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Surely, one can say that Japanese diet was always healthy and luxurious.

In the very beginning the early residents of the island were living with shellfishes (7500 BC-300 BC). In the centuries that followed, villagers started to spread near freshwater springs, where nuts, fruits, wild boars and fishes could easily be found. Their diet became even more richer, nutritious and healthy. At that period pottery begins as Japanese become more sophisticated and gives its name to this period, the Jomon Period.

Towards the end of Jomon period, Japanese people start hunting larger fishes with the toggle harpoon, their latest technical masterpiece. Rice makes its first appearance from North Asia and at the end of the Jomon period, wet rice farming flourishes, especially in Kyushu. Entering the Yayoi period (300BC-300AD) a highly organized agricultural system is created. Rice is now worshiped and the Japanese people name the God Ta no Komi, God for rice paddies.

In 239 AD, Queen Hmiko of Yamatai starts commercial relations with China. Barley and wheat are introduced to Japan. Udon noodles and soy sauce make an entrance to Japanese meals. During the Nara period (710 AD-94 AD), we have a major advancement of the Japanese cuisine and this is due to the ritualised way of serving food and the advances in tableware design (Japanese serving ware is very famous for its quality and design).

Buddhism becomes a major religion in Japan. The monks bring green tea and Zen to the Japanese philosophy and way of life. In this period, the Samurai still lead a humble lifestyle, eating a meal called ōhan, consisting of plain rice with Jellyfish, abalone and umeboshi, seasoned plainly with Japanese vinegar (made from rice-sweet in taste) and salt. As their political power and influence grow, their ōhan grows too and within 200 years the military rulers (kamakura shōgunate) are feasting on dishes that once were reserved for emperors.

Entering the Muromachi period, a gastronomic rebellion occurs. The wealthy Samurai blend their code of ethics and manners with those of aristocratic class. New exceptional methods of cutting and serving are born. Towards the end of this period and into the Azuchi Momoyama (1573 AD – 1600 AD), tea ceremony cuisine establishes under the patronage of the tea master and culinary visionary Sen-no-Rikyū. His legacy is remarkable. Rikyū created all the wonderful, ritualised aspects of tea ceremony.

In Edo period (1600 AD – 1868 AD), limited trade with westerners was allowed in Edo city (later Tokyo) through Nagasaki. Portuguese were bringing tempura and techniques for frying game to the Edo city that later adopts it as the official Japanese cuisine. After this time only the bachelors of the Dutch East India Company were allowed to do business in Nagasaki. The merchant class experiences big prosperity and citizens flock to the country’s new capital, Edo or Tokyo.

By the end of the 18th century, a population of nearly a million people has boasted the city. A massive food industry spreads to feed the newcomers and their patrons with tempura and sushi, leading the wave of culinary fashion. Many of the montern-day Tokyo’s finest restaurants date back to the Edo Era.
In the Meiji Period (1868 AD-1912 AD) all things start going western and 30 years later in the Taisho period, the big riot for the rice price occurs, but to no avail. Noodles are becoming a new economic power in the world’s food industry.

The 20th century brings militarism, grinding poverty, world war, Hiroshima & Nagasaki and the non-punitive post war reconstruction by the Americans. The mixture of hard graft & invention that propelled Japan from devastation to the status of world economic power, in just decades, applied to its domestic food industry. It is the age of giants, Sapporo, Kirin, Suntory and Asahi, but its undisputed champion is Nisshin Shokuhin, a world leading company in noodles.

Japan’s fascination with food remains strong with TV programs such as “The Iron Chef”, commanding audiences of millions and the bookstore shelves groaning with food titles. Nearly 10,000 years after the Japanese ate their first venus clams, they can’t stop living, breathing, talking and eating washoku – Japanese food.

Ref.: Book Lonely Planet “World Food Japan”