Editing Japanese cuisine (section)

==Culture==
=== Terminology ===
[[File:Tempura, sashimi, pickles, ris og misosuppe (6289116752).jpg|thumb|A Japanese meal including tempura, sashimi, and miso soup]]
The word {{nihongo||[[Wiktionary:和食|和食]]|washoku}} is now the common word for traditional Japanese cooking. The term {{nihongo|''{{ill|Kappō (cooking)|ja|割烹|lt=kappō}}''|割烹||{{lit}} "cutting and boiling (meats)"}} is synonymous with "cooking", but became a reference to mostly Japanese cooking, or restaurants, and was much used in the [[Meiji (era)|Meiji]] and [[Taishō]] eras.<ref name="kojien-kappo" /><ref name="NDHZ-kappo" /> It has come to connote a certain standard, perhaps even of the highest caliber, a restaurant with the most highly trained chefs.<ref name="burum-kappo" /> However, {{transliteration|ja|kappō}} is generally seen as an eating establishment which is slightly more casual or informal compared to the {{transliteration|ja|[[kaiseki]]}}.<ref name="michelin-kappo" />

The {{nihongo3|lit. "warming stone"|懐石|kaiseki}} is tied with the Japanese [[tea ceremony]].<ref name="kojien-kaiseki5" /> The {{transliteration|ja|kaiseki}} is considered a (simplified) form of {{nihongo3|lit. "main tray cooking"|本膳料理|[[honzen-ryōri]]}},<ref name="assmann&rath" /> which was formal banquet dining where several trays of food were served.<ref name="kojien-honzenryori" /> The [[homophone]] term {{nihongo3|lit. "gathering + seating"|会席料理|kaiseki ryōri}} originally referred to a gathering of composers of [[haiku]] or {{transliteration|ja|[[renga]]}}, and the simplified version of the {{transliteration|ja|honzen}} dishes served at the poem parties became {{transliteration|ja|kaiseki ryōri}}.<ref name="kojien-kaiseki1" /> However, the meaning of {{transliteration|ja|kaiseki ryōri}} degenerated to become just another term for a sumptuous carousing banquet, or {{Nihongo||酒宴|shuen}}.<ref name="yomiuri" />

===Traditional table settings===
The traditional Japanese [[table setting]] has varied considerably over the centuries, depending primarily on the type of table common during a given era. Before the 19th century, small individual box tables (''hakozen'', 箱膳) or flat floor trays were set before each diner. Larger low tables (''chabudai'', ちゃぶ台) that accommodated entire families were gaining popularity by the beginning of the 20th century, but these gave way to Western-style dining tables and chairs by the end of the 20th century.

The traditional Japanese table setting is to place a bowl of rice on the diner’s left and to place a bowl of miso soup on the diner’s right side at the table. Behind these, each ''[[okazu]]'' is served on its own individual plate. Based on the standard three ''okazu'' formula, behind the rice and soup are three flat plates to hold the three ''okazu''; one to far back left, one at far back right, and one in the center. Pickled vegetables are often served on the side but are not counted as part of the three ''okazu''. [[Chopsticks]] are generally placed at the very front of the tray near the diner with pointed ends facing left and supported by a [[chopstick rest]], or ''hashioki''.<ref name="Introduction to Japanese Food"/>

===Dining etiquette===
{{main|Customs and etiquette in Japanese dining}}{{Culture of Japan}}
Many restaurants and homes in Japan are equipped with Western-style chairs and tables. However, traditional Japanese low tables and cushions, usually found on [[tatami]] floors, are also very common. Tatami mats, which are made of straw, can be easily damaged and are hard to clean, thus shoes or any type of footwear are always taken off when stepping on tatami floors.<ref name="Japan Etiquette">{{cite web|title=Japan Etiquette|url=http://www.etiquettescholar.com/dining_etiquette/table-etiquette/pacific_dinner_etiquette/japanese.html|website=Etiquette Scholar|publisher=Yellowstone Publishing, LLC|access-date=January 16, 2017|archive-date=August 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829101500/https://www.etiquettescholar.com/dining_etiquette/table-etiquette/pacific_dinner_etiquette/japanese.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

