Abstract
Restaurant reviews specialize in providing information about dining out locally, and they can also contribute to national discussions about culinary identity. Five years after the launch of the first Michelin Guide in France in 1900, the earliest regular restaurant reviews started appearing in print in Japan; these too, sought to place dining out in a larger national – if not international – context. More than simply offering reports on where to go and what to eat, the magazine that printed Japan’s first restaurant reviews framed the ephemeral and personal experience of dining out as part of a national debate about the definition of good food. The first popular monthly about Japanese cuisine, Culinary Magazine (May 1905 to August 1907), valued restaurant meals much more than home cooking. Culinary Magazine, it will be argued, can be faulted for taking the losing side in a public debate it had initiated over whether restaurant cuisine was better than home cooking, but ultimately, that discussion is one that cannot be resolved and endures to this day in Japan where government ministries still proclaim the virtues of the housewife preparing washoku and gourmands continually pursue ever more refined versions of Japanese cuisine in Michelin-starred restaurants.
The author appreciates the comments of Benjamin Uchiyama and Alexy Simmons on this chapter.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
‘Tokyo Retains Gourmet Crown in Global Michelin Rankings’, Japan Times, 1 December 2015, accessed online from www.japantimes.co.jp.
- 2.
From issue number 1.5 (September 1905) to 2.2 (February 1906) Kuidōraku included an English table of contents, which used the title ‘Kui do Raku or Culinary Magazine’. Advertisements in the magazine make use of some English words, but the remainder of the monthly was in Japanese, so the value of the inclusion of the English table of contents was probably to make the journal look more cosmopolitan and international rather than appeal to English readers who would not otherwise be able to make sense of it. Kuidōraku magazine was revived from 1928 to 1941.
- 3.
Yomiuri Shimbun, 15 May 1905, morning edition, 1.
- 4.
Imai, ‘Ryōri zasshi’, 198.
- 5.
A few travellers commented on the food during their journeys. Yamazaki Eizan wrote Soba Road Diary (Soba dōchūki, circa 1830), a narrative of his visits to soba shops along the Tokkaidō and Nakasendō roads. With only a brief description of each establishment that included a poem, Yamazaki’s unpublished manuscript was more a testimony to the author’s love of soba than a review of the quality of noodle restaurants. Yamazaki, Soba dōchūki.
- 6.
Yaozen is arguably one of Japan’s most famous and exclusive, traditional restaurants. It opened around 1763 in Asakusa in the Edo period and remains in operation to this day.
- 7.
Regarding the discussion of restaurants in Soba Encyclopedia, see Rath, ‘Food Fights, But It’s Always for Fun in Early Modern Japan’.
- 8.
Oryōri kondate kurabe.
- 9.
For a discussion of culinary versions of parody fight cards and an image of one, see Rath, ‘The Tastiest Dish in Edo’.
- 10.
One hundred sen was equivalent to one yen. Yomiuri Shimbun, 14 January 1875, morning edition, 2 and 19 June 1875, morning edition, 2. The cost of a 70 sen meal was quite high compared to a serving of sukiyaki advertised for four sen at a restaurant in Shiba Hamamatsuchō in Tokyo in the same year. A steak at the same establishment cost five sen. See Ehara and Higashiyotsuyanagi, Nihon no shokubunkashi nenpyō, 157–158.
- 11.
Asahi Shimbun, 12 November 1879, morning edition, 4.
- 12.
Restaurants made the news for the events that took place there, rather than their daily operations, which were not considered newsworthy. Since these incidents varied, it is hard to find typical examples, but some stories from Yomiuri Shimbun include how a restaurant in Ueno specializing in bird dishes decided to close for the day after a crow flew inside and died, which was considered an ill omen (18 May 1875, 1); in 1883, a woman was arrested in a restaurant in Shiba in Tokyo for running away after failing to pay her bill at a grilled eel restaurant (15 September 1883, morning edition, 2); on 24 February 1894, four British sailors ate and drank their fill at a restaurant in Yokohama, caused a disruption and then fled, injuring six policemen who tried to apprehend them (26 February 1894, morning edition, 3); in another incident someone sustained light injuries during a fight at a restaurant in Asakusa when they were struck on the head with a sake flask (17 March 1901, morning edition, 4).
- 13.
Asahi Shimbun, 27 December 1883, morning edition, 3.
- 14.
The title of Murai’s novel was pronounced Kuidōraku when it first appeared in 1903, but he later advocated a different reading for the same initial kanji, calling his work Shokudōraku. See Kuroiwa, Shokuiku no susume, 19. Since the magazine chose the former reading for its masthead, that will be the one used here.
