rssThis blog is a chronicle of me and my husband’s pursuit of authentic Japanese food as well as a log of some of the great meals we’ve had in Japan. From 2003 to 2008, we lived in Tokyo and we ate our way through the country. Born in Japan, and having moved back and forth between Japan and the U.S. throughout my childhood, I was raised in the Japanese tradition and grew up eating Japanese food. When I go out for Japanese, I’m looking for a taste of home. Too often, I’m disappointed, either because of the food, the service or both, but sometimes we encounter some very special places.
A few years ago, the Japanese government proposed plans to establish a certification system for Japanese restaurants outside of Japan. Its intention was (probably) sincere — it saw that not all restaurants that called itself Japanese in the world were really Japanese, and it wanted to find a way to guide diners to truly authentic establishments. But the reception it received was so negative that those plans soon got canceled. Opponents argued that all cuisines evolve and the diners, not the government, will decide with their money whether an restaurant is good or not.
I think it’s absolutely true that cuisines evolve as they make their way around the world, often for the better. Chinese noodles became spaghetti, and we Japanese ourselves have modified many a food from the overseas including things like curried rice, castella, omelet rice, and ramen.
But having said that, I think there’s also something to be said for authenticity — washoku (what we call Japanese cuisine) rather than the more loosely-defined “Japanese”.
Contact me at fugudiaries@gmail.com