When dining in a traditional tatami room, sitting upright on the floor is common. In a casual setting, men usually sit with their feet crossed and women sit with both legs to one side. Only men are supposed to sit cross-legged. The formal way of sitting for both sexes is a kneeling style known as ''[[seiza]]''. To sit in a ''seiza'' position, one kneels on the floor with legs folded under the thighs and the buttocks resting on the heels.<ref name="Japan Etiquette"/>

When dining out in a restaurant, the customers are guided to their seats by the host. The honored or eldest guest will usually be seated at the center of the table farthest from the entrance. In the home, the most important guest is also seated farthest away from the entrance. If there is a [[tokonoma]], or alcove, in the room, the guest is seated in front of it. The host sits next to or closest to the entrance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etiquettescholar.com/dining_etiquette/table-etiquette/pacific_dinner_etiquette/japanese.html|title=Japan Etiquette {{!}} International Dining Etiquette {{!}} Etiquette Scholar|last=Lininger|first=Mike|website=Etiquette Scholar|language=en-US|access-date=October 3, 2018}}</ref>

In Japan, it is customary to say ''itadakimasu'' ("I [humbly] receive") before starting to eat a meal.<ref>{{Cite book|title="Itadakimasu" o wasureta Nihonjin : tabekata ga migaku hinsei|last1=Ogura, Tomoko|last2=小倉朋子|date=2008|publisher=Asukī Media Wākusu|isbn=9784048672870|edition=Shohan|location=Tōkyō|pages=68|oclc=244300317}}</ref> When saying ''itadakimasu'', both hands are put together in front of the chest or on the lap. ''Itadakimasu'' is preceded by complimenting the appearance of food. Another customary and important etiquette is to say ''go-chisō-sama deshita'' ("It was a feast") to the host after the meal and the restaurant staff when leaving.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://glosbe.com/|title=ごちそうさまでした in English – Japanese–English Dictionary|website=Glosbe|language=en|access-date=June 2, 2019|archive-date=June 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622073359/https://glosbe.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Traditional cuisine===
Japanese cuisine is based on combining the [[staple food]], which is steamed [[Japanese rice|white rice]] or {{Nihongo||御飯|gohan}}, with one or more {{transliteration|ja|[[okazu]]}} (おかず) , "main" or "side" dishes. This may be accompanied by a clear or miso soup and {{transliteration|ja|[[tsukemono]]}} (pickles). The phrase {{Nihongo3|"one soup, three sides"|一汁三菜|[[ichijū-sansai]]}} refers to the makeup of a typical meal served but has roots in classic {{transliteration|ja|kaiseki}}, {{transliteration|ja|honzen}}, and {{transliteration|ja|yūshoku}} cuisine. The term is also used to describe the first course served in standard {{transliteration|ja|kaiseki}} cuisine nowadays.<ref name=yomiuri>{{cite book |author=Yomiuri Shimbun, Osaka<!--読売新聞大阪本社--> |title=Zatsugaku shimbun |script-title=ja:雑学新聞 |publisher=PHP Kenkyusho<!--PHP研究所-->|year=2005 |orig-year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iuANkSnZ8e0C&pg=PA158 |isbn=978-4-569-64432-5}}, p. 158</ref>

The origin of Japanese "one soup, three sides" cuisine is a dietary style called Ichiju-Issai (一汁一菜, "one soup, one dish"),<ref name="Ichiju-Issai">{{cite web |last1=Kobayashi |first1=T |title=Taste of Simplicity: Japanese One-Soup One-Dish Cuisine |url=https://wawaza.com/blogs/taste-of-simplicity-japanese-one-soup-one-dish-cuisine/ |website=WAWAZA |access-date=July 10, 2021}}</ref> tracing back to the Five Great Zen Temples of the 12-century Kamakura period ([[Kenchō-ji|Kamakura Gozan]]), developed as a form of meal that emphasized frugality and simplicity.

