Japanese Cuisine, and Its Foreign Influences

choi

Japan’s cuisinesAcquired taste; The establishment is becoming more relaxed about foreign influences on the country’s food. Economist, Feb 15, 2014.
www.economist.com/news/asia/2159 ... ntrys-food-acquired
Note:
(a) Hachiro MIZUTANI  水谷 八郎 (operates Sushi Mizutani 鮨 水谷 in Ginza)

(b) "Much fare that is seen as quintessentially Japanese has foreign origins. Pork- and vegetable-filled gyoza dumplings, served up in massive quantities by Japanese housewives, are essentially Chinese jiaozi, popularised in Japan during its occupation of Manchuria from 1931. Japanese ramen restaurants are all the rage in London and New York, but the noodles are Chinese: lamian, meaning pulled noodles. As for that Japanese national dish, katsu kare, a deep-fried breaded pork cutlet in a slather of curry sauce on a mound of rice: it is true that the monstrosity exists in no other country, but it could not have come about had not the Chinese introduced pork to the Japanese diet, and the English curry powder."
(i) "Japanese ramen * * *  noodles are Chinese: lamian, meaning pulled noodles."

Ramen will be discussed in the second posting of the series.
(ii) tonkatsu  豚カツ
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonkatsu
(As well as being served as a single dish, it is also used as a sandwich filling or in combination with curry [katsu kare])

, where "katsu" is short for "katsuretsu (cutlet)."  this Wiki page
(iii) ton 豚 【とん】 (n): "pig; pork"
(iv) ブタ
ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ブタ

This Wiki page is titled "buta"--the Japanese pronunciation of pig/pork ("ton" is Chinese pronunciation).

More about this Japanese Wiki page will be found in the third posting of the series.
(v) kare = curry

(c)
(i) washoku 和食 【わしょく】 (n): "(See 洋食) Japanese-style meal"
(ii) "Only French and Mexican cuisines are similarly honoured by UNESCO, along with the Mediterranean diet and Turkish kashkek, a ceremonial dish made of meat and wheat."

The "kashkek" is spelled "keşkek" in English Wiki, which says little and carries no photo.

(d) "Yoshihiro MURATA, a Kyoto-based chef * * * Mr Murata’s restaurant, Kikunoi"

京都の老舗料亭 菊乃井主人 村田 吉弘
kikunoi.jp/outline/

Japanese Wiki for 菊乃井: full name 株式会社 菊の井 Kikunoi Co, Ltd; founded in 1912; 業種  料亭; 従業員数 180名 (パート社員含む) [translation: 180 employees (including part-timers))
(i) kiku  菊 【きく】 (n): "chrysanthemum"
(ii) no (kana)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_(kana)
(both 平仮名 (の) and 片仮名(ノ) are derived from kanji 乃: Cf. section 4 History)

Thus the 乃 in the store name is just an elaborate way to write の  (meaning "of," which can be dropped and retains the same meaning).

It should be pointed out that Kikui (without "no," whose corresponding kanji is 菊井 【きくい】) is a surname and place names in Japan.
(iii) ryōtei  料亭
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryōtei

(e) "Daisuke MATSUDA, owner of a shop selling tamagoyaki, or egg rolls, outside Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo * * * The current market, with a warren of surrounding shops selling everything from sea grapes to kitchen knives"
(i) Daisuke MATSUDA (surnamed 松田) is not a famous person, whose kanji name I can not find.
(ii) tamagoyaki  卵焼き
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagoyaki
(iii) For sea grape, see Caulerpa lentillifera
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caulerpa_lentillifera
(in Okinawa where the plant is eaten fresh * * * known as umi-budō (海ぶどう), meaning "sea grapes")
(A) I can tell you that in Taiwan we did not hear of this thing, and certainly did not eat it.
(B) The Chinese and Japanese pronunciations for the kanji 海 are "kai" and umi," respectively.
(C) budō 葡萄 【ぶどう】 (n): "grape"

choi

The Economist: "Japanese ramen * * *  noodles are Chinese: lamian, meaning pulled noodles."

For years, I have wondered where the word "ramen" comes from and what it really is. Th word did not appear in Taiwan when I lived there. We did not call any noodle we ate "ramen."  The instant noodles in Taiwan is the same as those ion US, yet we did not call them ramen (we called them 速食麵 or occasionally 泡麵 (方便麵 in China)).

