This paper aims to review studies in the 1980s that examined internationalism and regionalism in European cuisines in the late Middle Ages. In Europe, around 1300, people began writing cookbooks in vernacular languages such as French, English, and Italian instead of Latin. Therefore, each of these cookbooks has its own specific cultural characteristics. However, in the fourteenth century, European cookbooks contained recipes for some common dishes like brouet (broth) and the blanc manger (white dish). Blanc manger is a dish that presented a current food culture characteristic, although the same is not true regarding the ingredients used, for example, in England and France. The analysis of English dishes with the MSaracen connection” showed that they were based on the color of blanc manger and the artistic technique of teste de Tourk (head of the Turk). Further, these two characteristics were introduced into European food cultures and were used to make entremets (subtleties) typical of the fifteenth century.

This paper discusses the regional characteristics of the industrial structure of Wagashi (Japanese confectionery) production. It focuses on the Wagashi production system as well as selected rice snacks for comparison. The main results are as follows. First, small manufacturers’ shares in the Wagashi market sector have been decreasing recently, whereas those of larger manufacturers have been increasing. However, the production of raw materials is centered in domestic-specific production areas. Second, the small Wagashi manufacturers are important suppliers in areas where the population is aging rapidly. Third, Wagashi manufacturers must face issues related to enhancing their material procurement abilities. These results show that the determinants of Wagashi manufacturer locations include not only history and culture, as has been previously indicated, but also the agricultural structure and aspects of the social structure that are affecting the current regional characteristics of the Wagashi industry, such as aging..

This paper is a result of our research about new meat dishes for New Year’s Day. Using the big data from the recipe search function of Cookpad Inc., we located six new meat dishes for New Year’s Day: roast beef, boiled pork, kakuni, roasted pork, sukiyaki, and shabu-shabu. These dishes are not traditional dishes. However they frequently appears as New Year’s dishes. We assume that these are chosen in consideration of taste, luxury, and their ability to be preserved for several days. Next, we investigated their historical background. Roast beef and boiled pork (including kakuni and roasted pork) appeared in magazines from the 1910s. Magazines from the ’90s presented them as if they were traditional dishes. In addition, a lot of existing studies report that these dishes have been eaten since the ’80s.

In the early modem period, the real confectionery known as “a rice cake to celebrate Gencho with the Emperor” was saved by Hirawa, who was a Tamba Ayabe samurai. It is called “Genchomochi,” and in the 19th century, during the annual Gencho event at the Kyoto Imperial Palace, it was bestowed by the emperor to Karasumaru’s aristocrats. Through Hirawa’s daughter, who was served it, it was handed down to Mr. Hirawa, who carefully preserved and did not eat the rice cake. It has been used as a medicine to heal both spirit possession and malaria because the “Genchomochi from the Emperor” was believed to contain the holy spirit of the Emperor and the Imperial Palace, and to thereby counteract the evil spirits associated with both. The origin of the confectionery adds a special value. As a result, this confectionery has the potential to have a function beyond that of mere food.

This study aims to analyze changes in “meals with bread” and in “meals with rice” over a period of approximately fifty years, from the 1960s until the early 2010s, during which the dietary culture of Japan started to change dramatically.

This study analyzes the foodstuffs and culinary methods used for these meals based on data from a cooking magazine titled ‟Eiyo To Ryori (Nutrition and Cooking),” designating 1960 and 1961 as ‟fifty years ago,” 1986 as “25 years ago,” and the period between 2009 and 2014 as “present.”

From the analysis, a total number of 74 types of foodstuff were used for all meals studied, and the number of foodstuffs used for meals with bread was fewer than for meals with rice. As a result of a principal component analysis, foodstuffs used in the meals were categorized into those suitable for meals with bread (milk, butter/margarine, etc.) and those suitable for meals with rice (soybeans/soybean products, seaweed, etc.). In terms of change over fifty years, the frequency of the use of foodstuffs suitable for meals with bread declined and the use of new foodstuffs increased. The chronological change in foodstuffs for meals with rice was smaller than that for meals with bread. In terms of culinary methods, salad appeared frequently for meals with bread. In meals with rice, boiled dishes and soup dishes appeared frequently, and the use of pickled vegetables declined.

From the analysis, it was found that there were differences between meals with bread and those with rice not only in the foodstuffs used but also in terms of accompanying dishes.

This chronology is the sixth in a series of publications on comparative food culture.

Having previously examined Japanese food culture in the Jomon era to Azuchi-Momoyama era, Edo era, Meiji and Taisyo eras and Showa era, this installment of the series will cover the food culture on the Europe and American continent from ancient to AD1600. The countries included as an area of Europe were selected as defined and designated by “MILIONE ZENSEKAI JITEN (Japanese Version of II Milione, Enciclopedia di Tutti i Paesi del Monde)” published by Gakusyukenkyu-sya. The time of this chronology covers the period through AD1600, also considered to be the end of Medieval period.

The authors have compiled information on 400 chronological items from 107 print publications. In this chronology, food culture phenomenon is classified in the same manner as that of the previous papers in this series.