Cool Japan Case Study

Case Study: Japan Both partially in and out of the western world, Japan has undertook an appealing gastronomic diplomacy. In fact, Japan has an ancient tradition with regards to the practice of both cooking and eating. In a ceremonial fashion, Japanese commensality traditions are often linked to the shintoist heritage of Japan as well as its buddhist aspect. As a matter of fact, shintoism is centered on ritualised practices that may be linked to gastronomic practices in Japan. The “tea ceremony” illustrates this point since it is underlines a strongly ritualized conception of commensality. In a like manner, the Japanese gastronomic heritage gives a prior importance to “food education” or shokuiku. This form of education is based on the transmission

Nevertheless, the Japanese diplomatic project is differentiated by its will to attract a younger audience notably through the development of a “cool” culture. The Japanese cuisine or washoku is ergo at the centre of the Japanese Ministry Of Foreign Affairs public gastronomic diplomacy. In his article in the Public Diplomacy magazine, Bestor points out the close link between the “Cool Japan” initiative and the Japanese gastronomy. “Cool Japan” is directed towards the promotion of Japanese culture and creativity in the world. It includes the showcasing of meals such as “ramen”, “miso soup”, “soba noodles” or even “sushi and sashimi” commonly mentioned in contemporary japanese pop culture. Another objective of the Japanese government is to transmit a great image of Japan by promoting and proveing “the essence of culinary authenticity, internationally and domestically” recalling the importance of shokuiku in the Japanese culture of

During this summit, 21 chefs from 8 countries were invited to share their knowledge and thoughts on the question of gastronomy. The Japanese culinary washoku tradition was then the focal point of the summit, it was particularly centred on the concept of umami, a specific type of taste that is neither sour, bitter, salted nor sweet. In fact, such a taste can only be acquired by the combination of products and spices to enable the creation of the umami flavour. Umami is moreover accessible to anyone since it does not require a tremendous amount of products to be found. As a matter of fact, mixing tomatoes and sesame can lead to umami. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the opportunity of this summit to enhance and consolidate its cultural relations with other nations. For instance, relations with Spain were greatly improved and officialized by the award of the Order of the Rising Sun medal to the Spanish cook Ferran Adria Acosta for its help in organising and leading the