{"id":10561,"date":"2023-05-04T10:06:27","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T02:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/?p=10561"},"modified":"2023-05-04T02:06:27","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T02:06:27","slug":"beyond-sushi-and-umami-curating-an-immersive-experience-through-japans-culinary-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/news\/2023\/05\/04\/beyond-sushi-and-umami-curating-an-immersive-experience-through-japans-culinary-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond Sushi and Umami: Curating an Immersive Experience through Japan\u2019s Culinary Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p><strong>IN BRIEF | 8 min read<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Find out how Associate Professor Emi Morita and Associate Professor Hendrik Meyer-Ohle from the Department of Japanese Studies at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences curate an immersive, experiential pedagogical experience that brings to life the politics, culture, history and religion of Japan through the lens of culinary culture.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<p>At the start of every term, Associate Professor Emi Morita, from the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Department of Japanese Studies<\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences<\/a>, asks students to name their favourite Japanese food. Sushi and ramen are usually the top contenders.<\/p>\r\n<p>What many of her students do not realise is that these two dishes originated outside Japan.<\/p>\r\n<p>Sushi, for example, traces its origins to the paddy fields of Southeast Asia, where people tried to ferment and preserve fish using rice. And ramen, which comes from China, became more popular in Japan after World War II, when the country faced a food shortage and received large quantities of wheat from the United States.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cWhat they think is Japanese food has very complex histories,\u201d said Assoc Prof Morita. \u201cWe cannot ignore such histories of culture, politics, business, and international relations.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>Her module, titled Itadakimasu \u2013 Food in Japan, has been running at NUS for the past 11 years. And of course, there is no better way to appreciate the complex history of Japanese culture than to get an actual taste of it.<\/p>\r\n<p>That is why a Japanese tea ceremony (<i>sado<\/i>) \u2013 where students get to partake in the ceremony led by instructors from Japan \u2013 has long been a highlight of the course, which emphasises immersive experiential learning that takes education beyond the classroom.<\/p>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_10569\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10569\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2023\/05\/js2-1024x576.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10569\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>The Japanese tea ceremony allows learning to transcend the classroom into the experiential realm, bringing to life various political, cultural, and social aspects of Japanese society.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<p>There is meaning and intent behind every step of the ritual \u2013 from the way people sit on\u00a0<i>tatami<\/i>\u00a0mats to the orientation of tea bowls and the exchange of bows. The decorations in the room, and the types of sweets served, reflect the time of year. Every tea master, dressed in traditional\u00a0<i>kimono<\/i>, serves\u00a0<i>matcha<\/i>\u00a0sourced from their favourite tea farm in Japan.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cBecause it has a lot of Zen Buddhist elements, the tea ceremony is not really explicitly \u2013 or verbally \u2013 taught, I don\u2019t want to explain it too much during the tutorial, because the students should feel something themselves by experiencing it,\u201d said Assoc Prof Morita, who added that the 45-minute session, held in the university\u2019s Japanese Studies Culture Room, consists of a heavily-abridged version of the full ceremony, followed by class discussion.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cThere is a certain way to pick up the utensils, and what to say, and how to bow. I emphasise (that they should think about) why there are such prescribed rules. For example, the (right) way to pick up chopsticks or pick up the tea bowl minimises the chance of damaging the precious object. And knowing how to bow, what to say, is about showing respect to others.<\/p>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_10568\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10568\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2023\/05\/js3-1024x576.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10568\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>The Japanese tea ceremony imparts knowledge not just about the ritual itself, but about social relations, the meaning behind every gesture, and an appreciation for culture it is situated in.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<p>\u201cYou situate yourself in the nexus of the social network, and think that you are here but you are also aware of the other people. You are here because other people are also here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>To see the World in a Grain of Rice<br \/><\/strong>Assoc Prof Morita and her department colleague, Associate Professor Hendrik Meyer-Ohle, have helmed the Itadakimasu \u2013 Food in Japan module from day one. Itadakimasu, which means \u201cI humbly receive\u201d, is commonly said before the start of a meal in Japan.<\/p>\r\n<p>While the two professors are the course coordinators, most of the classes are run by guest lecturers from different disciplines who share their insights on Japanese politics, religion, culture, and society through the lens of food.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cYou cannot really understand food culture,\u201d said Assoc Prof Morita, \u201cunless you look into history, politics and religion.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cWe wanted to create a larger image of Japan, and food was a vehicle to do that,\u201d added Assoc Prof Meyer-Ohle. \u201cWe are one of the larger Japanese departments in the world, especially in terms of the breadth of colleagues \u2013 (among whom are) historians (and researchers of) popular culture, business, politics, and society.