2023-06-07 18:19:53
Japan to the challenge of cuisine (and tourism) for vegans e vegetarians. It seems a contradiction, but the Land of the Rising Sun it is one of those where those who follow a diet that does not allow food of animal origin, direct or indirect, find it more difficult to bring home the calories necessary for sustenance. A problem which, thanks to the linguistic difficulties, becomes even more difficult to solve for an international tourist who follows those diets. It almost seems a contradiction in the land of the great Shinto and Buddhist monasteries; in the archipelago that venerates nature and slowness – today, it is true, infected by the frenzy of a hi-tech society, but in a very particular melange that can only exist there and have its own coherence -. An oxymoron for that culture that has handed down i sacred deer of Nara and the temples with jagged paths of red doors that cross the woods and in some cases even reach the sea; for that society that has brought to the twenty-first century one of the world’s lightest and most life-sustaining diets. Of course, there’s a flip side as well. Sushi and centuries-old fishing tradition in general – including whales – show another side of the coin. However, you want for that common feeling – wrong, even biologically – which in many cases does not put fish and terrestrial animals on the same level – to the point that there is also the pescatarianism, which allows the consumption of fish products and/or aquatic invertebrates – both for the extensive use that the Japanese culinary tradition makes of vegetables and foods of plant origin. Definitely, think of the archipelago dominated by Monte Fuji as one of the least accessible places for those who choose an animal free board, it is not an immediate synapse for most.
The Japanese Paradox
It could be defined Japanese paradox – the reference is to French paradox, that of a population, the French, who live a long time despite the relatively high use of red meat and wine – the status of a community which is among the longest-lived on the planet despite a diet rich in fish and meat, and which it doesn’t even economize on fried foods. And precisely the Japanese culinary tradition – so different from any other, as unique, from every point of view, the Rising Sun presents itself to anyone who sets foot there for the first time – has become over the last few years one of the main tourist attractions of the Japan, also and above all for those arriving from geographically and culturally remote areas. At least for the omnivorous majority of humanity and global tourism.
But in recent times, and in particular now that international tourism has taken off again, and that ideas are being sought in every corner of the planet to attract guests and make up for lost time as much as possible, Tokyo sees, precisely in the culinary tradition, or at least in that which has now become “mass”, one of its possible Achilles heels and tries to remedy it.
Tokyo, the vegan way to the Japanese culinary tradition
The extra difficulty for tourists
For those who have never visited the archipelago, Japanese cuisine is far from limited to sushi and sashimi. There are not only other types of dishes, but also catering types: grilled, fried, pasta. In any case, however, it is extremely unlikely to find places where you can consume food completely free from foods of animal origin. The search, in itself improbable, becomes prohibitive for a foreign tourist. Although over the years things have improved a lot in this regard, still today, as one moves away from Tokyo – and from starred restaurants – it becomes increasingly unlikely to find road signs, signs, and menus, written in a language other than the various forms of kanji. And spoken English is less widespread than you think. One of the classic situations that you may find yourself facing in a restaurant is a menu in kanji only, at best accompanied by drawings or photographs of the courses, and nobody speaking a language other than Japanese.
From all this arises, in Tokyo, one of the great challenges of the post-pandemic: to create a form of traditional local cuisine that is vegan and vegetarian-proof. But the road ahead is long. Tina Bui, 36-year-old vegan from San Francisco – he tells the France Presse news agency that he greatly appreciated the “meat free” version of the karaagethe classic fried chicken, that the vegan restaurant Masaka Izakaya of the Japanese capital offers a version based on soy meat. But he adds that all-plant food options remain slim, compared to the United States, and that what is found is “barely enough to survive” on a short trip.
Tokyo, prove da metropoli “veggie friendly”
Ninna Fujimotoof the Tokyo Metropolitan Government he explains that the city is trying to help tourists find the best possible accommodation, also thanks to the expansion of the diversity of the food offer, including vegetarian cuisine. The city publishes a guide to vegetarian restaurants, offers subsidies to restaurant owners who apply for a “veggie friendly” certification and has included two chefs, vegan and vegetarian, among its “tourism ambassadors”.
One of them is Saido’s Katsumi Kusumoto, which offers vegan versions of classic Japanese dishes, including a grilled eel created with tofu and vegetables. “In Tokyo there are many Michelin-starred restaurants, the highest number in the world – she tells AFP in a place where there is no free place – but, compared to other cities, vegan and vegetarian ones are very few”. “It is sad that so many people are excluded from the city’s haute cuisine circuit”, concludes the chef, who honors his role as ambassador by posting theoretical lessons and practical demonstrations of vegan cooking on social media”.
Projects for the “green” kitchen
Haruko Kawanofounder of the non-profit VegeProject Japanis in turn engaged in an effort to implement more “inclusive” forms of cuisine in Tokyo. “Many restaurateurs are convinced that creating vegan dishes is very, very difficult – he says. “This is because in Japan there are few vegetarians and vegans, which makes it more difficult to know their needs and their desires”. ingredients such as dashi, the fish broth used to give flavor to foods that, without that seasoning, would be 100 percent vegan.”There are excellent dashi products made without the use of animal ingredients – adds Kawano -. If only cooks would try them, and see how good they are, they would very likely be able to use them to create delicious, authentically Japanese dishes.”
VegeProject has recently participated in a project to transform the city of Ikahoin the region of Gunma, about 150 km north-east of Tokyo, in a model location for potential vegetarian and vegan tourists. Other cities are launching similar initiatives. One of them is Sapporothe capital of theHokkaidowhose tourism promotion committee has posted a video series about its vegetarian restaurants and cafés on the web.
The monks’ cooking school
In Japan there is no precise quantification of the phenomenon of vegetarianism-veganism. The data, few and inhomogeneous, indicate that only a small percentage of the population adopts this style of life and consumption. Still, the concept is all but new in the country, where Buddhist vegetarian cuisine, “shojin ryori,” has been adopted for centuries. Nowadays it is mainly served in temples, in some specialized restaurants. And now in a cooking school installed at Kamakuraa seaside resort about sixty kilometers south of Tokyo, just beyond Yokohama. To the workshop, l’esperta Mari Fujii he demonstrates to even strangers how to make kenchinjiru – a vegetable sauce – and other side dishes. “Among the participants we have vegetarians – she says – but also people interested in the philosophy and culture that are at the origin of this diet – says Fujii, widow of a Buddhist monk.
The (temporary) conversion in reverse
Being a vegetarian in Japan, despite recent efforts, remains a challenge. Ashley VanGol, PR manager of Izakaya Masaka is convinced that Tokyo can “definitively” become a metropolis of culinary cultural “diversity”, on a par with the great Western capitals. “It has already improved a lot in recent years,” he adds, recounting that, for example, many restaurants have begun to offer one or two vegetarian courses.
It would be nice – it should be added – if everything could happen without the slightest loss of that identity – even culinary – which makes Tokyo one of the few world metropolises where, when you enter the downtown, you continue to feel you are in Tokyo, and not in the indistinct blob of glass, concrete, logos and similarly decorated human masses, in which one immerses oneself in the capitals in name and in fact of every corner of the globe.
A uniqueness that is so strong, even in the kitchen, that it can happen that a vegetarian – told Afp the Austrian tourist Laura Schwarzl – decides to temporarily abandon her principles. She confessed to having given in to a “very special” culinary offer. “As soon as I leave Japan, she will become a vegetarian again.”
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