Note:
(a) ramen
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramen
(section 1 History)
(b) Japanese Wiki has a page for Japanese ramen (titled "ラーメン," which is katakana for "ramen"), and a second page for Chinese ramen (titled "拉麺;" dealing with hand-pulled noodles in 蘭州, 河南 etc).
(c) ラーメン
ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ラーメン
(i) Introduction: "ラーメンは、中華麺とスープ、チャーシュー・メンマ・味付け玉子・刻み葱など様々な具を組み合わせた麺料理。漢字表記は拉麺、老麺[2]または柳麺。別名は中華そばおよび支那そば・南京そば[3][4]などである。 日本では明治時代に開国された港に出現した中国人街（南京街）に中華料理店が開店し、大正時代頃から各地に広まっていった[3][5]。日本風に仕立てられ独自の発達をし、現在ではカレーライスと並んで国民食と呼ばれるほど人気の食べ物となり、中国・台湾では日式拉麺（日式拉麵/日式拉面）または日本拉麺（日本拉麵/日本拉面）と呼ばれている。英語表記はramen。"

translation: Ramen is Chinese noodle mixed with soup, 叉焼肉, [what Chinese call] 乾筍/筍絲, flavored egg, minced Welsh onion and other ingredients. Kanji notations are 拉麺、老麺 or 柳麺--alternately, 中華soba, 支那soba・南京soba. When Japan opened up to the world in Meiji period, China towns appeared in port cities where Chinese eateries was established, which spread out in Taisō period [of the next emperor]. Having been developed locally into Japanese style, presently it,side by side with curry rice, are beloved food among Japanese. Called 日式拉麺/日式拉面 or 日本拉麺/日本拉面 in Taiwan/China. The English notation is "ramen."

* koku-min-shoku 国民食 【こくみんしょく】 (n) "food universally loved by all citizens; comfort food"

(ii)
(A) section 2 名称: "元は中国語で[3]、別称はいくつもあり、「ラーメン」の語源も複数ある。"

translation: Originally it was Chinese, with many alternate names, and multiple origins also for "ramen."
(B) section 2.1 語源: "語源は諸説あるため、複数記述する。1つは中国西北部に位置する蘭州の麺の一種「拉麺（lā miàn ラーミェン）」（繁体字で「拉麵」、簡体字で「拉面」）が由来という説である。中国語の「拉」とは「引っ張る」という意味で、拉麺は蕎麦やうどんのように刃物で切り分けて細長い形にするのではなく、手で引っ張り伸ばして細長い麺の形を形成する手打ちの技法で作られる。この拉麺は麺生地を延ばし何層か折りたたんで包丁で細い麺状に切る「桿麺」とともに日本のラーメンの原型となったが、日本では各地にラーメンが広まった時期と製麺機が登場・普及した時期が近かったため、麺の手打ち職人が育つ間もなく製麺機での製麺が一般的になった。[4]2つは老麺（ラオミェン）を由来とする説で、一部の辞典はラーメンの項目で「拉麺」とともに「老麺」という漢字表記も採用している[3]。3つは * * *"

translation: Origins of "ramen" are multiple. One is 蘭州拉麺. Different from soba [made of buckwheat] and udon [thick waht-flour noodle]--both formed by cutting with knives--拉麺 is hand-pulled. This 拉麺 together with 桿麺 (whose dough is stretched and folded onto itself many times, then cut into slender noodle with a kitchen knife), are the prototype of ラーメン. However, when ラーメン was popularized, noodle-making machines showed up. Besides there was no times to train artisans. So generaly speaking, ラーメン is machine-made. Two is from 老麺: some [Japanese] dictionaries use both 拉麺 and 老麺 as its kanji notations. Three is * * *

* kiji 生地 【きじ】 (n): "uncooked dough"

choi

ブタ
ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ブタ

The following paragraphs are excepted from section 2.3 ブタの飼育史: section 2.3.5 日本.

(a) This Wiki page says Japan had pigs (from archaeological evidence, for example), but "奈良時代に仏教が国教化したことによって、ブタの飼育も途絶 [=  杜絶] えてしまった。"
(i) translation: Because Buddhism was turned into state religion in Nara period, raising pigs was discontinued.
(ii) Nara Period
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nara_period
(710-794, when Nara was the capital except for 740-745; "The [layout of] capital at Nara was modeled after Chang'an, the capital city of Tang China. In many other ways, the Japanese upper classes patterned themselves after the Chinese, including adopting Chinese written characters (Japanese: kanji), fashion, and the religion of Buddhism"/ section 3 Cultural developments and the establishment of Buddhism)
(A) Nara was then (710-794) called 平城京 (pronounced "Heijō-kyō"), which should not be confused with 平安京 ("Heian-kyō"), the name of the new capital (794-1868 with an interruption in 1180) of present-day Kyoto. Japanese Wiki for Kyoto: "In the 11th century, the city was renamed Kyoto 京都."
(B) Between 740 and 745 (inclusive), Emperor Shōmu 聖武天皇 moved the capitals to three neighboring places, for reasons I can not find. See Kuni-kyō  恭仁京
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuni-kyō
(section 1 History)
(C) Fukuhara-kyō  福原京
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukuhara-kyō
(in or near what is today Hyōgo Ward 兵庫区 in the city of Kobe 神戸市; TAIRA no Kiyomori 平 清盛 [1118 – 1181])

