Illustration of the Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality in the Black Swan Movie
This paper is going to examine the connections between national cuisine and identity. Some foods are so identified with a country that it is difficult to imagine that country without talking about that particular food. Sometimes a cuisine can even be used to soften international tensions. Various countries attempt to promote their national interests to the world through gastro diplomacy. Gastrodiplomacy is a term defining public diplomacy's attempt to communicate culinary culture to foreign publics (Rockower, 2014:13). It aims to influence public audiences and allows the country to increase its popularity and appeal for its culture.
This paper is going to examine this tasteful diplomacy through Japan. The meaning of gastro diplomacy and cuisine nationalism will be clarified first, then the paper will explore the process of nominating washoku or Japanese food to be UNESCO intangible heritage. Finally, it will explain the benefits towards the nation and also citizens.
According to Cang culinary nationalism is a word that expresses the singularity of the country and its cuisine. Thus, culinary nationalism can be seen as another form of cultural chauvinism that maintains a nation’s exceptionalism in terms of food (Cang, 2018:234). Some examples of countries where culinary nationalism is deeply rooted are Japan, France, and Italy. Those countries have a specific cuisine and particular recipes that distinguish the nation’s foods from other kinds of foods or even imitated ones. Simultaneously, the idea and ideal of a nation’s cuisine determine the relationship of population and dining by defining what is the nation’s intellectual property and what is not. As a result, culinary nationalism in Japanese society strengthens the feeling of possession of Japanese food.
The concept of culinary nationalism promoted the idea that food has been passed on for generations until it became an identity of the society and ultimately the nation. Finally, it comes to the basic idea that national food does exist. From this concept, people feel pride in their cuisine. The government sees the essence in national cuisine too. With the fundamental duty of the government to display the nation’s essence and uniqueness to bring a good image, tourists, and also trust in the international level, various countries’ governments have decided to utilize their own rich cuisines to satisfy this purpose. In other words, culinary nationalism induces new form of diplomacy that utilizes cuisine as a tool for promoting one’s own country and culture called gastro diplomacy.
Gastrodiplomacy, according to the conflict cuisine project, is the nexus of food and foreign policy and the way countries communicate through food (Rockower, 2016:10). Since mankind started to change the residence, the local food has been spread continuously. People carry their reminiscent food, which usually is a national dish, away when they move and share the recipe and taste to new people, so the national cuisine has been shared unintentionally. However, despite the fact that the ubiquity of particular national cuisine around the world is not new, the purposeful practice of gastro diplomacy is no longer than 20 years. The practice of gastro diplomacy firstly began by Thailand through the government’s campaign in 2002 called ‘The Global Thai’ and the word was coined for this occasion by The Economist (Lipscomb, 2019). After that, various countries started to take a look at this kind of soft power and have practiced gastro diplomacy progressively since then. Japan exemplifies one of those clearly.
During World War II, the Japanese were notorious for their love and loyalty toward their nation. Despite their defeat in World War II, they still want to protect traditions, cultures, and uniqueness. This results in the excellent conservation of traditional cultures such as traditional performances, traditional construction, and also traditional Japanese cuisine, or washoku.
the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries define washoku as a combined word from ‘Wa’ and ‘Shoku’ which refers to Japanese and eating respectively. Thus, Washoku has a basic meaning of Japanese food. Nonetheless, the ministry further stated that Washoku refers not only to foods, but also the dietary cultures of Japanese people. From this definition, it can be implied that washoku is not simply a particular dish such as sushi or ramen, but it does include the places ingredients are taken from, the way it is cooked, the way it is served, until the way it is eaten.
Although cuisine nationalism has a deep root in Japan, since the post-bubble economy and the coming of globalization, Japanese people started to change their diets. Rice, once a main part of the set, was gradually faded away from meals. People eat outside more, especially in fast-food restaurants and family restaurants. Therefore, the attempt to conserve traditional Japanese food has become more significant for the government. So, they decided to remind the Japanese of the importance of washoku along with promoting it to a wider level.
The Japanese government's attempts in promoting Japanese food or Washoku have been practiced since 2009. The first campaign they launched was named ‘WASHOKU-Try Japan's Good Food’ in an attempt to promote Japanese food overseas. Even though it was successful, the determination did not stop there. The government has continued to do many operations to boost the popularity of Japanese food both domestically and internationally, but one that eminently succeeded was a nomination for UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in 2013.
As stated in UNESCO official website, intangible cultural heritage refers to traditions, ways of living, or life expressions inherited from ancestors and will be passed on to descendants including social practices, rituals, and festive events. Furthermore, intangible cultural heritage may be considered fragile, but it does have an important role in maintaining cultural diversity and encouraging the understanding and respect of other cultures. The cuisine is clearly one succeeding to fit the category. Hence, many countries with incredibly strong cuisine promoted theirs as the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. Before Japan, the countries that accomplished the recognition are France, followed by Mexico, and then 7 Mediterranean countries: Cyprus, Croatia, Spain, Italy, Greece, Morocco, and Portugal in 2013.
Seeing those successful attempts to promote national and multinational cuisines through UNESCO, Japan government sparked the idea of doing so. The government nominated Japanese cuisine in the name of ‘washoku’ and identified it as a social practice based on comprehensive sets of skills related to the processes of producing food from production to consumption. Moreover, washoku is also associated with an essential spirit of respect to natural resources. In the nomination paper, it was written that washoku has developed to be a part of daily life and has an important role for the Japanese to reaffirm identity and to contribute to a healthy life through sharing traditional and well-balanced meals.
Finally, in 2013, washoku gained recognition as one of the UNESCO intangible cultural heritages as it was valued spiritual tradition of respecting nature associated with washoku (The Japan Times, 2013). After being inscribed on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage, washoku has been rapidly transformed into a heritage brand name by both government and private sectors such as businesses (Cwiertka, 2018;102). Besides, it made Japan acquire another form of Japan’s so-called content industry whose products range from Pokemon to automobiles (Bestor, 2014;60).
After accepted as UNESCO heritage, washoku has been promoted internationally by the government through mass media and events. The cooking process was broadcasted through Japan’s giant press ‘NHK’ and worldwide press ‘CNN’ to demonstrate its delicacy from selecting the ingredients to the serving procedure. Furthermore, with the cooperation with cooking schools overseas, washoku-related courses were operated in many top culinary institutions including Le Cordon Bleu and Dusit Thani College.
The success from this nomination is quite surprising. From traditional home-cooked meals to variety of creations, Washoku has been recognized much broader in an international level. According to 2014 Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries report, Washoku was voted to be the most favorite cuisine for foreigners in 2014, and from 2006 to 2013, Japanese restaurants overseas had been approximately 2.5 times increasing. Additionally, the campaign also bolstered Japanese cuisine domestically. Traditional Japanese restaurants including Sushi, Tempura, and other kinds of Washoku have been listed on Michelin Guide and some are awarded Michelin Stars.
Since Japan is a country exporting both tangible and intangible cultures and traditions, adding Washoku as a detail in its impressive cultures makes both Washoku and Japan itself more recognized. The heritagization of Washoku was an overwhelming success that contributed to economic growth and the appreciation of Washoku both internationally and domestically. Washoku has inherently embedded in Japanese society for a long time, and with the attempt to make it alive, its influence on the global world and its own origin, Japan, will gradually continue without a doubt.
