Introduction

Like all Eastern cookery, Japanese cookery is traditional and the recipes of many of the dishes eaten in modern times date back to a very remote period. Their cooking is, on the whole, plain and simple, and grilling and baking are among their favourite methods. But the manner in which food is served is attractive and distinctive, and the Japanese chef is a consummate artist in the art of decoration. All manner of dainty, brightly coloured lacquer or porcelain bowls are set out on trays or on a table, dishes of various shapes and colours, all containing food arranged and decorated with such artistry and skill that one is tempted to taste even things repulsive to the European palate, such as raw tunny fish or bream. The black lacquer bowls, with their elaborate gold ornamentation, in which soups are served, would make any soup palatable. There is a sense of proportion, a perfect harmony in colour scheme, and a refinement in the arrangement of their dishes which make the most carefully prepared European dishes appear clumsy and gross. A Japanese cookery book with coloured illustrations is a joy to look at—very different indeed from the dull, somewhat crude illustrations which are so often found in our own cookery books.