The Globalisation of Macrobiotics as Culinary Tourism and Culinary Nostalgia

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In Japan, macrobiotics did not gain recognition until the 1990s and only recently reached critical mass, mainly among housewives and fashionable young women.

“Meanwhile, in Japan, the diet known as 'makurobiotikku' or 'makurobi', transliterations from the English name, did not really achieve recognition until the 1990s, and has only recently reached critical mass, primarily among housewives seeking healthy and economic meals for their families, but also among the fashionable young female consumers mentioned above.11”

• cites [11]Not matched

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Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Japanese macrobiotic cookbooks and texts often cite increased consumption of beef, pork, butter, cheese, milk, and sugar in Japan.

“Japanese macrobiotic cookbooks and texts often cite the increased consumption of beef, pork, butter, cheese, milk and sugar in Japan.”

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When macrobiotics returned to Japan, culinary tourism was not a factor because the foods were common and the philosophies resonated with folk worldviews.

“When it recently traveled back to Japan, the aspect of culinary tourism associated with novel foods and food philosophies was not a factor, as the foods were common in the everyday pantries and the philosophies resonated with folk worldviews.”

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In Japan, macrobiotics became a forum for nostalgia, self-congratulation on Western adoption of Japanese culture, and expensive consumerist pastimes.

“Instead, in Japan, macrobiotics became a forum for nostalgia, for self-congratulation on Western adoption of Japanese culture, and for indulging in expensive consumerist pastimes.”

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Ishizuka adopted Western chemical language, asserting that health depended on the balance of sodium and potassium.

“Despite his nativist orientation, Ishizuka turned to the language of chemistry and Western science in his work on nutritional theory, claiming that a person's health was based on the balance between sodium and potassium”

• cites Cwiertka 2006, p. 65Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

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The proclaimed use of domestic organic vegetables by Mos Burger and the arrival of Natural Lawson, a major convenience store branch focused on organic natural food, shows that the macrobiotic style of eating has reached mass audiences in Japan, though not in the strict philosophical form Ohsawa intended.

“The proclaimed use of domestic organic vegetables by fast food chain Mos Burger and the advent of Natural Lawson, a branch of a major national convenience store that focuses on organic, natural food, demonstrates that the macrobiotic style of eating has truly reached mass audiences, although not in the strict and philosophical fashion intended by Ohsawa.”

May combine two claims. The quote only partly states this claim.

Japanese traditional foods used in macrobiotics were common in Japanese kitchens but rare in the USA, and Western followers treated them as symbols of countercultural macrobiotic identity.

“Ingredients, like miso, different seaweeds, umeboshi, gomashio sesame salt and azuki beans, were commonly found in Japanese kitchens but were rare commodities that embodied difference from mainstream food lifestyles in the USA.”

• Also stated in: § Culinary Tourism · plain

  “For Western followers, these unfamiliar food items became an important symbol of countercultural macrobiotic identity.”

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The success of macrobiotics abroad led to its reimportation into Japan, where it was received as a triumphant return of traditional home-style foods that had won Western approval.

“Success abroad eventually brought reimportation of the diet to Japan, where it represented a triumphant return of traditional, homestyle foods that met with approval with from the West.”

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Shindō fuji held that human bodies are transformations of the natural world, and in practice it meant eating foods available locally, an early version of the local foods movement.

“Shindō fuji expressed the idea that human bodies represent the transformation of the natural world: soil, air, water and vegetation support human life.In practice, this saying meant that people should eat things available where they live, an early articulation of the contemporary local foods movement.”

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Although the primary audiences differed during macrobiotics' introduction-hippies in the West versus housewives in Japan-the messages of recently published Japanese and English books appear to be converging.

“While the primary audiences tended to differ during macrobiotics' introduction in the West and Japan, i.e. hippies vs. housewives, the messages of recently published books in Japanese and English seem to be converging.”

• AssumptionThe authors state this as an assumption: Culinary tourism in the West and culinary nostalgia in Japan are distinct phenomena.

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A popular book by Dr. Anthony Sattilaro credited the macrobiotic diet with curing his prostate cancer, and interest in macrobiotics as a cancer cure surged.

“A key factor was a popular book by Dr. Anthony Sattilaro entitled Recalled by Life: The Story of My Recovery from Cancer.20 Satillaro, president of Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia, primarily credited the macrobiotic diet for curing his prostate cancer.21 The book was translated into numerous languages and interest in macrobiotics as a potential cure for cancer surged.”

• cites [20]Not matched

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• cites [21]Not matched

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Compared to 1950, Japanese people eat nine times more meat, seven times more eggs, and nineteen times more dairy products.

“Compared to 1950 the Japanese eat nine times more meat, seven times more eggs and a whopping nineteen times more dairy products.33”

• cites [33]Not matched

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Today macrobiotics has achieved a size and critical mass in Japan that it never held in the West, becoming more mainstream and viable through a proliferation of macrobiotic food stores and cooking classes.

“Today, macrobiotics has reached a size and critical mass in Japan that it never really held in the West.Eating macrobiotic has been made more mainstream and viable through the recent proliferation of macrobiotic food stores and cooking classes.”

