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Meshi, a personal history of Japanese food, Katherine Tamiko Arguile

eng

contains biographical information

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Meshi

Katherine Tamiko Arguile

a personal history of Japanese food

For Katherine Tamiko Arguile, the Japanese food her mother cooked was a portal to a part of her that sometimes felt lost in the past. In Japan, food is never just food: it expresses a complex and fascinating history, and is tied to tradition and spirituality intrinsic to Japanese culture. Exploring the meals of her childhood through Japan's twentyfour sekki (seasons), Katherine untangles the threads of meaning, memory and ritual woven through every glistening bowl of rice, every tender slice of sashimi and each steaming cup of green tea. With rich, visceral prose, vivid insight and searing emotional honesty, Meshi ('rice' or 'meal') reveals the culture and spirit of one of the world's most beloved cuisines

Nanigoto ni mo shun ga aru = To everything, a season -- Usui = Rainwater -- Keichitsu = Insects awaken -- Shunbun = Spring equinox -- Seimei = Pure and clear -- Koku = Grain rains -- Rikka = Beginning of summer -- Shoman = Lesser ripening -- Boshu = Grain beards and seeds -- Geshi = Summer solstice -- Shosho = Lesser heat -- Taisho = Greater heat -- Risshu = Beginning of autumn -- Shosho = Manageable heat -- Hakuro = White dew -- Shubun = Autumn equinox -- Kanro = Cold dew -- Soko = Frost falls -- Ritto = Beginning of winter -- Shosetshu = Lesser snow -- Taisetsu = Greater snow -- Toji = Winter solstice -- Shokan = Lesser cold -- Daikan = Greater cold -- Risshun = Birth of spring

adult