Acknowledgments

 

While conducting research on this book, I was often asked how I became interested in Japanese food. My interest began in high school when I first went to a Japanese restaurant with friends. I recall deciding resolutely to order sushi, which was starting to become trendy in those days, and then being confronted with a plate of small pieces of fish that I had no idea how to eat. I owe a debt to my friends from high school for their adventurous ideas about dining and their encouragement as we were initiated into the mysteries of Japanese food.

My introduction to the idea that food could be an important subject of historical research occurred in a graduate seminar at the University of Michigan with Professor Teofilo Ruiz, a visiting scholar at the time. He not only provided students with much food for thought, but he also shared his freshly baked bread and some memorable beverages, which hinted at some of the side benefits of this topic of study. Two other professors at Michigan, Hitomi Tonomura and Jennifer Robertson, continue to inspire me, and I am grateful for their ongoing support of my work.

Fortunately, I have found good colleagues much closer to where I now work, at the University of Kansas. My colleague Tom Lewin graciously commented on an early draft of the manuscript for this book, and he has been supportive throughout my career at Kansas, assisting me in my work on various research projects and in negotiating university life. Akiko Takeyama advised me on the introduction and first chapter, which benefited from her comments. The book would not have been possible without the assistance of librarians of the East Asia Library at the University of Kansas, Michiko Ito and Vickie Doll. I owe a particular debt to Michiko Ito for obtaining many of the sources used in this study. Time spent in Japan allowed me to conduct research and write over several busy summers, and funding for my travels was provided by the University of Kansas Center for East Asian Studies, the Hall Center for the Humanities, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences—including a New Faculty Research Award in 2000 and several general research awards—and the History Department. Part of my research was undertaken in the spring of 2006 after I was awarded a Hall Center for the Humanities Research Fellowship, and I am grateful to the Hall Center’s director, Professor Victor Bailey. He also allowed me to cochair a faculty colloquium on food and culture with Barbara Shortridge in 2002. I am glad for the comments and advice provided by other participants in the colloquium, particularly Don Stull and Tom Averill. I also owe thanks to Kansas graduate students Tom Barker, Chikako Mochizuki, Melinda Varner, and Michael Hogg for their comments and encouragement.

Here and there, this work has benefited from seasoned advice and prompt answers by colleagues beyond Kansas, including Stephanie Assmann, Lee Butler, Katarzyna Cwiertka, Michael Kinski, Morgan Pitelka, and Constantine Vaporis. Ted Bestor reminded me to find the joy in food research, and he provided helpful information about the field of consumption studies. Merry White’s work has also inspired me, and I appreciate her encouragement and advice. My thanks also go to the anonymous readers and reviewers for their comments.

In Japan, several colleagues provided me with assistance, particularly Professors Nakamura Takako and Nakamura Yasushi of Kyoto Prefectural University, who came to my aid in numerous ways. Professor Higashiyotsuyanagi Shoko of the Ajinomoto Foundation for Dietary Culture guided me through the archives there and assisted me in obtaining illustrations. Professor Jinnai Tomiko helped me understand the history of the Kawabata household and proved to be a treasure house of knowledge about Japanese cuisine. I also thank Professor Kasaya Kazuhiko of Nichibunken for his help in the past, and the librarians and staff at the Kaga Bunko in the Tokyo Central Metropolitan Library, Iwase Bunko in Nishio City, the Kyoto Prefectural Library, and the Kygashi Shirykan in Kyoto.

During the spring of 2006, I lived in Kyoto with my daughter, Dana, who was allowed to attend Shoran Kindergarten. The staff; her kindergarten teacher, Matsunaga Mayumi; and the parents were warm and welcoming to us both. They shared their intimate knowledge of Kyoto’s foodways and helped me craft better box lunches. The Koshiba family, particularly Hideo and Ruriko, assisted me many times and in many ways, to the point that I cannot ever hope to repay them. Jonah Salz and Tomoko Onabe are my best friends in Kyoto and taught me a lot about Japan, including its food.

Beyond personal and academic introductions to Japanese food, my most profitable learning experience came from my work at a small Kyoto restaurant. Waitstaff never expect tips in Japan—I took away much more from the experience of waiting tables at Ky Kapp Inai in Kyoto for almost a year. I am grateful to Chef Inai Shigeo for the experience and for reminding me that war may be about moving troops but cooking (like writing) is all about making a plan of action (ikusa wa jindori, ryri wa dandori). Besides Chef Inai, Doi Tsukiko of restaurant Doi led me through many culinary byways and shared her time freely. When I began this project, I was fortunate to interview several prestigious chefs in Kyoto, mentioned in the first chapter. I particularly thank Araki Shigeo of Uosaburo, Horii Masayumi of Dai’ichi, Ishii Yasuie of Okutan, Morimoto Ryz of Harisei, Nakamura Fumiharu of Nakamura, Sonobe Heihachi of Heihachijaya, Takahashi Eiichi of Hytei, and Tsuji Masamitsu of Nakamurar. Kawabata Chikako of Kawabata Dki confectioners answered many questions and generously gave of her time and expertise on several occasions. My conversations with Ms. Kawabata and with Konishi Shigeyoshi of Mankamer were especially memorable. Chef Konishi kindly opened the archives of the Ikama school of cuisine to me several times, answered my naive questions over the course of several long conversations, and granted me permission to reproduce highlights from his family’s treasures in this book.

I received funds from outside grant agencies that supported this project, including a short-term travel grant from the Japan Foundation, support from the Metropolitan Center for Far Eastern Art Studies, an NEAC travel grant from the Association for Asian Studies, a Franklin Travel Grant from the American Philosophical Society, and a Bernadotte E. Schmitt Grant from the American Historical Association. The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership enabled me to travel to Japan in 2009 with a group of Kansas farmers and local supporters of organic farming, and I thank the foundation for allowing me to stay longer in Japan to collect the images that illustrate this work.

It’s typical for scholars to wrap up their lists of thanks with nods of acknowledgement to their families, but that hardly does justice to the help and humor I received from my own, particularly my mother, Patricia M. Rath Balsamo, my stepfather, Phil Balsamo, and above all my wife, Kiyomi, and daughter, Dana, who have been at my side throughout my long journey from trying to cook to writing a book. They remind me daily that I have much more to learn.