Japanese American Ethnic Group: Culture and Food Practices - Term Paper Example

Japanese American Ethnic Group: Culture and Food Practices Introduction The selected ethnicity for this paper is Japanese America. I have always been interested in finding out more about other groups from different countries. However, Japanese caught my attention for several reasons. First, I have learnt from history that initial Japanese Americans came from the lower positions in their home country. I therefore needed to know why that is so. Besides that, I sometimes confused Korean, Chinese and Japanese and this also caught my attention. In general, my full attention was on the history of Japanese. It has always been the case that people travel from one place to another for many reasons such as escape from disasters, the search for greener pastures, to conquer, for trade purposes, in search of better education, or for tourism and adventure (Sam and Berry, pg. 1). My interest was to find out the reason for Japanese migration to America. This also inspired my choice of the ethnic group. These migration activities have more often than not influenced changes in both the immigrants and the host population. The original life patterns as well as the culture of the concerned group (immigrants) have been altered following these activities. This may be attributed to the culture and ways of life of the dominant population, the Americans. My focus was on what impact the American culture has had on the Japanese American given the culture of Japanese is different from American culture. Moreover, this study would give me the contemporary insight on acculturation given that “acculturation is as old as recorded history”, argues Sam and Berry (pg. 1). The effect of immigration transforms an individual as well as their tradition. It was important for me to find out the real transformation of Japanese Americans in the American society by comparing their tradition pattern of life and the pattern of life they have adopted in the new arena. I also wanted to know how Japanese Americans perceive the American culture such as the kind of foods they eat or if they retain their tradition foods and eating habits. Due to my belief that most Japanese that migrated to America were merely from lower positions, and especially farmers, I wanted to know more about their favorite foods, their preferences, their custom and belief. Aside from that, I wanted my interview to involve someone I knew at a personal level since this would encourage easy conversations and sincere expressions, and my Japanese American friend was a perfect empirical case study. This would give my research significance based on detailed pragmatic study, valid findings and sound conclusions. I have also been interested in exotic things because they enchant me. I had more friends from countries such as China, Germany, Australia and other developing countries, but not from Japan. Japan is a country that is near China. Despite the fact that both countries have similarities, they have different culture and eating habits. Additionally, Japanese have various kinds of delicious foods that are not available in Chinese community. Aside from that, I needed to learn more about the differences between traditional Japanese and Japanese Americans. On that naught therefore, it is crucial to find out the background of the Japanese ethnic group and their past suffering, and how this had an impact in their way of life ranging from eating habits, ways of worship, favorite habits and abandoned habits. This will help me shed light on their culture and demonstrate my understanding of diversity and variety. Method The interviewee, Vic and I are close friends. We have known each other for a long time. He currently works in Michigan. We met recently at his home since he had invited me to have Japanese dinner with him. As we conversed over several things, I explained to him about my culture class assignment and the need to interview him. He seemed enchanted by my interview and assured me that he was looking forward to it real soon. We agreed on the day, time and interview period. My target was to interview him for approximately thirty minutes, however, he allowed me to interview him for as long as I wanted. We set the interview day to be on Saturday when he is free most of the time at 9.00 AM. Despite the fact that he was my close friend, I was able to get the best out of the interview. Vic is a king of a person that listens closely and does not appreciate someone completing his sentences or ideas until he lets them out himself. He is able to maneuver easily from cordial to professional relationship and vice versa. His cooperation and expression were effective and instrumental to the interview. I used a structured interview in the process and also allowed for more information that would be helpful. I wrote down the responses to the interview questions. The information collected at the interview will be used to demonstrate pragmatic personal experience and its relationship to the literature review regarding Japanese American culture. My sources will also utilize the data that was not mentioned by Vic in the interview and that is exuded by him anyway. This will give me insight into discussing the responses of Vic and associate them with Japanese culture and to an extent of which Vic had adapted to the American culture. This interview will be the source of my primary data that would give me empirical discussions and conclusions about the life practices of immigrants such as Japanese Americans and to what extent do they adapt to the American culture or retain their traditional culture. The information will educate the readers about understanding of different cultures and how extrovert behavior is important especially when you create a rapport with an immigrant. It was also meant to inspire them to explore about diversity for a comprehensive judgment. In the end, I expect to achieve a comprehension about Japanese American culture, their food practices and habits, as well as their religion both in the USA and in Japan. Results and Discussion Personal History Vic was born in Japan. He moved to the United