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>Both professors have lived in Singapore for about two decades. Assoc Prof Morita, an applied linguist from Tokyo, has an especially deep affinity with food \u2013 her family runs a 75-year-old restaurant near Shinagawa selling \u201chome-style\u201d Japanese dishes. Assoc Prof Meyer-Ohle, who comes from the northwest German city of Osnabruck, wrote a PhD thesis on the introduction of supermarkets, convenience stores and modern retail formats to Japan.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Savouring the Taste of Umami<br \/><\/strong>Another hands-on feature of the course is a tasting session by monosodium glutamate (MSG) producer Ajinomoto. Students take part in a \u201cchemistry experiment\u201d where they mix solutions consisting of bonito (a type of fish) and\u00a0<i>kombu<\/i>\u00a0(kelp) to create the flavour of\u00a0<i>umami<\/i>, or a uniquely Japanese savouriness.<\/p>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_10567\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10567\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2023\/05\/js4-1024x576.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10567\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>The umami tasting sessions engaged the palates of students, encouraging firsthand learning through the gustatory senses.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<p>Assoc Prof Meyer-Ohle shares that students are encouraged to think critically about issues such as the \u201cMSG debate\u201d which includes criticisms that the popular flavour enhancer is bad for health.<\/p>\r\n<p>Claims about its negative health effects date back to\u00a0a letter published in the\u00a0New England Journal of Medicine in 1968 from a physician who suggested that the food he ate at Chinese restaurants led to symptoms such as headaches and heart\u00a0palpitations, coining the term \u2018Chinese Restaurant Syndrome\u2019.<\/p>\r\n<p>Subsequent studies, however, have failed to show a clear link between these adverse reactions and the flavour enhancer, and the US Food and Drug Administration considers MSG-seasoned foods to be \u201cgenerally recognised as safe\u201d. The term has since been criticised for being\u00a0pejorative and unscientific.<\/p>\r\n<p>Such negative perceptions were \u201cpartially motivated by anti-Asian sentiment at the time,\u201d said Assoc Prof Morita. \u201cWhat I emphasise during the lecture is that if you hear some kind of statement, you should always check who is saying it, and what is the political motivation behind it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>Besides tutorials, hands-on activities and readings, students also get the opportunity to engage in a debate on the controversial topic of whaling, challenging them to spar intellectually about real-life issues. They also have to write a reflective essay on their takeaways from the tea ceremony.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cThe course material is very fun, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s an \u2018easy\u2019 course,\u201d noted third-year undergraduate Isabelle Metzger, who is majoring in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/pol\/\">Political Science<\/a>. \u201cThe topics are very structured and very insightful. It has that academic rigour to it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>To fellow student Irfan B. Ibrahim, a third-year\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/psy\/\">Psychology<\/a>\u00a0major, the tea ceremony was a highlight of the course.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cWhat it is trying to do is pull you away from the mundane, into the ritualistic realm,\u201d he observed. \u201cThe concept is about\u00a0<i>ichigo ichie<\/i>, which means one meeting, one occasion: you should really cherish the moments you experience, because you never know when you\u2019ll get a chance of having it again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>He added: \u201cIt\u2019s a very enriching module. You don\u2019t just learn about food. You learn about life, about yourself, and even your own culture.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<h6>From participating in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, to lively debates and umami tasting sessions, students of the Itadakimasu: Food in Japan course are challenged to take their learning beyond the classroom. Find out how Assoc Prof Emi Morita and Assoc Prof Hendrik Meyer-Ohle from the Department of Japanese Studies at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences curate an immersive, experiential pedagogical experience that brings to life the politics, culture, history and religion of Japan through the lens of culinary culture.<\/h6>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IIqz_xZC_1o\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<p><em>This story<i> <\/i>first appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nus.edu.sg\/beyond-sushi-and-umami-curating-an-immersive-experience-through-japans-culinary-culture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NUSnews<\/a> on 3 May 2023.<\/em><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From participating in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, to lively debates and umami tasting sessions, students of the Itadakimasu: Food in Japan course are challenged to take their learning beyond the classroom. Find out how Assoc Prof Emi Morita and Assoc Prof Hendrik Meyer-Ohle from the Department of Japanese Studies at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences curate an immersive, experiential pedagogical experience that brings to life the politics, culture, history and religion of Japan through the lens of culinary culture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10568,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,34,1,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-departments","category-japanese-studies","category-uncategorized","category-visible"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10561"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10574,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10561\/revisions\/10574"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/jps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}