Historically, the Japanese shunned meat, but with the modernization of Japan in the 1880s, meat-

based dishes such as tonkatsu became common.

After the 6th century, Japan directly pursued the imitation of Chinese culture of the Tang dynasty.[3]
It was this influence that marked the taboos on the consumption of meat in Japan

It was also the influence of Chinese cultures through Korea that brought chopsticks to Japan early in
this period.[6][7][8][9][10] Chopsticks at this time were used by nobility at banquets; they were not used
as everyday utensils however, as hands were still commonly used to eat. Metal spoons were also
used during the 8th and 9th centuries, but only by the nobility.

Upon the decline of the Tang dynasty in the 9th century, Japan made a move toward its individuality
in culture and cuisine. The abandonment of the spoon as a dining utensil – which was retained in
Korea – is one of the marked differences, and commoners were now eating with chopsticks as well.

n the A.D. 700s, the rise of Buddhism led to a ban on eating meat. The popular dish, sushi
(raw fish with rice) came about as a result of this ban.

After a ban of more than one thousand years, beef returned to Japan during the Meiji Period

Two uniquely Japanese foods are sushi (fresh raw seafood with rice) and sashimi (fresh raw
seafood with soy sauce); both rely on freshly caught fish or seafood. Dishes prepared in a
single pot ( nabemeno ) are popular throughout Japan. Sukiyaki is a dish made up of paper-
thin slices of beef (or sometimes chicken), vegetables, and cubes of tofu cooked in broth.
Shabu-shabu is beef and vegetables, also cooked in broth but then dipped in flavorful sauces.
Each region has its own selection of favorite foods. People living on the cold northern island
of Hokkaido enjoy potatoes, corn, and barbecued meats. Foods in western Japan tend to be
more delicately flavored than those in the east.

The Japanese eat three main meals a day. The main ingredient in all three, however, is rice
(or sometimes noodles). Miso soup and pickles are always served as well. Meals eaten early
in the day tend to be the simplest. A typical breakfast consists of rice, miso soup, and a side
dish, such as an egg or grilled fish.

Noodles are very popular for lunch (and as a snack), and a restaurant or take-out stand
referred to as a noodle house is a popular spot for lunch. A typical lunch would be a bowl of
broth with vegetables, seaweed, or fish. The bento is a traditional box lunch packed in a
small, flat box with dividers. It includes small portions of rice, meat, fish, and vegetables.
Stores sell ready-made bento for take out and some even have Western-style ingredients like
spaghetti or sausages. A favorite among young people, and as a take-out food, is a stuffed
rice ball called onigiri.
Many Japanese have turned to Western-style food for breakfast and lunch, especially in the
cities. However, traditional dinners are still eaten by most people in Japan, such as rice, soup,
pickles, and fish. Seasonal fresh fruit makes a great dessert. Sweets are more likely to be
served with green tea in the afternoon.

Food is grasped between chopsticks and lifted to one's mouth. Chopsticks should never be
stuck into a piece of food or used to pass food back and forth. It is not considered impolite to
sip one's soup directly from the bowl. At a Japanese meal, people at the table fill each other's
drinking glasses but never their own.

Emphasis is placed on seasonality of food or shun (旬),[5][6] and dishes are designed to herald the arrival
of the four seasons or calendar months.
====

In 1872, the fifth year of his reign, the Meiji Emperor broke the 1,200-year ban on meat eating by
celebrating the new year by eating meat. The fact that the emperor ate meat of his own accord
encouraged Japanese citizens of every social class to also begin eating meat.

To further enhance the purity of the food, Japanese cooking rarely mixes different food types,
and sauces are normally served in separate dishes as dipping condiments. This is in contrast
to many other cuisines, where long slow cooking and the addition of many spices are
common, so that the final dish becomes something quite removed from the raw ingredients.
In Japanese cooking, perhaps more than any other cuisine, the raw produce is paramount.

As well as exquisite flavour, visual beauty is an essential element; the type of plate or dish is
as important as what is on it. The Japanese have also perfected the concept of negative space;
where the empty parts of a serving platter serve to emphasise the beauty of the food placed on
it.

Indeed, the connection with nature is one of the defining hallmarks of Japanese food. Where
possible, food is eaten in as natural a state as possible, as fresh as possible, as this is considered the
ultimate way to eat. Fresh fish and shellfish are eaten raw (sashimi) or lightly pickled with vinegar or
salt. Likewise, produce is often only lightly cooked and what and how people cook is highly
influenced by the seasons.

As an island nation, the Japanese take great pride in their seafood. A wide variety of fish, squid,
octopus, eel, and shellfish appear in all kinds of dishes from sushi to tempura.

Sticky, short-grained rice is the staple food in Japan. Uncooked rice is called kome. The cultivation of
rice in paddy fields traditionally required great cooperation between villagers and this is said to have
been central to the evolution of Japanese culture. Their are several thousand varieties grown in
Japan, with Koshihikari and Akita Komachi being among the most popular. Rice is also used to make
mochi (rice cakes), senbei (rice crackers) and sake (rice wine). Rice can also be cooked with red
beans (sekihan), seafood and vegetables (Takikomi gohan) or as a kind of watery porridge seasoned
with salt (kayu) which is very popular as a cold remedy. Onigiri are rice balls with seafood or
vegetables in the middle, usually wrapped in a piece of dried seaweed (nori). They are traditionally
part of a packed lunch or picnic. Individually wrapped onigiri, usually a trianular shape, make a good
snack and are available at convenience stores.

