first, the characteristics of Japanese food culture

China's cultural feeling towards Japan is like that between men and women, there is a sense of the same kind. Japan and China have been communicating for thousands of years, just because they are separated by a strip of water. Boat traffic, exchange of needed goods. In the eastern world, no other country has such a deep cultural kinship as China and Japan. China people who have never been to Japan are mostly ignorant, and regard China culture as a "mother culture" and Japanese culture as a "sub-culture". China's culture is chicken, and Japanese culture is egg. Why should China people look at the Japanese again? As for culture, what else do teachers need to learn from students?

this is really a big misunderstanding, and it is also a big misunderstanding. Japanese culture did suck milk from the precocious, strong and full body of China culture during its lactation period. However, as early as 1,111 years ago in heian period, Japan digested the huge China culture into its strong stomach, forming a unique Japanese culture full of Yamato national spirit. One of the important components of Japanese culture is "food culture".

the biggest feature of Japanese cuisine is fresh seafood.

The Japanese archipelago, which is surrounded by the sea and consists of more than 4,111 islands, has a mild climate, distinct seasons and unique fresh seafood, so it develops its own marine dishes. Existence determines consciousness, and the development direction of dishes is no exception. In other words, local culture makes cuisine.

At the same time, because Japan is an island country, and it lacks resources and has no neighboring countries, this natural environment makes it have a strong sense of crisis, and it is always afraid that it will be difficult to survive any natural or man-made disasters and make the Japanese nation extinct. To this end, some cultures spread from China are translated into Japanese-style explanations among the Japanese. For example, the idiom "carelessness kills people" means "oil breaks the enemy" in Japanese. They understand it as: without oil (that is, after the oil is cut off), the enemy will be in danger and there will be unexpected encounters. For this reason, the Japanese think that you can't cook with oil every meal like China, but you should cherish and save oil in order to live safely. To this end, Japan tries not to use or use less oil to cook dishes, and over time it has developed into a light and fresh Japanese dish.

As we all know, Japan is greatly influenced by Confucianism, especially the idea that "harmony is precious" is deeply rooted. Shoto Kutaishi, revered by the Japanese, attached great importance to "harmony", and the first sentence in the seventeen constitutions he presided over was "harmony is precious". In view of this, the Japanese are cruel to slaughter large livestock. In addition, there are few plains in Japan, and it is difficult to raise livestock. Japanese people rarely eat beef and mutton. After the second world war, because of the nutritional value of beef, we gradually ate pigs and beef. Mutton is rare in the market and can only be bought in a few places such as Hokkaido. The custom of eating deer, donkeys, dogs and rabbits like China is even rarer. This makes Japanese dishes less processed and eat fresh.

Chinese food pays attention to "color, fragrance and taste", while Japanese food pays attention to "color, shape and taste". Change the word "shape" and the characteristics of Japanese food culture will come out. Although Japanese food does not pay attention to what it tastes like, it pays great attention to "shape", so it is said that Japanese food is eaten with eyes. This is also in line with the situation in Japan. Japan has a narrow land and a large population. It is a custom since ancient times to protect and not destroy the natural landscape. The Japanese always inherit the beauty left by their ancestors to the letter. In the whole diet environment, there is a subtle but restrained beauty everywhere. The Japanese, who attach importance to history, inherited the eating habits of the ancients without a trace. Therefore, the cooked dishes are also used as a bunch of flowers in natural scenery to decorate people's lives.

second, the tea ceremony

Take the "tea ceremony" as an example. Generally speaking, the tea ceremony is a unique artistic and courteous activity that uses making and tasting tea as a means to connect feelings. It is the crystallization of Japanese culture, the representative of Japanese culture, the norm of Japanese life and the sustenance of Japanese soul. The content of tea ceremony is rich, which almost includes all the contents of oriental culture in a small tea room. In terms of thought, it contains immortal thought, Taoism, Yin and Yang Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto and so on. In form, it includes architecture, calligraphy and painting, sculpture, etiquette, flower arrangement, lacquerware, pottery, bamboo ware, cooking, sewing and so on. Tea ceremony is called applied philosophy and artistic life. What is displayed in the teahouse is a vivid one? quot; Small Oriental ". Therefore, we can get a glimpse of the profound connotation of Japanese food culture through the tea ceremony.

In fact, the history of Japanese tea culture has developed with the historical development of China tea culture, which can be roughly divided into three periods: first, heian period, influenced by the method of making cakes and drinking tea in China in the Tang Dynasty; second, Kamakura, Muromachi and Antu Taoshan, influenced by the method of making tea in the late Song Dynasty; and finally, Edo, influenced by the method of making tea in the Ming Dynasty. The second period is the most important period in the history of tea ceremony, but the maturity of tea ceremony is in the third period. At that time, the tea ceremony spread to all classes, and there were many schools within the tea ceremony, forming a situation in which all flowers were blooming.

