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Commensality and Regional Cuisine in Rural Japan

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Commensality and Regional Cuisine in Rural Japan Université de Montréal Makkoto Umai Zeyo, This is Truly Delicious: The Social Construction of Taste in the Region of Kōchi, Japan par Christopher Laurent Département d’anthropologie Faculté des arts et des sciences Thèse présentée en vue de l’obtention du grade de Ph.D en anthropologie Octobre, 2018 © Christopher Laurent, 2018 Résumé La cuisine de Kōchi est bien plus qu’un moyen de subvenir à des besoins alimentaires, car c’est à la fois une manière de diviser le monde social et un atout économique. Basée sur un terrain ethnographique dans cette région rurale du Japon, cette recherche examine comment l’incorporation de croyances et les considérations pragmatiques participent à la construction sociale du goût dans la région de Kōchi. D’une part, cette recherche révèle comment l’incorporation d’éléments culturels qui sont appris, physiquement internalisés et transmis structure le monde culinaire dans cette région. L’habitus, la culture et l’identité sont quelques- uns des outils conceptuels disponibles pour analyser comment les standards gustatifs sont incorporés dans la vie quotidienne des individus. Nous goûtons littéralement le monde social au travers de nos préférences alimentaires. D’autre part, cette recherche étudie comment des considérations pragmatiques qui découlent de préoccupations matérielles immédiates contribuent à façonner la culture culinaire. Considérant que Kōchi et l’une des préfectures les plus pauvres du Japon, le besoin urgent de revitalisation incite les habitants à transformer leur cuisine en une ressource marchande. Les opportunités économiques, la planification stratégique du gouvernement et les forces du capitalisme contribuent à la création de nouveaux plats de même qu’à la promotion de saveurs traditionnelles. Ainsi, les représentations donnant un sens à l’alimentaire et les régimes de valeur attribuant un capital monétaire à l’alimentaire façonnent le palais des résidents de Kōchi. Enfin, une telle analyse doit reconnaitre que les préférences de goût (les choix que nous faisons) et la perception du goût (notre expérience sensorielle) sont fortement liées. La construction sociale du goût fait partie d’un système qui influence à la fois les choix culinaires et les sens. Un modèle analytique combinant ces deux dimensions du goût peut contribuer à une meilleure compréhension de la nature contextuelle de ce qui est jugé délicieux. Mots-clés : Anthropologie de l’alimentation, construction sociale du goût, cuisine régional, revitalisation rurale, Japon i Abstract The food of Kōchi is more than mere sustenance to the inhabitants of the region as it is both a way to divide the social world and an economic asset. Based on fieldwork in this region of rural Japan, this research examines how incorporated beliefs and pragmatic considerations participate in the social construction of taste for emblematic foods in Kōchi. On one hand, this research seeks to uncover how incorporated beliefs, values that are learnt, embodied, performed and transmitted, structure taste in the region. Habitus, culture and identity are some of the tools at our disposal to analyze how standards of taste are incorporated into people’s daily lives. Literally speaking, we taste the social world through the food we eat. On the other hand, this research investigates how pragmatic considerations and immediate concerns brought on by material conditions help fashion taste in Kōchi. In one of the poorest prefectures of Japan, the urgent need for revitalization makes the cuisine of the region a valuable resource for the residents of the region. Economic opportunities, government strategic planning and the forces of capitalism fuel the creation of new dishes and the promotion of traditional flavors. Thus, embedded representations that give meaning to food and regimes of values that ascribe worth to food shape residents palates. Finally, such an analysis needs to recognize that both taste preferences (i.e. the choices we make) and taste perceptions (i.e. how we experience flavor) are closely bound together. The social construction of taste is part of an integrated system that frames culinary choices as well as the sense of taste. A comprehensive model that combines complementary facets of what constitutes taste can further contribute to a better understanding of the contextual nature of deliciousness. Keywords: Anthropology of food, social construction of taste, regional cuisine, rural revitalization, Japan ii Table of Contents Résumé ........................................................................................... i Abstract ......................................................................................... ii List of Tables .............................................................................. viii List of Figures ............................................................................... ix List of Acronyms ........................................................................... xii Introduction: A Starting Point for an Investigation of Taste ............ 1 I. Ethnographic Background .................................................................. 2 1. Singular Geography .................................................................................................... 2 2. Economic Decline ......................................................................................................... 5 3. Historic Relevance ....................................................................................................... 6 II. Theoretical Framework ..................................................................... 9 1. Towards a Unified Theory of Taste ............................................................................ 9 2. Physical and Social Worlds Collide .......................................................................... 11 3. Looking at Layers of Taste ........................................................................................ 13 III. Methodology .................................................................................. 16 1. Reflexive Fieldwork ................................................................................................... 16 2. Collecting and Analyzing Data ................................................................................. 18 3. Structure and Style ................................................................................................... 20 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 22 First Part. Embodied Taste: Sustaining Individual Preferences ....... 24 Chapter 1. In Search of Authenticity: Continuity and Fracture in Local Tastes .................................................................................. 24 I. Transmitting Taste .......................................................................... 26 1. Cooking Practices ...................................................................................................... 26 2. Educating palates ...................................................................................................... 32 3. Preserving Tradition ................................................................................................. 38 II. Transforming Taste ........................................................................ 43 1. Process of Innovation ................................................................................................ 43 iii 2. Economic Revitalization ............................................................................................ 47 3. Performing Taste ....................................................................................................... 54 III. Tradition and Change .................................................................... 59 1. Evolving Traditions ................................................................................................... 59 2. Continuity in Change ................................................................................................ 63 3. Authentic Taste ......................................................................................................... 69 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 72 Chapter 2. Tasting Nostalgia: Lost Memories from the Ancestral Village .......................................................................................... 75 I. Taste and Memory ............................................................................ 76 1. Food Recollections ..................................................................................................... 76 2. Place and Time .......................................................................................................... 83 3. Collective Memory ..................................................................................................... 87 II. The Power of Nostalgia ................................................................... 91 1. Talking about the Past .............................................................................................. 91 2. Selling Nostalgia ....................................................................................................... 94 3. Nostalgia Travel ........................................................................................................ 97 III. Fear of Loss ................................................................................. 101 1. The Ancestral Village .............................................................................................
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