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“Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year” was formally inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity (Representative List) by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in December 2013. In the Japanese language, washoku literally means “Japanese food” (wa = Japanese; shoku = food), implying that the recognition from UNESCO was given to the food of the Japanese nation as a whole. The inscription was not without precedent, as the “gastronomic meal of the French” and “traditional Mexican cuisine” were similarly inscribed in 2010. Nonetheless, in the UNESCO system, granting heritage status to the food tradition of an entire nation is more an exception than the rule. Although one inscription, the “Mediterranean diet,” recognizes the food heritage of several countries that border the Mediterranean Sea, the rest of the food- and drink-related intangible heritage statuses granted by UNESCO have been limited to specific foods or culinary practices (for example, “ceremonial Keşkek tradition” in Turkey, inscribed in 2010, or “kimjang, making and sharing kimchi in the Republic of Korea” in 2013) or the food traditions of smaller geographical regions (for example, “gingerbread craft in Northern Croatia” in 2010).1 Japan is in elite company, with France and, to some extent, Mexico being the only countries so far singularly recognized for their national food traditions.
How did Japanese food—that is, washoku—become recognized as UNESCO intangible heritage? What does the recognition mean to the nation of Japan, and what have been the consequences of such recognition? Indeed, what prompted Japan to seek intangible heritage status for its food in the first place? This article delineates the evolution of Japanese food into UNESCO intangible heritage through an investigation and analysis of the processes before, during, and after the inscription of washoku. The transformation of washoku into heritage is, in turn, used as a frame of reference to discuss critical implications of national food traditions designated as UNESCO intangible heritage.
METHODOLOGY AND BACKGROUND
Since state parties are responsible for heritage nomination proposals in the UNESCO system, this article relies mainly on Japanese government documents, policy statements, and other official materials related to washoku’s inscription as its primary text sources. The official minutes of all...