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Both sides of the Pacific now emphasize convenience and consumerism, presenting macrobiotics as producing youth and beauty with little sacrifice or inconvenience and without need for pseudo-religious or long-term commitment.

“Both sides of the Pacific now focus on the convenience and consumerism that pervade contemporary life, on how macrobiotics produces youth and beauty with little sacrifice or inconvenience.There is no longer need for pseudo-religious or long term commitment.”

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As Japan recognized the West's high regard for this form of traditional Japanese cuisine, macrobiotics rose in Japanese consciousness and estimation, largely because of Western endorsement, as illustrated by a 2006 book title.

“As Japan began to realize the high regard the West held for this form of Japanese traditional cuisine, it rose in the Japanese consciousness and estimation.Its emerging popularity was due, in no small part, to this endorsement by the West, as aptly illustrated in the title of a 2006 book World Acknowledgement of the Wisdom of Japanese Cuisine: The Story of Macrobiotics (Sekai ga mitometa washoku”

• cites [67]Not matched

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• cites Mochida 2005Not matched

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In the late 1950s and 1960s, during Japan's rapid economic recovery, the most receptive audience for Ohsawa's brown rice regime was the West, especially the USA, where Cold War Orientalism converged with a counterculture seeking Eastern philosophy and natural foods.

“In the late 1950s and 1960s, during Japan's high-speed economic recovery, the most receptive audience for Ohsawa's religiouslyinfused brown rice regime was the West, particularly the USA.During this era, there was a convergence of Cold War Orientalism, the term Christina Klein has applied to the cultural fascination with Asia in American popular culture, with a rising counterculture seeking”

• cites Klein 2003 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

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Western engagement with macrobiotics emphasized exoticism, semi-mystical practices, and fetishised foreign macrobiotic foods.

“Putting aside this desire for a medical cure, however, I describe the Western relationship with macrobiotics as culinary tourism because it often emphasized exoticism and semi-mystical practices like physiognomy and it fetishised foreign macrobiotic foods.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.

Ohsawa transmitted this gender ideology to the West, where liberal macrobiotic followers adopted it despite the era's feminist movement.

“Ohsawa transmitted this gender ideology to the West, and it was adopted by liberal macrobiotic followers despite the feminist movement of the time.”

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As macrobiotics gained momentum in the West, critics emerged; Beth Ann Simon died under Diet No. 7; the FDA closed the New York center and the Ohsawa foundation; and the AMA condemned the diet as dangerous.

“In early 1965, a young woman named Beth Ann Simon died of malnutrition and dehydration under Diet No. 7. Macrobiotics came under scrutiny as 'the killer diet' as the US Food and Drug Administration closed the New York center and the Ohsawa foundation, and the American Medical Association condemned the diet as 'dangerous.' 19”

• cites [19]Not matched

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Recent Western texts tend to downplay specific health claims, saying only that the diet promotes general good health and has helped some recover from illness, while Japanese texts often retain claims of miraculous cures and present case studies of improved physical and psychological conditions or increased radiance and beauty.

“While the latest Western texts tend to downplay specific health claims, generally claiming that the diet promotes general good health and has helped some people to recover from illness, Japanese texts often retain claims of miraculous cures, sometimes presenting case studies of physical and psychological conditions improved by the diet or cases of increased radiance and physical beauty.60”

• cites [60]Not matched

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• cites Okada 2007, pp.55-70Not matched

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Japanese macrobiotics has two central aphorisms, Shindō fuji and Ichibutsu zentai, which stress local food and frugality and derive from folk knowledge.

“Two fundamental, and oft-repeated aphorisms of the Japanese macrobiotic movement are Shindō fuji (body and earth are not two, but one) and Ichibutsu zentai (use the whole body of each item).These aphorisms, emphasizing local food and economizing are derived from folk knowledge on food and frugality.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

The Meiji government fostered the meat industry, helped establish canneries, and encouraged production of non-traditional vegetables.

“The Meiji government fostered the new meat industry, helped to establish canneries and encouraged the production of non-traditional vegetables including carrots, lettuce and parsley.39”

• cites [39]Not matched

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Members of the Shokuyōkai considered Ohsawa's deviations from Ishizuka's original teachings improper and requested his resignation.

“Many in the Shokuyōkai society believed that Ohsawa's departures from the original teachings were inappropriate and he was asked to resign.45”

• cites [45]Not matched

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In 1973 Ohsawa complained that his diet was less popular in Japan than in the West: he had only fourteen or fifteen students in Tokyo and his macrobiotic stores mainly served foreigners, while in Belgium his talks drew huge crowds and Brussels alone had ten stores and three restaurants.

“In 1973 he complained to Japanese audiences about the lack of popularity of his diet in Japan in comparison with the West.In Tokyo he had only fourteen or fifteen students and the primary customers for macrobiotic stores were foreigners.But in Belgium, crowds for his talks were immense and in Brussels alone there were ten stores and three restaurants.”