- 15.
Iida, ‘“Kuidōraku” ni okeru seiyō ryōri’, 34; Saitō, Nihon shokubunka jimbutsu jiten, 319; Ishida, ‘“Kuidōraku” sakka’, 45–46.
- 16.
The title, Pleasures of House-kee**, appears in an authorized biography of Murai written by Unkichi Kawai as preface to his translation of Murai’s novel Hana, A Daughter of Japan. See Murai, Hana, a Daughter of Japan, XL. Murai biographer Kuroiwa Hisako observes that this translation of the title of Kuidōraku expresses Murai’s goals that his novel was more than just an appreciation of gourmet food. Kuroiwa, “Kuidōraku” no hito Murai Gensai, 21.
- 17.
Murai, ‘Kome ryōri no kenkyū’.
- 18.
‘Jūnigatsu no ryōri koyomi’. The advertisement for Murai’s book appears in Kuidōraku 1.8 (1905), iii.
- 19.
Murai, ‘Daidokoro kokoroe uta’.
- 20.
Henshūshi, ‘Murai Gensaishi no katei to ryōri’, 50–55.
- 21.
The sequel, More Pleasures of House-kee** (Shokudōraku zokuhen), failed to win the same popular acclaim as the original.
- 22.
The column lasted for 6 years and was later republished as a series of four books under Murai’s wife’s name with a co-author. See Murai and Ishizuka, Gensai, vols 1–3; Murai and Ishizuka, Gensai fu** no ryōridan. Vol. 4. The co-author, Ishizuka Gettei was a relative who transcribed the conversation. See Kuroiwa, “Kuidōraku” no hito Murai Gensai, 252.
- 23.
‘Gekkan kuidōraku no hakkō’, Kuidōraku 1.1, 1.
- 24.
Murai, Kuidōraku, aki no kan, 271.
- 25.
‘Honshi no kairyō’, 3.
- 26.
Imai, ‘Ryōri zasshi’, 198.
- 27.
The chefs collaborated on a cookbook from the same publisher as Culinary Magazine. See Asai and Saitō, Miso ryōri nihyakushu.
- 28.
Rokusan**, ‘Tōkyō no ryōri annai (1)’, 77–82.
- 29.
Mishima, ‘Kashi hyōbanki’.
- 30.
Someone by the name of Sei Kyūrō published theatre reviews in 1904 in the literary monthly New Currents (Shinchō) and in 1908 in Letters Magazine (Tegami Zasshi), published by Yūrakusha, the same company that printed Kuidōraku; Zasshi Kiji Sakuin Shūsei Dētabēsu. Sei admits in one article that he hailed from Nagato, the northwest part of Yamaguchi prefecture. Sei, ‘Myō na umai mono annai (sono shi)’, 33.
- 31.
Sei, ‘Myō na umai mono annai’, 42.
- 32.
Sei, ‘Myō na umai mono annai (sono go)’, 47.
- 33.
Ibid., 51.
- 34.
Okamoto, ‘Myō na umai mono (sono nijū san)’, 72–73.
- 35.
‘Dokusha ran’, 2.13, 87.
- 36.
‘Dokusha ran’, 2.11, 86–87.
- 37.
‘Dokusha ran’, 2.3, 51.
- 38.
‘Dokusha ran’, 2.13, 87.
- 39.
‘Dokusha ran’, 2.11, 87. The second letter appears in ‘Dokusha ran’, 3.2, 89.
- 40.
‘Dokusha ran’, 2.14, 94–96.
- 41.
‘Dokusha ran’, 3.2, 89–91.
- 42.
‘Dokusha ran’, 2.3, 50.
- 43.
Ema, Hida no onnatachi, 1.
- 44.
‘Dokusha ran’, 2.11, 86.
- 45.
Murai, Kuidōraku, Aki no kan, 270–271.
- 46.
‘Shoku shikai’, Kuidōraku 2.1, 58–59.
- 47.
‘Kuidōrakukai’.
- 48.
‘Kuidōrakukai (shinnen hakkai)’, 6–10.
- 49.
‘Shoku shikai (koi no ryōri)’.
- 50.
Sakura, ‘Dotegui to kawamiso’, 25–26.
- 51.
‘Dai ni kai shoku shikai’.
- 52.
‘Ōsaka Nomikuidōrakukai’, 49–51.
- 53.
The author may be Saitō Rokusan. Articles about the club meetings included a list of names, but omitted magazine staff. Saitō was a frequent contributor to the monthly; so although his name did not appear, he may have attended.
- 54.
