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UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Taking ramen seriously : food, labor, and everyday life in modern Japan Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/92b857v1 Author Solt, George Sekine Publication Date 2009 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Taking Ramen Seriously: Food, Labor, and Everyday Life in Modern Japan A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by George Sekine Solt Committee in Charge: Professor Stefan Tanaka, Co-Chair Professor Takashi Fujitani, Co-Chair Professor Masao Miyoshi Professor Christena Turner Professor Daniel Widener 2009 Copyright George Sekine Solt, 2009 All Rights Reserved. The Dissertation of George Sekine Solt is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and in form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Co-Chair Co-Chair University of California, San Diego 2009 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page………………………………………………………………………...iii Table of Contents………………………...……………………………………………iv Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………...………v Vita………………………………………………………..…………………………..vii Abstract……………………………………...……………………………………….viii Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...1 Chapter One: Shina Soba and Industrialization…….………………………..……….26 Chapter Two: Ch ūka Soba and the U.S. Occupation……...……….………...…...…..64 Chapter Three: Ramen and High-Speed Economic Growth………………...………110 Chapter Four: Instant Ramen and the Nissin Foods Corporation……..…………….135 Chapter Five: Regional Ramen and the Bubble Economy……………………….…177 Chapter Six: Japanese “Chinese Noodle-Soup” and The Raumen Museum…….….207 Conclusion: The Politics of Chinese Noodle-Soup…..…….…………………..……232 Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………236 iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is the culmination of the efforts of many people who have helped me over the course of my graduate education. Professor Masao Miyoshi encouraged me to pursue a doctorate in the history of modern Japan at UCSD when I was still at the stage of deciding on a potential career, and I am indebted to him for his advice and support throughout my studies at UCSD. My two advisors, Professor Stefan Tanaka and Professor Takashi Fujitani, have both been unflinchingly supportive and generous with their time, and I am thankful for their willingness to take me in and train me. I thank Professor Tanaka for helping me think through my work in the broadest possible ways, and in making sure that I remain on track with my studies at all times. I wish to thank Professor Fujitani for providing me with close commentaries on my work, and for teaching me the importance of understanding the politics embedded in everything. Professor Christena Turner has been an intellectual model for me since I began my studies at UCSD in the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, and I wish to thank her for reading many drafts of this dissertation in earlier forms and for providing me with valuable commentaries throughout the writing process. Professor Daniel Widener has been an inspiration to me as an educator and a free thinker, and his supervision of my minor field studies was essential in broadening my perspective on history. I wish to thank the people at the Japan Foundation for generously supporting my year of research in Tokyo with a doctoral dissertation research fellowship during v the academic year 2004-2005. The fellowship allowed me to collect the archival materials and data that became the basis for this project. During my year in Tokyo, Professor Murai Yoshinori kindly sponsored my studies by allowing me to work as a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Asian Cultures at Sophia University, and I thank him for providing me with a space to work and with open access to the library resources there. My colleagues at UCSD, especially Tomoyuki Sasaki and Ryan Moran, have been steady sources of friendship and camaraderie, and I appreciate them for that. I wish to thank my parents, John and Sachiko Solt, for backing me up in my decisions and having confidence in me every step of the way. My brother, Ken Solt, has been an exemplar for me in all aspects of life, and always will be. I thank my wife Beverly for her patience, understanding, and kindness, and our children, Marcus and Malcolm, for letting me be a kid again. vi VITA 2000 Bachelor of Arts, Amherst College 2002 Master of Pacific International Affairs Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies University of California, San Diego 2005-2006 Visiting Research Fellow, Sophia University (Tokyo, Japan) 2008-2009 Instructor, New York University 2009 Doctor of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: History (Modern Japan) Studies in Globalization Literature Professor Masao Miyoshi Studies in African-American History Professor Daniel Widener vii ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Taking Ramen Seriously: Food, Labor, and Everyday Life in Modern Japan by George Sekine Solt Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, San Diego, 2009 Professor Stefan Tanaka, Co-Chair Professor Takashi Fujitani, Co-Chair The study of food can divulge some of the most basic characteristics of different people’s social organization at any given point in time, and is a useful way to address issues of historical change and continuity at the level of everyday life. The study of food through history is also an important way to bridge the conceptual bifurcation of labor, on one hand, and leisure on the other. Because eating is the most basic activity necessary for the reproduction of labor power, as well as a social activity viii thick with symbolic associations of recreation and superfluity, it reveals the tight connections between work, rest, and macroeconomic organization in ways that may otherwise not be evident. Building on these notions, in this dissertation, I examine the reconstitution of Chinese noodle-soup in modern Japan at key moments to illuminate the political and economic logic of changes in everyday life. I study the social historical implications of changing food practices by examining shifts in the popularity, material constitution, and meanings attributed to Chinese noodle-soup and its association with different categories over time. The designation of the dish as foreign, urban, cheap, nutritious, fast, slow, novel, traditional, unhealthy, or Japanese in various social-economic contexts reveals how dietary practices and ideas about nourishment are tightly interlaced with shifting labor conditions, industrialization, international trade relations, and state policy-making. Dietary change, as seen through one particular dish, therefore, serves as the medium for establishing the connections between shifts in the political economy and everyday life practices in modern Japan. ix Introduction In this dissertation, I examine the reconstitution of Chinese noodle-soup in modern Japan at key moments to illuminate the political and economic logic of changes in everyday life. I study the social implications of changing food practices by examining shifts in the popularity, material constitution, and meanings attributed to Chinese noodle-soup and its association with different categories over time. The designation of Chinese noodle-soup as foreign, urban, cheap, nutritious, fast, slow, novel, traditional, or Japanese in different times and social-economic contexts reveals how dietary practices and ideas about nourishment are tightly interlaced with shifting labor conditions, industrialization, international trade relations, and state policy-making. The connections between shifts in the practices of daily life and larger political economic trends form the core subject of the study. My aim is to present a social biography of Chinese noodle-soup as a means to explore the connections between broader changes in the political economy of Japan and shifts at the level of everyday life as seen through modifications of food practices. The study of food through history is also an important way to bridge the conceptual bifurcation of labor, on one hand, and leisure on the other. Because eating is the most basic activity necessary for the reproduction of labor power, as well as a social activity thick with symbolic associations of recreation and superfluity, it reveals the tight connections between work, rest, and macroeconomic organization in ways that may otherwise not be evident. Chinese noodle-soup in Japan is most commonly referred to as “ramen,” but is also sold as “Ch ūka soba,” and “Shina soba,” which are older terms for the food 1 2 dating back to the early postwar and the prewar periods, respectively. The dish usually consists of a fatty, meat-based soup with alkali-laced noodles made from wheat flour, and various toppings such as egg, roasted pork (ch āsh ū), stewed bamboo shoots (menma), bean sprouts, and seaweed (nori). It is served in a distinct Japanese-style Chinese bowl with a Chinese-style spoon that are closely associated with the dish. The most significant difference between the Chinese-style noodles and those consumed in Japan prior to the late 19 th century, such as sōmen, soba, kishimen, or udon, is the use of alkali water (kansui) in the process of making the noodles, and the use of meat (instead of fish and seaweed) in preparing the broth for the soup. Ramen is eaten at Chinese food eateries, workplace cafeterias, restaurant stalls, pushcarts, and at home in