Chinese Cuisine and the Japanese: A 100-Year History from Imperialism to Nostalgic Flavors

If Western cuisine in Japan spread starting from the civilization and enlightenment of the Meiji era, can it be said that Chinese cuisine spread along with the expansion of the Japanese Empire in the first half of the 20th century? Furthermore, why is it that Chinese cuisine, despite being a foreign cuisine to the Japanese, can sometimes feel nostalgic? In this book, I considered how these questions can be answered while focusing on the spiritual aspects of food.

Most of the Chinese cuisine we eat today actually spread over the last 100 years or so. Chinese cuisine in Japan includes dishes spread primarily by overseas Chinese in Chinatowns and those introduced from China mainly by Japanese people; the nikuman (steamed pork buns), Genghis Khan (grilled mutton), and gyoza discussed in the first half of this book are representative examples of the latter.

The spread of nikuman in the 1910s was triggered by the advocacy of Chinese pork dishes over Western beef dishes to overcome the physical inferiority Japanese people felt toward Westerners (Chapter 1). Genghis Khan originated around 1910 when Japanese people in Beijing named grilled mutton "Genghis Khan"; it not only became a specialty dish of Manchukuo, founded in 1932, but its brave name was also used by the Army for morale-boosting propaganda (Chapter 2). Pan-fried gyoza is a "repatriate dish" brought back from Manchuria by Japanese people after the defeat in the war, and it spread so rapidly in the 1950s that it was called the "Gyoza Era." It was a food that could serve as a symbol of the national reintegration of post-war Japanese society, which embraced the repatriates (Chapter 3).

Chinese cuisine in Japan, much like British curry, has deep ties to imperialism. However, after the war, it became an object of nostalgia, was utilized for regional promotion, and even became cultural heritage. Chinese cuisine in Japan is a product of Japan-China exchange, and I believe its value increases further by capturing both its bright and dark sides as part of world history.

The late father of my uncle (a Keio University alumni) who finished reading this book was an officer in the Kwantung Army who faced defeat in Manchuria and returned to Japan after being interned in Siberia. He loved entertaining guests and was skilled at making Genghis Khan, preparing the mutton from the day before, which my uncle said was his favorite. I was happy that he could read this book while overlapping it with his own memories.

Chinese Cuisine and the Japanese: A 100-Year History from Imperialism to Nostalgic Flavors

Kazuhiro Iwama

Chuko Shinsho

304 pages, 1,166 yen (tax included)