Rokusan**, ‘Kuidōrakukai to fu**’, 3–5.
- 55.
Yūraku, ‘Gochisō nasai’, 2.
- 56.
‘Dokusha ran’, 2.13, 87.
- 57.
‘Dokusha ran’, 3.2, 87–88.
- 58.
‘Dokusha ran’, 2.13, 87.
- 59.
‘Dokusha ran’, 3.2, 89.
- 60.
‘Dokusha ran’, 2.14, 95.
- 61.
‘Toku ni honshi no dokusha ni tsugu’, i–ii.
- 62.
As noted in Asahi Shimbun, the restaurant was slated to open in Kyōbashi near the Kabukiza theatre, and was a branch of an earlier establishment in Shiba-ku. Asahi Shimbun, 12 April 1907, 7.
- 63.
From 1928, Murai Takako wrote a cooking column for Ladies’ Review. Ishida, ‘“Kuidōraku” sakka’, 47.
- 64.
Hatanaka, Fashon fūdo, arimasu, 60, 77–78, 81.
Bibliography
Asai, Denzaburō, and Rokuzan Saitō. Miso ryōri nihyakushu: Katei jitsuyō [Two Hundred Recipes with Miso: A Practical Guide for the Home]. Tokyo: Yūrakusha, 1907.
‘Dai ni kai shoku shikai’ [The Second Meeting of the Food Trends Group]. Kuidōraku 2.3 (1906), 35–36.
‘Dokusha ran’ [Reader’s Column]. Kuidōraku 2.3 (1906), 50–51.
‘Dokusha ran’. Kuidōraku. 2.11 (1906): 86–88.
‘Dokusha ran’. Kuidōraku. 2.13 (1906): 87.
‘Dokusha ran’. Kuidōraku. 2.14 (1906): 94–96.
‘Dokusha ran’. Kuidōraku. 3.2 (1907): 89–91.
Ehara, Ayako, and Shōko Higashiyotsuyanagi. Nihon no shokubunkashi nenpyō [Timeline of the History of Japanese Food Culture]. Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan, 2011.
Ema, Mieko. Hida no onnatachi [Women of Hida]. Tokyo: Ōzorasha, 1998.
‘Gekkan kuidōraku no hakkō’ [On the Publication of the Monthly Culinary Magazine]. Kuidōraku 1.1 (1905), 1.
Hatanaka, Mioko. Fashon fūdo, arimasu: Hayari no tabemono kuronikuru 1970–2010 [Food is Fashion: A Chronicle of Popular Foods 1970–2010]. Tokyo: Kinokuniya Shoten, 2013.
Henshūshi. ‘Murai Gensaishi no katei to ryōri’ [Murai Gensai’s Home and Cooking]. Kuidōraku 1.5 (1905): 50–55.
‘Honshi no kairyō’ [Improving this Magazine]. Kuidōraku 2.11 (1906), 2–3.
Iida, Kiyoko. ‘“Kuidōraku” ni okeru seiyō ryōri no dōnyū ni tsuite’ [On the Introduction of Western Cooking in Kuidōraku]. Seikatsu Bunka Kenkyū 19 (2010): 33–50.
Imai, Miki. ‘Ryōri zasshi kara mita Meiji goki no shoku jōhō “Gekkan kuidōraku” to “Hōchō anbai” no hikaku wo chūshin ni’ [Information about Food in Late Meiji Period Culinary Magazines: A Comparison of Culinary Magazine and Kitchen Knife and Seasoning]. Nihon Chōri Kagaku Gakkaishi 35.2 (2002), 196–208.
Ishida, Ayū. ‘“Kuidōraku” sakka, Murai Gensai ni miru shōhisha kyōiku’ [Consumer Education as seen in Kuidōraku Authored by Murai Gensai]. Kyōto Shakai Kagaku Nenpyō 8 (2000): 31–50.
‘Jūnigatsu no ryōri koyomi’ [Cooking Almanac for December]. Kuidōraku 1.8 (1905), 36–43.
‘Kuidōrakukai’ [The Culinary Club]. Kuidōraku 2.1 (1906), 3.
‘Kuidōrakukai (shinnen hakkai)’ [The First Meeting of the Year of the Culinary Club]. Kuidōraku 2.2 (1906), 6–10.
Kuroiwa, Hisako. “Kuidōraku” no hito Murai Gensai [Murai Gensai, the Man behind Kuidōraku]. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2004.
Kuroiwa, Hisako. Shokuiku no susume [Advocating Food Education]. Tokyo: Bunshun Shinsho, 2007.
