Elements of Japanese Cuisine and Food Culture
摘要
In this chapter we describe the ancient Japanese food culture washoku and the Japanese concept of kansha that are so ingrained in Japanese culture and not only involve food and meals but everything that surrounds humans’ interaction, attitude, and respect for the part of the world we eat and the persons who provide, prepare, and serve the food (Jacob, 2022; Brown, 2021). Along the way we will revisit the temple cuisine, shōjin ryōri, the so-called enlightened cuisine that is purely vegan, and we shall see how meat eating has changed in Japan over the centuries.