History and Development

If Japanese cuisine is a harmonious culture, then what is that culture? The cuisine’s history reveals various strata of influence, including the aristocracy, samurai and Buddhist monks. The interaction of these influences form the complexity beneath Japanese food’s apparent simplicity.

Japanese cuisine has its roots in the aristocracy of the Nara (710-794) and Heian (794-1185) periods, when a formal style of eating with chopsticks was established. The duties of the court dignitaries included year-round ceremonies in which food and sake played an integral role as highly decorative religious offerings; so, food and ritual became closely associated in Japanese culture.