• cites [68]Not matched

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• cites Sakurazawa 1973Not matched

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Ishizuka promoted traditional Japanese diets centered on brown rice, whole grains, and native organic foods including sea vegetables and beans, because he believed Westernization had caused Japan's physical and spiritual decline.

“He saw diseases like tuberculosis and beriberi steadily increasing, alongside egotism and materialism, and advocated a return to traditional eating patterns stressing unpolished rice and other whole grains and organic native foods like sea vegetables and beans.”

• cites [44]Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

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Ohsawa conflated macrobiotics with East Asian religious traditions and consciously associated it with Zen to capitalize on Zen's popularity in America.

“In the text, Ohsawa conflated macrobiotics with all East Asian religious traditions, claiming his approach was 'five thousand years old' and that Confucius and Buddha, among other sages, taught macrobiotics.27”

• Also stated in: § Culinary Tourism · plain

  “The association with Zen was, again, a conscious attempt to capitalise on the popularity of Zen in America due to the work of beat generation poets and writers like Jack Kerouac.”

• cites [27]Not matched

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Ohsawa promoted exoticised, Orientalised qualities of macrobiotics and associated his diet with Asian culture to appeal to Western fantasies.

“Many of the exoticised, Orientalised qualities were in fact promoted by Ohsawa.He boldly drew associations between his diet and various aspects of Asian culture that had captured the Western imagination.”

• Also stated in: § Culinary Tourism · plain

  “In short, he freely and often misleadingly took advantage of Western interest in tradi-tional Japanese and 'Oriental' culture to gain greater credibility for his own work.25”

• cites [25]Not matched

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Macrobiotics is still new to Japan but has reached a third generation of Western leaders who are much less concerned with culinary tourism, perhaps because ingredients like miso and seaweed are now common; they de-emphasize Eastern philosophy and focus on health, beauty, and convenience.

“Macrobiotics is still quite new to Japan, but it has already reached a third generation of Western leaders who are far less concerned with culinary tourism, perhaps because ingredients that were once rare, like miso and seaweed, are now commonplace.They tend to de-emphasize Eastern philosophy and focus instead on health, beauty and convenience.”

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In left-leaning communal macrobiotic houses in the USA from the 1960s, a married couple led the house, with the wife cooking and the husband mastering philosophy, a division justified by the idea that women are more yin and thus suited to food preparation.

“Despite such charges, in the communal left leaning macrobiotic houses established in the USA beginning in the 1960s, a married couple directed the house, with the wife responsible for cooking and the husband for mastering the philosophy.These gendered divisions were rationalised through the notion that women were more yin and this was better suited to preparing food.53”

• cites [53]Not matched

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• cites Alexander 1972Not matched

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Ohsawa's and Ishizuka's food beliefs drew on Japanese folk wisdom rooted in Buddhist and Confucian teachings, including Kaibara Ekken's advocacy of rice as a staple, seasonal vegetables, and avoidance of meat and overeating; Ohsawa incorporated these into twentieth-century macrobiotics.

“Many of Ohsawa and Ishizuka's beliefs about food came from Japanese folk wisdom, which was in turn based on a variety of Buddhist and Confucian teachings.Kaibara Ekken (1630-1714), a popular seventeenth century Neo-Confucian philosopher wrote at length on food issues: advocating rice as a staple, limiting oneself to seasonal vegetables and avoiding meat and overeating.48 Ohsawa incorporated these”

• cites [48]Not matched

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• cites Tucker 1989Not matched

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The macrobiotic movement was rooted in military concerns, and Ohsawa modeled his diet on the works of Ishizuka Sagen, a Meiji-era army doctor.

“The macrobiotic movement was actually rooted in these military concerns.Ohsawa closely modeled his diet on the works of Ishizuka Sagen (1851-1909), a medical doctor who served in the Japanese army during the Meiji period, beginning in 1873.”

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Macrobiotics' use of physiognomy as a diagnostic tool emphasized difference from the West and likely provided a novel, exotic experience for Western adherents.

“Another aspect of macrobiotics that emphasized difference from the West was its use of physiognomy as a diagnostic tool.”

• Also stated in: § Culinary Tourism · hedged

  “Such physiognomic approaches to health likely provided a novel and exotic experience for Western adherents accustomed to modern medical diagnosis and treatment, as apparent in 1972 New York Times story on macrobiotics that featured a physiognomic analysis of Richard Nixon.”

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Prince Iwakura Tomomi mandated Westernisation of the Japanese diet, and French cuisine was prescribed for Imperial palace public occasions.

“Following the Iwakura Mission, launched in 1871, which sought to better understand the civilisation and culture of the West, Prince Iwakura Tomomi, mandated Westernisation of the Japanese diet.”

• Also stated in: § Culinary Nostalgia · plain

  “French cuisine was dictated for all Imperial palace public occasions.38”

• cites [37]Not matched

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• cites [38]Not matched

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Dietary Westernisation in Japan followed the forced opening of the country in the mid-nineteenth century and accelerated sharply in the postwar period.

“Dietary Westernisation followed the forced opening of Japan in the midnineteenth century.Western foods and material culture began to gain acceptance and this trend sharply accelerated during the postwar period.”