East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia. The term has become extremely-discriminatory term in the political sphere and has popularized the idea of "Beware the foreigner". Foods that were once called Ajiashoku are slowly being seen as their own country of origin cuisines as exposure of immigrants and globalized media become the norm through the internet. -Yoshoku (洋食. Western-Japanese Cuisine) The word Yoshoku was used for foods that came from Western nations like the United States and Europe. Specifically though it started with: French, British, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, and American. So, the foods under this group would eventually be: French Cuisine, British Cuisine, Italian Cuisine, Spanish Cuisine, German Cuisine, Russian Cuisine, and American Cuisine. Its original meaning was literally western food as it a western-style of cuisine that began its own development in Japan, until it was nearly unrecognizable as food from western nations as its own specialized Western-Japanese cuisine. In the modern day research and study of Yoshoku has led for the term to be used less as Japanese residents have become increasingly aware of global differences and dangers of grouped country politicization. According to the Japan Western Food Association "Western food is defined as Western food that has evolved uniquely to Japan and is eaten with rice". Which has created what were once specified as only Yoshoku cuisine types to become named from their country origin instead.
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