PSU Center for Japanese Studies presents the third lecture in its series Kanpai Japan!
Jumble of the Senses: Constructing Taste in Contemporary Japan
Professor Katarzyna Cwiertka, Leiden University, The Netherlands
It is impossible to deny the importance of visual esthetics in the historical development of Japanese cuisine, a stereotype captured by the phrase “me de taberu” (eating with the eyes). This feature has assumed particular significance in recent decades, with the universalization of color photography and video images that dominate printing, television, and social media today. Yet, there are more senses involved in the Japanese culinary domain than meets the eye. In this lecture Professor Cwiertka will map the plethora of sensory experiences that participate in the construction of taste in contemporary Japan, from mouth feel and sound to the awareness of seasonality. They are all utilized to the fullest in sophisticated marketing strategies devised to encourage the Japanese public to take another bite or a sip.
Katarzyna Cwiertka is Professor of Modern Japan Studies at Leiden University, the Netherlands. She is an established expert on the food history of modern Japan and Korea. Her publications on the topic include Modern Japanese Cuisine: Food, Power and National Identity, Cuisine, Colonialism and Cold War: Food in Twentieth Century Korea, and Branding Japanese Food: From Meibutsu to Washoku. Cwiertka is editor-in-chief of the journal Worldwide Waste and is currently engaged in researching the social history of plastic in Japan.
See Full Schedule of Kanpai Japan II Events