Editing Japanese cuisine (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Japanese cuisine}}

[[File:Osechi_001.jpg|thumb|right|{{transliteration|ja|Osechi}}, new year dishes]]
Rice is a staple in Japanese cuisine. Wheat and soybeans were introduced shortly after rice. All three act as staple foods in Japanese cuisine today. At the end of the [[Kofun Period]] and beginning of the [[Asuka Period]], Buddhism became the official religion of the country. Therefore, eating meat and fish was prohibited. In 675 AD, [[Emperor Tenmu]] prohibited the eating of horses, dogs, monkeys, and chickens.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rath |first=Eric C. |date=2013 |title=Reevaluating Rikyū: Kaiseki and the Origins of Japanese Cuisine |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/content/crossref/journals/journal_of_japanese_studies/v039/39.1.rath.html |journal=The Journal of Japanese Studies |language=en |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=67–96 |doi=10.1353/jjs.2013.0022 |issn=1549-4721}}</ref> In the 8th and 9th centuries, many emperors continued to prohibit killing many types of animals. However, meat continued to be eaten in some areas. In [[Kagoshima Prefecture|Kagoshima]], [[pig farming]] flourished, and in [[Ōmi Province|Oumi]], there was a culture of eating [[beef]]. In addition, in the [[Suwa, Nagano|Suwa region]], there was a ritual of [[deer]] [[sacrifice]] for [[Shinto]] rituals. The number of regulated meats increased significantly, leading to the banning of all mammals except whale, which were categorized as fish.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stevens |first=Carolyn S. |date=May 2011 |title=Touch: Encounters with Japanese Popular Culture |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10371397.2011.559898 |journal=Japanese Studies |language=en |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1080/10371397.2011.559898 |issn=1037-1397}}</ref> During the Asuka period, chopsticks were introduced to Japan. Initially, they were used only by the nobility.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bestor |first=Theodore C. |title=Routledge Handbook of Japanese Culture and Society |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780203818459 |chapter=Cuisine and identity in contemporary Japan |date=2012-12-10 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-81845-9 |doi=10.4324/9780203818459.ch22}}</ref> The general population used their hands, as utensils were quite expensive.

Due to the lack of meat products, Japanese people minimized spice utilization. Spices were rare to find at the time. Spices, like pepper and garlic, were used only in a minimalist amount. Spices widely used in Japan were [[Zanthoxylum piperitum|sansho]] and [[black pepper]]. They were often used in noodle, [[white rice]], and fish dishes. They were also used as a nourishing medicine.<ref name="鈴木1986">{{cite book|author=鈴木晋一|year=1986|ref={{harvid|鈴木晋一|1986}}|chapter=|editor=|title=たべもの噺|publisher=[[平凡社]]|isbn=9784582828139|pages=68–69}}</ref><ref name="鈴木2006">{{Cite journal|author=鈴木伸哉 |author2=南木睦彦 |title=江戸の墓から出土したコショウ |journal=植生史研究 |issn=0915-003X |publisher=日本植生史学会 |year=2006 |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=29–33 |id=NAID 130008053002 |doi=10.34596/hisbot.14.1_29 }}</ref> In the absence of meat, fish was served as the main protein, as Japan is an island nation. Fish has influenced many iconic Japanese dishes today. In the 9th century, grilled fish and sliced raw fish were widely popular.<ref name="ashkenazi">{{Cite book |last1=Ashkenazi |first1=Michael |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781136815492 |title=The Essence of Japanese Cuisine |last2=Jacob |first2=Jeanne |last3=Michael Ashkenazi |first3=Michael Ashkenazi |date=2013-10-11 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-81549-2 |edition=0 |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781315027487}}</ref> Japanese people who could afford it would eat fish at every meal; others would have to make do without animal protein for many of their meals. In traditional Japanese cuisine, oil and fat are usually avoided during the cooking process in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.<ref name="ashkenazi" />

Preserving fish became a sensation; [[sushi]] originated as a means of preserving fish by fermenting it in boiled rice. Fish that are salted and then placed in rice are preserved by [[lactic acid fermentation]], which helps prevent the proliferation of the bacteria that bring about putrefaction.<ref>Jung, S. (2019). [https://advance.lexis.com/document/?pdmfid=1516831&crid=0b0db89f-05e8-4053-975c-8e6b3e812d8b&pddocfullpath=/shared/document/news/urn:contentItem:5V3X-T411-JC8V-11SX-00000-00&pddocid=urn:contentItem:5V3X-T411-JC8V-11SX-00000-00&pdcontentcomponentid=433272&pdteaserkey=sr1&pditab=allpods&ecomp=3fyk&earg=sr1&prid=2c88f0d1-9550-46f7-a7e7-d6f4afee7db2 The Japanese Culinary Academy teaches you the fundamentals of food from the Land of the Rising Sun]</ref> During the 15th century, advancement and development helped shorten the fermentation of sushi to about one to two weeks. Sushi thus became popular both as a main meal and as a snack food, combining fish with rice. During the late [[Edo period]] (early 19th century), sushi without fermentation was introduced. Sushi was still being consumed with and without fermentation till the 19th century when the hand-rolled and nigiri-type sushi was invented.<ref>Avey, T. (2012). [https://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/history-of-sushi/ Discover the History of Sushi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417191211/https://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/history-of-sushi/ |date=April 17, 2021 }}</ref>

In 1854, Japan started to enter new trade deals with Western countries.<ref name="Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations i855">{{cite web | title=The United States and the Opening to Japan, 1853 | website=United States Office of the Historian | url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/opening-to-japan | access-date=May 2, 2024 | archive-date=May 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524112402/https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/opening-to-japan | url-status=live }}</ref>  When [[Emperor Meiji]] took power in 1868 as part of the [[Meiji Restoration]], the government began to adopt Western customs, including the use of animal products in food.<ref name="Allen 2019 b717">{{cite web | last=Allen | first=Kristi | title=Why Eating Meat Was Banned in Japan for Centuries | website=Atlas Obscura | date=March 26, 2019 | url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/japan-meat-ban | access-date=May 2, 2024 | archive-date=May 18, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518200843/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/japan-meat-ban | url-status=live }}</ref> The new ruler staged a New Year’s feast designed to embrace the Western world and countries in 1872. The feast contained food that reflected European cuisine.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hosking |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ilvBQAAQBAJ |title=Food and Language: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2009 |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford Symposium |isbn=978-1-903018-79-8 |pages=37 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Downer |first=Lesley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzKoDvi3EYoC&pg=PA161 |title=At the Japanese Table: New and Traditional Recipes |date=2001 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=978-0-8118-3280-9 |pages=161 |language=en}}</ref> For the first time in a thousand years, people were allowed to consume meat in public, and the general population started to include meat in their regular diets.<ref name=kallen>{{cite magazine| last=Allen| first=Kristi| title=Why Eating Meat Was Banned in Japan for Centuries| url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/japan-meat-ban| magazine=[[Atlas Obscura]]| date=March 26, 2019| access-date=December 26, 2019| archive-date=May 18, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518200843/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/japan-meat-ban| url-status=live}}</ref>