In Japan, consumption of animal meat was officially prohibited in 675 just after Buddhism was introduced to Japan in 538.  Then, Japanese people had enjoyed foods based mainly on rice, soybean, fish and vegetable for long time.  After World War II, Japanese people suffered from hunger, and large part of their food was supported by food materials supplied by the US, such as skim milk powder and wheat.  Japanese economy was improved in 1950s and 1960s and consumption of animal meat increased, and PFC balance in Japan became ideal in 1970s.  While the nutritional condition was improved, cold chain in food distribution was established and the percentage of households owing refrigerator increased from 10% (1960) to 90% (1970), and, as a result, salt consumption of each person decreased from 25 g/d to 10 g/d.  Improvement in nutrition and decrease in salt consumption extended life span of Japanese people, and Japanese food attracted attention.  Then, WASHKU (traditional dietary culture of the Japanese) was registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013.<br/>It is difficult to define Japanese food because food culture in a country is always changing.  For example, food in Korea was no spicy hot, but their food was drastically changed after red pepper was introduced from Japan in 16<sup>th</sup> century.  Similar change can be seen in Sichuan cuisine.  Tempura, Ramen and Ton-katsu were originally introduced from Portugal, Chine and France, respectively. but now they are typical Japanese food.  Although food culture of a country is always changing, characteristics of the food and its culture might be kept in some degree.<br/>This paper attempts to describe characteristics kept in Japanese food, especially in Japanese daily food, and its culture.

Characteristics of Japanese food and its culture

ACS Fall 2021

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