By Katarzyna J. Cwiertka with Yasuhara MihoBranding Japanese Food is the first book in English on the use of food for the purpose of place branding in Japan. At the centre of the narrative is the 2013 inscription of “Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year” on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The authors challenge the very definition of washoku as it was presented in the UNESCO nomination, and expose the multitude of contradictions and falsehoods used in the promotion of Japanese cuisine as part of the nation-branding agenda.
Available from: University of Hawaii Press
*Now available in paperback*