Compared with art, painting, dancing and other art forms, tea ceremony art has many particularities. First, the tea ceremony is felt through people's eyes, ears, tongue, nose and body at the same time. The art of tea ceremony is colorful, audible, fragrant, tasteful and tactile. For example, in the process of tea affairs, we can enjoy all kinds of artworks. We can appreciate the artistic conception of tea from the wind, the sound of rain, the sound of water when ordering tea, and the rhythmic footsteps of the owner when walking. We can smell the flowers, the fragrance of tea and the aroma from the incense burner, taste delicious food, and touch any tea prop you appreciate in your hand. Second, the art of tea ceremony tries to be all-inclusive and artistic. The tea ceremony includes mountains and rivers, romantic scenery, spring, summer, autumn and winter, flowers and plants, insects and birds, history and literature, etc. into the four-hour tea ceremony. Third, the art of tea ceremony is not completed by individuals or unilaterally. It requires the guests who take part in the tea ceremony to participate in the performance together. The manners of the guests and their cultivation of the tea ceremony are directly related to the success of the tea ceremony. Finally, the fourth particularity is that the art of tea ceremony is intangible but permanent. To say that it is invisible means that the tea affair will disappear after an artistic creation, and the moment of artistic beauty that can only be felt by the parties at that time will never reappear. To say that it is permanent means that tea ceremony requires tea people to immerse themselves in artistic creation and practice day and night. A pianist is an artist on the stage when playing the piano, and can live the same life as a normal person after stepping down. Tea people, on the other hand, need to be cautious and self-controlled in their daily life after the tea affair, get up early to practice, and be cautious about wine and color. Tea people's daily life is the continuation of the tea affair.

Tea ceremony is first and foremost a tea affair. Every tea affair has a theme. After the theme is determined, the chief guest is determined, and then the escort is selected according to the chief guest. All this is to make the atmosphere of the tea affair harmonious. In order to do a good job in tea, the host should run around and choose good tea, good water and good tea food. Finally, the host has to carefully prepare the last job-cleaning. Cleaning the tea room and tea court is a compulsory course for tea people every day, which is even more important when holding tea events. There can't be an extra leaf on the ground of the tea room, and the dust on the leaf can't be let go. The host should clean the leaves where the guests will pass by with a rag.

It is said that some tea drinkers put a rag (white, of course) flat on their chests after cleaning, and then cross the teahouse to take away the floating dust in the teahouse. From the attitude of Japanese tea people in preparing tea events, we can know the hospitality of Yamato people. They thoughtfully packed everything for the guests in advance and tried their best to make them feel comfortable. Because the Japanese are naturally introverted, they look polite and unfamiliar. From what they have done, it is not difficult to find their hospitality. At the same time, from the meticulous preparation in advance, we can also see how serious and cautious the Japanese character is.

After tea begins, guests are asked to kneel in front of the wall, put a small fan in front of their knees, salute the hanging shaft, and show their faith in the hanging shaft. After reading, they will pay homage to the tea words, appreciate the color matching of the mounting, the patterns of silk, and so on. Finally, they will make a ceremony, and then they will pay tribute to the rest of the decorations in the tea room. After the host entered the teahouse, the host and guest were inevitably greeted with some greetings. Although they said that the host and guest respected each other, they still felt reminiscent of the complicated etiquette of Yamato, and at the same time felt too hypocritical and artificial. After a short pause, the host brought a food case and a meal for the guests. In the meantime, the dining movements are required to be consistent, and you can enjoy the aroma of food because you first appreciate the artistic modeling and artistic color in the bowl. After the dessert, there is a series of red tape. It is worth mentioning that the general procedures of tea ceremony are left-handed, which shows that the Japanese attach importance to history. Otherwise, in Japan, a modern developed country, there would be no left-handed cities like Kyoto and Nara, which had no big difference thousands of years ago.

The Japanese aesthetic standards are fully reflected in tea, food and camellia. Tea ceremony respects nature and pursues assimilation with nature. Tea dim sum is different from ordinary dim sum in that it requires not only high nutritional value, good taste and beautiful appearance, but also simple and elegant color and shape, easy to change and small size. The largest tea dim sum is only as big as an egg. The 17th generation Suzuki Zongkang, a descendant of the edo fruit company Suzuki, proposed that tea snacks should satisfy the five senses. The first is vision. When the dim sum is served, the shape, color and artistic style of the container should give people a sense of beauty. People can feel the change of seasons from the shape of snacks. The second is touch. People can feel the softness and convenience of tea snacks by holding, chewing and touching their tongues, which makes people feel cordial and intoxicated. The third is taste. Tea snacks require respect for the taste of raw materials, and do not advocate adding too many ingredients. The main raw materials are rice flour, rice flour, adzuki beans, sugar, sweet potatoes and so on. Choose fresh materials to make guests feel the fragrance of each material. The fourth is sense of smell. With the change of seasons, tea snacks are sometimes made of bark and the like. If cherry blossoms are in bloom, use cherry leaves for snacks; The use of mistletoe leaves in snacks during the Dragon Boat Festival can make people smell a fresh breath of nature. The fifth is hearing. After eating tea snacks, people should ask the host, "What's the name of today's tea? ""Chuyan ""(an example). After listening to the introduction of the host, people have a wonderful aftertaste of the snacks they have eaten.

