IFP Week 6: Sushi and Globalization

Matt Price

Almost done!

  • tomorrow we will discuss
    • sushi
    • globalization
    • essay writing
  • today:
    • sushi as global food/globalization
    • skipping way ahead!
      • empire → world wars → Cold War → Globalization

What is Sushi?

Figure 1: (Rath, 2021 p.6)
Figure 2: (Rath, 2021 p.13)
Figure 3: (Rath, 2021 p.42)
Figure 4: (Rath, 2021 p.84)

Origins and Modernity

  • certainly ancient; very likely from coastal China, at least 3000YA
  • likely began as fermented/preserved fish
    • purpose of rice or millet was to feed fermenting bacteria
    • rice itself probably discarded
  • this food is not specifically Japanese; so one historical puzzle is why sushi is considered Japanese food in most of the world (more complex in Asia)

Quick Sketch of Sushi in Japan

  • arrived in Japan at least 1700 years ago (300 CE), as pickled fish
    • probably had a very strong flavour, perhaps of urine or vomit
    • not mentioned in early cookbooks because it was low cuisine; street food
  • in the late medieval & early modern period, "fresh" sushi begins to make an appearance. retains acid ingredients, but no longer as preservative
  • restricted to coastal regions & small fish that could be butchered in food stalls
  • in this period we start to see the wide application of the term "sushi" to a variety of different foods, not all of which have fish, not all of which have rice
  • also add the rolling of rice in a paper made from seaweed (nori)
  • Japan industrializes ~1900. In this period, sushi becomes "quintessential street food" – very commonly eaten
    • after World War II, almost disappears because of rice rations

Japanese "Economic Miracle" and domestic resurgence of sushi

  • after war, slow rebuild of Japanese society
  • sushi restaurants make comeback as industrialized food production
  • refrigeration spreads, allows inland restaurants, different kinds of fish
  • Japanese purchasing power increases
Figure 5: (Rath, 2021 , p131)

Sushi in the West

  • almost no sushi in North America before 1970
    • ban on Japanese immigration in US until 1965
    • almost all Japanese restaurants shut down during war
  • 1970's: mystique of Japan
    • "counterculture" & executive boardroom: embrace of "Japanese culture"
    • mostly mythical!
  • 1980's: standardization & expansion of sushi. Americnaization/localization. Japanese attempts to control/brand
Figure 6: (Rath, 2021 , p.135)

Global Reach & Environmental Impacts

  • massive overfishing
  • single global market
  • "reciprocal influence"

Thinking about globalization

  • process and a period (~1980+)
  • economic, cultural, political
  • homogenizing or hybridizing?
  • sushi shows all of these!

Sources

Rath, E. C. (2021). Oishii: the history of sushi. Reaktion Books.