Mishima, Shōzō. ‘‘Kashi hyōbanki’’ [Record of Famous Sweets]. Kuidōraku 1.1 (1905): 49–52, 1.2: 10–18.
Murai, Gensai. ‘Daidokoro kokoroe uta’ [Ode to Kitchen Wisdom]. Kuidōraku 1.5 (1905), x.
Murai, Gensai. Hana, a Daughter of Japan. trans. Unkichi Kawai. Tokyo: Hochi Shimbun, 1904.
Murai, Gensai. ‘Kome ryōri no kenkyū’ [Research on Rice Dishes]. Kuidōraku 1.2 (1905), 1.
Murai, Gensai. Kuidōraku, Aki no kan [Kuidōraku, Autumn Volume]. Tokyo: Hōchi Shuppanbu, 1903.
Murai, Takako, and Gettei Ishizuka. Gensai fu** no ryōridan [The Culinary Instructions of Gensai’s Wife], Vol. 4. Tokyo: Jitsugyō no Nihonsha, 1912.
Murai, Takako, and Gettei Ishizuka. Gensai fu** no ryōridan: Tegaru jitsuyō [The Culinary Instructions of Gensai’s Wife: Informal and Practical], Vols. 1–3. Tokyo: Jitsugyō no Nihonsha, 1910.
Okamoto, Rokusen. ‘Myō na umai mono (sono nijū san)’ [Guide to the Unusually Delicious (No. 23)]. Kuidōraku 2.8 (1907), 71–73.
Oryōri kondate kurabe [Comparison of Restaurants]. Edo, 1853. Waseda University Kotenseki Database. www.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kotenseki.
‘Ōsaka Nomikuidōrakukai’ [The Drinking and Eating Club of Osaka]. Kuidōraku 2.3 (1906), 49–51.
Rath, Eric, C. ‘Food Fights, But It’s Always for Fun in Early Modern Japan’. In Tokugawa World, ed. Gary Leupp, forthcoming. New York: Routledge Press.
Rath, Eric, C. ‘The Tastiest Dish in Edo: Print, Performance and Culinary Entertainment in Early-Modern Japan’. East Asian Publishing and Society 3.2 (2013): 184–214.
Rokusan**. ‘Kuidōrakukai to fu**’ [The Culinary Club and Ladies]. Kuidōraku 2.8 (1906): 3–5.
Rokusan**. ‘Tōkyō no ryōri annai (1)’ [Culinary Guide to Tokyo (1)]. Kuidōraku 3.4 (1907): 75–82.
Saitō, Tokio. Nihon shokubunka jimbutsu jiten: Jimbutsu de yomu Nihon shokubunka shi [Dictionary of the People of Japanese Food Culture: Reading the History of Japanese Food Culture through People]. Tokyo: Tsukuba Shobō, 2005.
Sakura. ‘Dotegui to kawamiso’ [Ditch Eating and Bug Miso]. Kuidōraku 2.2 (1906): 25–27.
Sei, Kyūrō. ‘Myō na umai mono annai’ [Guide to the Unusually Delicious]. Kuidōraku 1.1 (1905), 41–49.
Sei, Kyūrō. ‘Myō na umai mono annai (sono shi)’ [Guide to the Unusually Delicious (No. 4)]. Kuidōraku 1.7 (1905), 30–39.
Sei, Kyūrō. ‘Myō na umai mono annai (sono go)’ [Guide to the Unusually Delicious (No. 5)]. Kuidōraku 1.8 (1905), 45–53.
‘Shoku shikai’ [Food Trends Group]. Kuidōraku 2.1 (1906), 58–59.
‘Shoku shikai (koi no ryōri)’ [Food Trends Group (the Cooking of Love)]. Kuidōraku 2.2 (1906), 50–53.
‘Toku ni honshi dokusha ni tsugu’ [Announcement to the Readers of this Publication]. Kuidōraku 3.9 (1907), i–ii.
Yamazaki, Eizan. ‘Soba dōchūki’ [Soba Road Diary]. In Soba zensho, ed. Niijima Shigeru, 181–210. Tokyo: Tōkyō Shobō, 1985.
Yūraku, Dō**. ‘Gochisō nasai’ [Make it Tasty]. Kuidōraku 2.8 (1906), 2.
Zasshi Kiji Sakuin Shūsei Dētabēsu [Index of Japanese Periodicals], zassaku-plus.com.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rath, E.C. (2017). For Gluttons, Not Housewives: Japan’s First Gourmet Magazine, Kuidōraku . In: Niehaus, A., Walravens, T. (eds) Feeding Japan. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50553-4_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50553-4_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-50552-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-50553-4
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)