Rice is served in its own small bowl ({{transliteration|ja|[[chawan]]}}), and each main course item is placed on its own small plate ({{transliteration|ja|sara}}) or bowl ({{transliteration|ja|hachi}}) for each individual portion. This is done even in Japanese homes. This contrasts with Western-style home dinners in which each individual takes helpings from large serving dishes of food placed in the middle of the dining table. Japanese style traditionally abhors different flavored dishes touching each other on a single plate, so different dishes are given their own individual plates as mentioned or are partitioned using, for example, leaves. Placing main dishes on top of rice, thereby "soiling" it, is also frowned upon by traditional etiquette.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kondo|first=Tamami(近藤珠實)|script-title=ja:日本の作法としきたり: 四季の行事と冠婚葬祭、その由来と常識 |trans-title=Nihon no saho to shikitari: shiki no gyoji to kankon sosai, sono yurai to joshiki|publisher=PHP研究所|year=2010|format=preview|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gszX4_Z15-sC&pg=PA185|isbn= 978-4-569-77764-1}}, p. 185</ref>

[[File:Breakfast at Tamahan Ryokan, Kyoto.jpg|thumb|Breakfast at a [[ryokan (Japanese inn)]], featuring grilled [[Mackerel (food)|mackerel]], Kansai-style {{transliteration|ja|dashimaki}} egg, [[tofu]] in {{transliteration|ja|kaminabe}} (paper pot)]]
Although this tradition of not placing other foods on rice originated from classical Chinese dining formalities, especially after the adoption of Buddhist tea ceremonies; it became most popular and common during and after the [[Kamakura period]], such as in the {{transliteration|ja|kaiseki}} (懐石). Although present-day Chinese cuisine has abandoned this practice, Japanese cuisine retains it. One exception is the popular {{transliteration|ja|[[donburi]]}}, in which toppings are directly served on rice.

The small {{nihongo|rice bowl|茶碗|chawan}}, literally "tea bowl", doubles as a word for the large tea bowls in tea ceremonies. Thus in common speech, the drinking cup is referred to as {{transliteration|ja|yunomi-jawan}} or {{transliteration|ja|[[yunomi]]}} for the purpose of distinction. Among the nobility, each course of a full-course Japanese meal would be brought on serving napkins called {{nihongo||膳|zen}}, which were originally platformed trays or small dining tables. In the modern age, [[faldstool]] trays or stackup-type legged trays may still be seen used in {{transliteration|ja|zashiki}} (座敷), i.e. [[tatami]]-mat rooms, for large banquets or at a {{transliteration|ja|[[Ryokan (inn)|ryokan]]}} type inn. Some restaurants might use the suffix {{nihongo||膳|-zen}} as a more sophisticated though [[Retro style|dated]] synonym to the more familiar {{Nihongo||定食|teishoku}}, since the latter basically is a term for a [[combination meal|combo meal]] served at a {{transliteration|ja|taishū-shokudō}}, akin to a [[diner]].<ref name=kojien-taishushokudo/> {{transliteration|ja|Teishoku}} means a meal of fixed menu (for example, grilled fish with rice and soup), a dinner ''à prix fixe''<ref name="ReferenceA">''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', {{ISBN|4-7674-2015-6}}</ref> served at {{Nihongo3|"dining hall"|食堂|shokudō|}} or {{Nihongo3|"restaurant"|料理店|ryōriten|}}, which is somewhat vague ({{transliteration|ja|shokudō}} can mean a diner-type restaurant or a corporate lunch hall); writer on Japanese popular culture Ishikawa Hiroyoshi<ref>{{cite book|last=Ishikawa|first=Hiroyoshi |author-link=:ja:石川弘義|title=Taishū bunka jiten |publisher=Kōbundō |year=1991 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mYxAQAAIAAJ |page=516|isbn=9784335550461 }}</ref> defines it as fare served at {{Nihongo|''teishoku'' dining halls|定食食堂|teishoku-shokudō}}, and comparable diner-like establishments.

