The handing down of local dishes in the Shonai area of Yamagata prefecture
2009 Volume 5 Pages 31-38
Details
2009 Volume 5 Pages 31-38
To investigate the role of consciousness in the actual process of handing down local dishes from generation to generation, a survey was conducted among 105 inhabitants of the Shonai area in Yamagata prefecture who fix their own daily meals, using a questionnaire that included items about the consciousness in handing down local dishes, eating habits, cooking frequency of local dishes, and concern about them.
The data were compared with respect to the consciousness in handing down local dishes. The results are summarized as follows.
1. In the cluster analysis, the daily dishes were classified into three categories, “dishes that are handed down,” "known dishes that are not easy to hand down,” and "dishes that are not handed down” with respect to their patterns in being handed down. There was no significant difference in the average frequency of cooking in each category between the conscious and unconscious subjects. The cooking frequencies of several dishes were higher in conscious subjects than unconscious subjects.
2. No significant differences were observed between conscious and unconscious subjects with regard to the frequency of cooking special dishes for rituals.
3. There were no significant differences in the eating habits of the two groups.
4. Concern about local dishes was higher in the conscious subjects than unconscious subjects.
In conclusion, this survey revealed that local dishes are handed down from generation to generation irrespective of whether the people were conscious of this process or not.