tea is based on the principle of "harmony, respect and silence", and it is not recommended to be used in seasonal delicacies, and it is opposed to using expensive and rare materials. Tea food respects nature, emphasizes seasonality and inclusiveness. That is, seasonal vegetables should be used, and at the same time, there should be both mountain products and seafood, as well as things from Yuan Ye, and the collocation of meat and vegetables should be very careful.

The color of tea food is simple and elegant, and it opposes heavy decoration and advocates simplicity. In the process of making tea food, spices are used as little as possible to respect the taste of the material itself, which is why Japanese people prefer raw food.

Flowers used in tea ceremony require seasonal flowers and trees, and they must respect their true colors and oppose excessive fiddling.

Tea ceremony can be said to be one of Japan's food cultural attractions. However, when it comes to Japanese food, people immediately think of "sushi". Yes, sushi is as important in Japan as rice is in China. Then, let's introduce another treasure in Japanese food culture-sushi.

3. Sushi

As foreigners know, those who like to eat but don't like to eat are another matter. Anyone who has been to Japan or is interested in Japan will probably know something about sushi from books or from other people's conversations: Sushi is to cut tuna or bonito into small edible slices and then hold it on the rice ball with their hands. But our understanding of sushi has changed a lot from the past.

first, the origin of the name of sushi. There are actually many ways to write sushi. As the font size of a sushi restaurant, some are written as Fu, and some are written as Fu. The Japanese pronunciation of sushi is (su

shi), which comes from the old Japanese adjective "su

shi" for sour taste. Now it is not certain whether the Chinese characters were added according to this pronunciation, or whether this kind of food was introduced to Japan from China together with Chinese characters, and it got such a name because of its sour taste. In Chinese, there are also the words "Tai" and "Li", which originally had that meaning. The word "sushi" commonly used in Japan now uses Chinese characters as onomatopoeic words and does not mean anything. The use of these two words seems to have entered the nineteenth century. Published in the first year of Jiayong in the Edo period (1848), The Famous Things in Edo, Drinking Rice and Drinking Grass, introduced 95 sushi restaurants in Edo (Tokyo) at that time. Only two of them were sushi, and most of them were sushi. quot; The word "Lu". The Chinese meaning of the word "Fu" is the same as that of Japanese, which means to marinate fish with salt and spilled grains. It can be confirmed in historical data that there is no rice in the earliest prototype of sushi "Fu".

Fish is put with salt and distiller's grains not for stirring, but for preservation. In fact, it was many years before rice was added. Moreover, rice is also added for preservation, because rice can promote fermentation and improve antiseptic ability. In other words, sushi was not a "rice with side dishes" food, but a way to preserve fish. Rice is a "medium" added for this purpose. This kind of sushi is called "taming sushi".

However, when we talk about sushi now, we will immediately associate it with fresh seafood such as fish and shrimp on vinegar-added rice balls, and a kind of food dipped in soy sauce and green mustard. In fact, there are many kinds of sushi in all parts of Japan, and most of them are completely different from the above-mentioned sushi shapes. For example: Is the Yi Shi area in Mie Prefecture known? quot; Hand-held sushi "hometown meal. This sushi is made by cutting tuna into pieces of a certain size, and then mixing them with laver and vinegar-added rice. This kind of sushi has no specific shape, and there is no need to knead rice into rice balls by hand. And when we say sushi, we mean "grasping sushi". Actually, there are many kinds of sushi besides clutch sushi, such as rice balls < P >, sushi rolls, assorted rice balls, fried tofu rice rolls, tea towels and so on. But let's talk about sushi first.

tracing back to the origin of sushi, it is surprising that its historical origin is not long ago. During the Yeonpyeong period of the Edo period (1673-1681), a doctor in Kyoto, Matsumoto Shanfu, soaked all kinds of seafood in vinegar all night and then ate it with rice. It can be said that this was a new attempt to keep food fresh at that time. After that, after 151 years, a man named Huawu Yohee, who lived in Edo City, simplified the way of making and eating sushi in the sixth year of Wen Zheng (1823). He put rice and seafood soaked in vinegar together and named it "Yohee Sushi" for public sale. This is the prototype of the current sushi, and this statement has long been a conclusion. In many places in Tokyo and its suburbs, you can see Japanese restaurant chains with the font "Hua Wu Yohee", from which its name comes. That is to say, the history of holding sushi, the most representative food in Japanese meals, is not long, only more than 151 years. (Before that, sushi didn't mean this kind of sushi, but