===Seasonality===
[[File:Kaiseki 001.jpg|thumb|Kaiseki appetizers on a wooden plate]]
Emphasis is placed on [[Seasonal food|seasonality of food]] or {{Nihongo|''shun''|[[wikt:旬|旬]]}},<ref name=heibonsha-nihonryori/><ref>[http://www.tjf.or.jp/eng/content/japaneseculture/pdf/ge09shun.pdf "A Day in the Life: Seasonal Foods"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116212751/http://www.tjf.or.jp/eng/content/japaneseculture/pdf/ge09shun.pdf |date=January 16, 2013 }}, The Japan Forum Newsletter No.September 14, 1999.</ref> and dishes are designed to herald the arrival of the four seasons or calendar months.

Seasonality means taking advantage of the {{Nihongo|"fruit of the mountains"|山の幸|yama no sachi|alt. "bounty of the mountains"}} (for example, [[bamboo shoot]]s in spring, [[chestnut]]s in the autumn) as well as the {{Nihongo|"fruit of the sea"|海の幸|umi no sachi|alt. "bounty of the sea"}} as they come into season. Thus {{Nihongo|the first catch of [[skipjack tuna|skipjack]] tunas|初鰹|hatsu-gatsuo}} that arrives with the [[Kuroshio Current]] has traditionally been greatly prized.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Itoh|first=Makiko|date=April 26, 2013|title=Katsuo, Japan's ubiquitous tuna|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/26/food/katsuo-japans-ubiquitous-tuna/|access-date=October 19, 2020|website=Japan Times|language=en-US}}</ref>

If something becomes available rather earlier than what is usual for the item in question, the first crop or early catch is called ''hashiri''.<ref>{{harvp|Hepburn|1888}} dictionary "hashiri: The first fruits, or first caught fish of the season"</ref>

Use of tree leaves and branches as decor is also characteristic of Japanese cuisine. Maple leaves are often floated on water to exude coolness or {{Nihongo|''ryō''|涼}}; sprigs of [[nandina]] are popularly used. The ''haran'' (''[[Aspidistra]]'') and sasa bamboo leaves were often cut into shapes and placed underneath or used as separators.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/01/15/reference/bento-grass/|title=Bento grass|last=Gordenker|first=Alice|date=January 15, 2008|work=Japan Times|access-date=June 5, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0447-5763}}</ref>

===UNESCO recognition===
In February 2012, the [[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] recommended that 'Washoku {{nihongo||[[Wiktionary:和食|和食]]}} : Traditional Dietary Cultures of the Japanese' be added to the [[UNESCO]] [[Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120218p2g00m0dm006000c.html |title=Japanese cuisine to be nominated for UNESCO world heritage list |work=[[Mainichi Daily News]] |date=February 18, 2012 |access-date=February 19, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219034458/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120218p2g00m0dm006000c.html |archive-date=February 19, 2012 }}</ref> On December 4, 2013, "Washoku, traditional dietary cultures {{sic}} of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year" was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage, bringing the number of Japanese assets listed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list to 22.<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/lists?RL=00869 UNESCO Culture Sector – Intangible Heritage – 2003 Convention :] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022202405/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/lists?RL=00869 |date=October 22, 2016 }} UNESCO. Retrieved May 24, 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20131205p2g00m0dm001000c.html |title=Japanese cuisine added to UNESCO intangible heritage list |work=[[Mainichi Daily News]] |date=December 5, 2013 |access-date=December 5, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210034227/http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20131205p2g00m0dm001000c.html |archive-date=December 10, 2013 }}</ref>