How Sushi Went Global Summary

The topic of Week nine is the foodways of Japanese-Americans, and how they differ from Japanese traditions. To learn more about this, we were assigned four readings. The first one, “Japan: Japanese Food”, by Ayako Yoshimura explains the diffusion of Japanese foodways into America. She starts by describing how Japanese people entered the United States, which occurred when the Edo seclusion policy was nullified, allowing people to migrate in order to find work. A large percentage flocked to American soils where they were discriminated against. This continued through WWII, when the Japanese were herded into internment. It was not until the 1970’s that its popularity increased, which Yoshimura suggests is correlated with the intensification of the health-food movement, due to the healthful nature of Japanese food. She then describes the place of Japanese food in American culture, specifically sushi, which she believes is odd for Americans to enjoy. Traditionally Americans …show more content…
From this reading, it becomes clear that the demand for sushi could not be filled without the fish caught in New England and Spain. It also demonstrates how fishing jobs are affected by events half way around the world, showing the power of globalization and how it has changed the economy. This can be likened to the Yoshimura article, because it mentions how odd it is that Americans enjoy sushi so much. It is this odd affection of sushi that protected the tuna economy when the Japanese market slumped during the 1990’s. It is also applicable to the film “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”, where the Japanese fish market is shown. From reading this article, I have learned that most of the fish shown at the market most likely came from the North Atlantic, or possibly Australia. This shows how globalization affects foodways in multiple