Introduction to Japan's cuisine

 I am currently reading a book called “Japan's Cuisine: Food, Place and Identity” by Eric C. Rath. This book was written in 2016.

The author is a historian whose research speciality is Japanese food culture. In this book, he focuses on the diversity of Japanese cuisine and how traditional Japanese food culture has been developed over the course of years.

I chose this book because I am interested in the different cuisines of many countries and I wanted to be able to fully understand my home country's food culture before I learn about others. Besides, even though I am living more than half of my life in Japan, I still don't know much about its culture in terms of local food and its origin.

From the first few chapters I have read so far, the author first defines the basic meaning of “Washoku” or “Nihon Ryori” and as I read through, he also talks about the history of eating habits of Japanese people about 50 years ago comparing it to what we eat now. He also digs deep into the gap in perceptions of Washoku among native Japanese people. From a couple of surveys, he grasped the reality of local Japanese cuisine and connected it to the rapid economical growth of post-war period.