Influence of Religion
There are many cultures that prohibit eating a particular meat because of religious beliefs. For example, Hindu forbids eating beef because the religion considers the cow to be familiar to the god. Also, Islam forbids eating pork because the pork is thought to be an unclean meat.
Another example can be found in China. Taoism believes that curing disease and eating food are for maintaining health and restoring energy. Also, the purpose of cooking food is for perennial youth and long life. Therefore, some kinds of herbs which are good for your health, are sometimes found in food.
Japanese dietary culture has also
been influenced by religious beliefs. The 2 major religions, Buddhism and
Shinto, had an effect on Japanese people and their food preferences. Buddhist
priests
abstained from eating meat and fish because of a
prohibition on destroying life in Buddhist teachings. Eating meat and fish were
equally prohibited. Also, some emperors and shogun throughout Japanese history
prohibited eating meat because they had been influenced by the teaching of
Buddhism. Therefore, if people ate meat they had to hide from the law. However,
people started to eat meat again after the Meiji Restoration occurred in 1867
since western food was introduced by visitors from Europe. At this time, meat
was served in most Japanese restaurants.
Japanese alcoholic drink relates to Shinto. Whenever there is a festival, Japanese alcoholic drinks are served to the Gods. Before the introduction of rice, ancient Japanese people made alcoholic drinks from cereals. However, after people started to cultivate rice, they also started to make rice wine called "Sake". The percentage of alcohol in Sake is about 15%.
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Shojin-ryori Shojin-ryori has a deep meaning. The dish was introduced by a high priest after the priest came back from China during the Kamakura Period. "Shojin-ryori" was cooked by Buddhist priests and was considered part of their Buddhist training. The point of Buddhism is the limitation of destroying life. Also, eating is equal to the taking of life since the plant is also alive. Therefore, people, who are cooking and eating, should know the value of food and should not waste food at all. Even though the "Shojin-ryori" is a vegetarian diet, some vegetables such as the onion, garlic, and leek cannot be used in the dish because they are too strong. Also, no cooking spice is used in preparing the dish, because each vegetable already has a unique taste. People who cook the dish make the best use of the flavor of the vegetables. The "Shojin-ryori" is thought to be the mother of the Japanese table style, because Kaiseki -ryoti and Hucha-ryori were based on "Shojin-ryori." Also, "Shojin-ryori" is one of the reasons why there are many recipes for vegetable dishes in Japan. Today, the Shojin ryori is popular because of the desire for a good balanced nutrition. Shojin ryori is a lightly-flavored food using the protein and oils that are found naturally in vegetables. Now, some traditional Japanese restaurants and temples in Japan have "Shojin-Ryori" on the menu.  |
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