IFP Week 6: Sushi and Globalization
Matt Price
Origins and Modernity
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
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
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.