Katarzyna J. Cwiertka - Branding Japanese Food: From Meibutsu to Washoku

x

The idea for this book was born sometime in 2014 during one of the Skype conversations the authors held on a regular basis to discuss a joint project they were working on. These casual conversations usually began with complaints about the bizarre developments following the inscription of Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which had occurred roughly a year earlier. While talking to one another we were relieved to be able to share our amazement and frustration at the fact that none of the prominent Japanese food historians we had respected for years had raised a voice against what, in our eyes at least, could be classified as the manipulation of historical facts. We decided to do something about it.

The Japanese-language manuscript in which we laid out the inconsistencies of washoku as it was presented in the UNESCO nomination was ready in the summer of 2015, but it proved quite difficult to find a suitable publisher. Some of those we had approached had expressed interest at first, but were quickly put off by the critical nature of the narrative. We are very grateful to Yasuki Takehito, the editor at Shinsensha, for his open-minded attitude, trust, and support for the project. Himerareta washokushi (The hidden history of washoku) was published by Shinsensha in September 2016.

Following Japanese convention we sent a copy of the book, with an accompanying personal greeting, to various respected food scholars whom we personally knew. Several returned the courtesy with a collegial congratulatory note. One scholar for whom we had particular respect sent us a lengthy e-mail outlining the inconsistencies in our argument and scolding xii us for not understanding how critical it was for Japanese cuisine to have washoku inscribed on the UNESCO list. However, none of this criticism was repeated in public. No book review crushing our argument appeared in the media. The book generated little publicity and never became a bestseller, but at least we had a clear conscience having let our voices be heard.

The English-language version of the book took another two years to complete, which was largely due to the expansion of its focus from washoku to a historical analysis of the branding of Japanese food more broadly. This required immersing ourselves in the topic of tourism in early modern Japanan entirely unfamiliar area for us but a subject that has been extensively studied for decades, primarily by historians and scholars of the visual arts. Navigating these uncharted waters was not easy, but the endeavor was made possible thanks to the generous help of Cwiertkas Leiden colleagues: Wim Boot, Mark Buijsters, Nadia Kreeft, Ewa Machotka, Doreen Mller, Guita Winkel, and, above all, Chris Uhlenbeck, whose advice proved particularly valuable. Chris was also extremely helpful, as was Ishikawa-sensei, in securing the copyrights for the images used in this volume. Research presented in was supported financially by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research.

We are grateful to all the scholars who have offered us advice and suggestions in the course of completing this manuscript, including the University of Hawaii Presss anonymous reviewers. The professionalism and passion of our editor, Masako Ikeda, was like nothing we have ever experienced. And last but not least, the editorial assistance of Klarijn Anderson-Loven was outstanding, as always.

We sincerely hope that all these efforts have resulted in a book that will not only be informative but will also inspire the reader to ponder the vulnerability of our daily reality, which is increasingly being reshaped by all-encompassing branding.