Japanese festival foods

More than 100 foods associated with 21 Japanese festivals were examined in two populations: elderly Japanese living in Yamaguchi and Hiroshima (n = 154) and elderly Japanese‐Americans born in Yamaguchi or Hiroshima, currently residents of Los Angeles, California (n = 54). More Japanese‐Americans than Japanese respondents considered rice cakes, sushi, and vegetables mixed with meat/chicken as foods traditionally associated with New Years Day, Adult Day, Girl's Day, and Cherry Blossom Festival. In contrast, significantly more Japanese than Japanese‐Americans reported no foods were associated with these holidays, or with Star Festival, Festival of Joy (Obon), weddings, or for the 60th birthday (Kanreki). Japanese respondents regularly associated six foods with New Years Eve, spring equinox, and celebrations for 3, 5, and 7 year olds: buckwheat noodles, candy, devil's tongue herb, sardines, whale meat, and glutinous rice coated with sweet red‐bean paste. While Japanese‐American respondents continued to eat traditional foods on most Japanese festival days, they evolved in the United States a mixed cuisine pattern that blended Japanese, Western, and Chinese ethnic foods when celebrating Christmas, Thanksgiving, and weddings.

Key words:

• Ethnic foods
• festival foods
• Hiroshima
• Japan
• Japanese‐Americans
• Los Angeles
• Yamaguchi

Notes

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