1.2 Five Principles of Washoku

 

 

In 2013, Washoku, or indigenous Japanese cuisine, gained the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage designation. Though considered steeped in tradition, it is a late 19th Century response to the rise of Western influences in local cuisines and can trace its origins to China. In short, washoku is a consolidation of regional cuisines and food habits tied to a national identity. As listed on the slides above, washoku is characterized by:

• a food composition of rice, soup, and protein with side-dishes: 一汁三菜, ichijuusansai
• seasonal kisetsu 季節, local ingredients meisanbutsu 名産物
• seafood, seaweed, rice, and soy sauce as staples (beef and pork additions of past century)
• taste sensibility that seeks to "draw out natural flavors of ingredients rather than masking them in heavy sauces" (gurunavi.com)
• Edo and Kyoto gastronomy head the culinary repertoire
• visual presentation in its plating with lacquerware 
• the hospitality or omotenashi おもてなし that accompanies it
• five principles whose organize a philosophy and practice that seeks balance and harmony

 

Five Principles of Washoku

Watch this interactive video Links to an external site. to find out more about the Five Principles of Washoku:

 

Kaiseki: Upscale washoku

Kaiseki is the upscale version of washoku

• wabi 侘び aesthetics which sees beauty in restraint; austere refinement
• invented by tea master Sen no Rikyu