(b) Japanese Wiki: "中世に琉球王国に属した沖縄県や鹿児島県の奄美地方では、古来からブタの飼育や食用が行われており、沖縄料理は「豚に始まり豚に終わる」ともいわれる。"

translation: In Middle Ages, Okinawa (belonging to Ryukyu Kingdom [1429-1879]) and Amami Islands
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amami_Islands
(just north of Okinawa) of Kagoshima Prefecture raised and consumed pigs (since ancient times), Okinawan cuisine can be described as "starting and ending with pigs." * * *

(c) "長崎においても、鎖国中の唯一の外交窓口であることから、駐在する中国人の食用として豚が飼育されていた。卓袱料理にも取り入れられて、一部は日本人の食用としても供給され、司馬江漢がこれを食べた記録がある。多くの日本人にとっては忌み嫌われ、中国人の豚好きを揶揄した「楊貴妃は　きれい [綺麗] な顔で　豚を食い」という川柳がある。

"明治維新以後肉食は一般化していくこととなるが、普及したのは牛鍋などにみられるように牛が圧倒的で、豚肉の需要はそれほど伸びなかった。豚の飼育は伸びていくものの、これは東京近郊の農家が肥料を得ることを目的としたものであり、食用ではなかった。しかし、大正元年（1912年）にコレラの流行が起きると、警視庁がコレラの流行を食い止めるために魚の生食を制限し、火を通すことが前提である肉食を奨励した。この際、上述のとおり豚が多く飼育されていた東京や関東圏において安価であった豚肉の使用が注目された。これによって、それまで牛肉が主であったカツレツが豚に置き換えられてトンカツが誕生するなど豚肉料理がこの時期に多く誕生し[8]、豚肉の需要が急増して、ブタも日本各地で再び飼われるようになった。特に関東大震災後に関東地方で養豚ブームとなり供給量が増え安価になった。


translation:

Nagasaki being the only window to the word during 鎖国, the Chinese posted there raised pigs as food. Pork was incorporated into 卓袱料理 and some [at least one Japanese blogged: '極少数の日本人'] Japanese took it up as food, too. It was recorded that Shiba Kōkan
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiba_Kōkan
ate it. Many Japanese abhorred the practice, teased Chinese savoring of pork and there was a ditty 川柳 [打油詩 in Taiwan], "楊貴妃, such a beauty, ate pork" [What does this mean? Some Japanese explain it is unbelievable, could not be the case. But some others ascribe the ditty to 司馬江漢, so it could not be bad.]

"After Meiji Restoration, eating meat became common. Yet it was beef that was prevalent, used in sukiyaki 鋤焼 [kind of like hot pot of Chinese] for example. The trend did not extend to pork. Farmers around Tokyo did raise pigs, but that was because they needed fertilizers; they did not eat it. Nonetheless in 1912 (the first year of Taishō period, cholera broke out, Metropolitan Police Department of Tokyo banned eating raw fish and promoted meat-consumption, as long as it was fully cooked [火を通す]. At the time, the government saw to it that the cheap, aforementioned pigs in or around Tokyo be put to use. So, cutlet--mainly beef up to that point--switched to pork, and tonkatsu 豚カツ was born and pork dishes rose. The need for pork increased sharply and around the nation, pigs were raised. Particularly after the [1923] Great Kantō earthquake, there was a boom in pig farming: higher supply lowered the price.

* tori-ireru 取り入れる 【とりいれる】 (v): "(2) to take in; to gather in; (3) to adopt; to incorporate; to accept; to introduce"
* Nagasaki  長崎市
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagasaki
(section 6.3 Local_specialities: Shippoku Cuisine [not explained])

(d) 卓袱料理  Shippoku Cuisine
ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/卓袱料理
(中国料理同様に、円卓を囲み、大皿に盛られた料理を各々が自由に取り分け食べるのが卓袱料理の基本形である)

summary: Originating in Nagakasi; 中国料理 and 洋食 (mainly the Holland cooking) mixed together, then was japanified; use round table 卓 [and large dishes, referring to both the utensil and food because many will eat from the dishes] typical of China rather than the "zen" 膳
ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%86%B3
used in Japanese Cuisine.

Jim Breen's online Japanese dictionary says its etymology is "originally" "zhuofu" in "Chinese"/Mandarin. I can not find the Chinese characters in modern Chinese language; older Chinese perhaps (because it was created only in the past several centuries, the Chinese words could not be ancient).