Udon noodles are made from wheat flour. They are boiled and served in a broth, usually hot but
occasionally cold in summer, and topped with ingredients such as a raw egg to make tsukimi udon,
and deep-fried tofu aburaage to make kitsune udon.

Soba is buckwheat noodles, which are thinner and a darker color

than udon.
Soba is usually served cold (zaru soba) with a dipping sauce, sliced green onions and wasabi. When
served in a hot broth, it is known as kake soba. Served with the same toppings as udon, you get
tsukimi soba, kitsune soba and tempura soba.

While udon and soba are also believed to have come from China, only ramen retains its image as
Chinese food. Ramen is thin egg noodles which are almost always served in a hot broth flavored with
shoyu or miso. This is topped with a variety of ingredients such as slices of roast pork (chashu), bean
sprouts (moyashi), sweetcorn and butter.

Instant ramen (the most famous brand is Pot Noodles), to which you just add hot water, has become
very popular in recent years.

Japanese people consume a lot more fish than is typical in western countries and this is said to be a
major factor in the country's relatively low rate of heart disease. Seafood is eaten in just about any
form you can imagine, from raw sushi and sashimi to grilled sweetfish and clams. The spread of ¥100
kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi) restaurants has made sushi into a homegrown fast-food that
offsets some of the influence of imports like McDonalds

Meat is increasingly part of the everyday Japanese diet, with yakitori (grilled chicken), yakiniku
(Korean barbeque), gyudon (beef bowl) and of course the standard fare of foreign and local
hamburger chain restaurants ubiquitous across the country. This has led to an increase in related
health problems, though the Japanese still maintain their position as the world's longest-living
people.

Japan's consumption of fish has its controversial side as well. The country buys up about three
quarters of the global catch of tuna, for example, which has driven the bluefin tuna close to
extinction. As sushi was traditionally an expensive food eaten mainly on special occasions, some
blame the cheap and ready availability provided by kaitenzushi for this situation.

Soy products
The humble soybean (daizu) is used to make a wide variety of foods and flavourings.
Soybeans and rice are used to make miso, a paste used for flavouring soup and marinating
fish. Together with soy sauce (shoyu), miso is a foundation of Japanese cuisine. Tofu is
soybean curd and a popular source of protein, especially for vegetarians. These days, even
tofu donuts and tofu icecream are available. Natto, fermented soybeans, is one of the
healthiest but also the most notorious item on the menu. With a pungent smell and sticky,
stringy texture, natto is easy to hate straight away. Japanese people themselves tend to either
love it or hate it. It is usually served with chopped onions and a raw egg and mixed into a
bowl of rice.

Sushi is a very popular Japanese dish, compared to sashimi. Though, both Japanese foods sushi and
sashimi are similar, they are not the same. Both usually contain raw fish as one of their ingredient,
and are served with a soy dipping sauce. The method of preparation for both the dishes is different.

Sushi can be breathtakingly expensive, in exclusive, invitation-only restaurants where you eat
whatever the chef selects for you. But it can also be cheap and cheerful fast food. Cheap sushi is
available at supermarkets or at kaiten-zushi restaurants, where customers sit at a counter and
choose what they want from an ever-changing conveyor belt. These are usually highly automated
and ensure that no dish goes around more than a couple of times.

These two dishes are often thought to be one and the same. Sashimi consists of thin slices of raw
fish or other seafood served with spicy Japanese horseradish (wasabi) and shoyu while sushi consists
of the same, served on vinegared rice, but also includes cooked seafood, vegetables and egg.

Tempura
Seafood or vegetables dipped in batter and deep-fried, tempura is served with a dipping sauce
and daikon. The word 'tempura' comes from the Portuguese 'tempero' (gravy or sauce) and
this dish dates from the mid-16th century, when Portuguese and Spanish culture was first
introduced to Japan. Tempura can be served with a side bowl of rice and soup or on a bowl of
rice (tendon) or noodles (tempura udon, tempura soba).

Okonomiyaki
This can best be described as a savory Japanese pancake. Chopped vegetables and meat or
seafood are mixed with batter and cooked on a griddle. Like a pancake, the okonomiyaki is
flipped over and cooked on both sides. It is then topped with a special sauce and mayonnaise
and sprinkled with nori and dried fish flakes (katsuobushi). Variations include adding a fried
egg or soba.

Wagashi

Much of Japanese art, culture, and cuisine draws on the principles of aesthetic beauty and the
passing of the seasons. Traditional Japanese sweets, known as “wagashi”, are also made with
these principles in mind. Wagashi originated as small morsels for the Japanese imperial
family and nobility to enjoy with a cup of bitter matcha green tea. Over time, the treats
evolved into a variety of intricately crafted works of edible art.

Wagashi are often fashioned into shapes from nature, such as flowers, fruit and leaves, and
include seasonal ingredients, such as cherry blossom leaves in the springtime and chestnuts in
the fall. Although sweet, they generally use less sugar than western desserts, giving them a
refined flavor that pairs excellently with green tea.

While mochi is made from rice that has been pounded into a paste, dango are small dumplings made
from sweet rice flour, and have a slightly chewier texture. To make this type of Japanese wagashi,
rice flour is mixed with hot water to form a dough and then shaped into dumplings, which are
boiled, skewered, and grilled. Sesame seeds are a common addition to the rice flour, to produce the
nuttier-tasting “goma-dango”. Dango are irresistible as-is, or drizzled in thick and sweet soy sauce.