Chinese Food in Japanese Society

Sidney C. H. Cheung

《中國飲食文化學術研討會論文集》 第7屆 (2002/06) Pp. 311-334

https://doi.org/10.6641/PICCFC.1-8.2002.07.19

並列摘要

Chinese food and cuisine is known to people around the world and Chinese restaurants can be found in almost every city on the globe. Japan will not be the exception. As we can see the prosperous business in the two centers of Chinese restaurant - Yokohama Chinatown and Kobe Chinatown and crowds on every weekend, there should be no doubt that Chinese food is popular among local Japanese residents. Nevertheless, we also see great variation in Chinese f∞d from different regions of China, including some that are more ＂ traditional ＂ and some that are newly ＂invented.＂ However, what is the meaning of Chinese food in Japanese society? Are they representing ＂real＂ Chinese food or Japanese Chinese food? Some people might argue that Chinese-style food prepared by non-Chinese chefs is not really Chinese food, and that's why authentic restaurants would like to emphasize their ＂Hong Kong chefs.＂ However, there are some restaurants drew consumers' attentions by advertising their Chinese food with Japanese arrangement. Therefore, definition of Chinese food is fraught with controversy. Then, what is Chinese food? When we think about what makes Chinese food different from food in other countries, probably there are many different answers regarding ingredients, spices, cooking styles, concepts in balance, dietary etc . and it would be difficult to simplify each of these aspects. In addition, the great variety of food in different Chinese societies not only means decisions must be made to choose the kind of Chinese food in a regional context, but also complicates relations with people's lifeways and values . How do we determine the meanings of Chinese food embedded in different Asian cities such as Tokyo, Taipei, Seoul and Beijing, where a great variety of choices are also available? Regarding the production of Chinese food, ethnic background of the one who cooks the food might show the persistence of cultural tradition, but not necessary in some situations. At the same time, the contents and meanings of Chinese food extensively and thoroughly reflect people's social lifestyles and expectations. By looking at different kinds of Chinese food in different periods within one society, we would like to question whether there is any similarity or commonality to the pattern of change that cross the regionally distinct varieties of Chinese food and variation in social development. In this paper, I seek to examine the different kinds of Chinese food and cuisine available in Japan, in order to understand how a foreign food, in this case, Chinese food survives and what it means in a metropolis with continuous outside influences during the last century. The main focus of my investigation is to explain the social historical changes in the adoption and adaptation of western foodways and variations in the Chinese food in Japan. In other words, this paper aims to describe changes, variations, and innovations in the globalization of Chinese food in Japan with particular attention paid to phenomena related to changing lifeways and social tastes. I hope to broaden our knowledge of Chinese food and eating culture in Japan, and to advance anthropological inquiries by addressing recent theoretical issues concerning ethnic identity and boundary formation, consumerism and global food distribution, and the invent ion of local cuisine in a society with rapid social and economic growth.