States when he was fifteen years old. He is an American immigrant and his ethnicity is Japanese American. Religion Vic is a Japanese Christian. He decided to be a Japanese Christian at the age of eight. According to San Francisco Public Library (pg. 44), Japanese people can tolerate theologies and their religion is not institutionalized to level of in which Americans have. However, this does not imply that they are unreligious. In fact they are flexible and practical when it comes to religious outlooks. The San Francisco Public Library (pg. 44) holds, “Most of the original immigrants were Buddhists or Shinto but substantial numbers became Christians partly out of feelings that being such would better help them in adapting to American society.” Vic may be one of those who felt the same way thus the need to convert. Besides that, most immigrants in the US originate from Western Japan where activities of Christian missionaries were leading four centuries back (University of the Potomac). Food Culture Vic’s daily foods entail vegetables such as cabbage, cucumber, and celery; miso soup, rice and seafood. He visits a Japanese restaurant once a week to eat fried fish and Salmon Sashimi. In a month, he eats dumplings. More often than not, he eats miso soup and seaweeds at his home. Rosdahi and Kowalski (pg. 375) argue that Japanese Americans’ foods have little fat from animals and that they prefer proteins from soybean card which they call tofu. They add that Japanese people eat a lot of vegetable including bamboo shoots, seaweed and bean sprouts. Many a times, their meals entails soup, fish, pickled or fresh vegetables as well as tea. At breakfast, they commonly take rice gruel. This clearly explains the choice of foods by Vic whose origin is Japan. Additionally, at the restaurant, Vic eats Tuna hand-roll and sashimi. Most of the foods Vic eats are traditionally ate in his original country. These include sushi- toro, sashimi, tamago, nori, rolls, and ikura (Essman). Vic also eats some American foods such as hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza. This shows that he also appreciates the culture of American society. Besides, Counihan (pg.27) argues that foods such as hot dogs, ice cream, pizza and hamburgers are fundamental to accept the behavior of adolescents in the US irrespective of their origins; young individuals are deeply aware of a specific way, then, these forces drive towards homogeneity. Through learning of such food behavior, the young people become alike sociologically; however, it is not very clear if they become culturally alike. Besides that, rice is Japanese staple food and it can be served with any meal. Moreover, soybean and fish products are Japanese major dietary protein sources. Tofu (soybean curd) is the most used product. Japanese Americans seldom eat meat; they eat vegetables more than the Americans themselves. Edible seaweed is well-liked in their meals. Their vegetables are often cooked slightly to retain the nutrients and crispness (Lassiter, pg. 141-142). The rice-based culture of Japanese people followed the initiation of cultivation of wet rice in Asia from about 2000 years back. The rice custom is served with fish and vegetables or any other sea products. This tradition reached a very complicated Edo period (1600-1868) form and it currently remains centrality of Japanese meals (Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pg. 2). He eats his traditionally prepared ethnic group foods on a weekly basis. He usually attends a Japanese mass after which he goes to have Japanese food with his Japanese ally. He takes Japanese lunch with his friend either at home or at the restaurant. Watts (pg. 225) argues that most Japanese people maintain share heritage aspects. Despite the fact that some folk customs may be abandoned due to the dynamic change of generation and immigration communities, some folk ways prevailed to the contemporary world. Distinctive folk traditions and other unfolded practices in the contemporary Japanese Americans span numerous genres of cultural and individual appearance. Amongst these include tea ceremony, maintaining their social group and foodways like sushi as expressed in Vic’s diet. “Most Japanese Americans believe in the holistic concept of health…” argues Lassiter (pg. 141). Most of Japanese Americans believe in the future. With regard to this, they tend to undertake preventive measures that would curtail them from realizing their future. Amongst these measures include proper diet. This is the reason for their preference of healthier food such as white meat- fish; vegetables- bamboo shoots, seaweed and bean sprouts; and soups. Vic does not attach his religious beliefs to his eating habits. Also, he considers crayfish and dolphin inedible. It has been proven by Japanese scientists that small whales and dolphins are enormously contaminated by mercury. Mercury attacks the nervous system and the heart. Given that most Japanese people are future-oriented and value their health, they are likely to avoid the intake of crayfish and dolphin. He does not eat octopus often times although his ethnic group people do. He eats live octopus seldom times. The sushi that modern people are used to- vinegared rice in combination with raw shellfish and fish- that was developed in Tokyo Japan in the beginning of 19th century. Thus, the culture of consuming raw items is enshrined in Japanese tradition (Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs pg. 2). He only eats live octopus based on his preference. Since Vic believes that crabs cannot be eaten together with their shelves, he does not consume roasted baby crabs. Moreover, he considers shark and lamb high-status items foods. Typically, Vic eats four meals a day. These are breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. According to the Superior Design Inc, Japanese people typically have three major meals: breakfast- miso soup and rice, lunch- rice, fish noodles among others and dinner. Since tea is popular in their cuisine, they tend to take tea throughout their meals or once a day. When Vic’s work exceeds till late hours, he eats five meals in the day. Furthermore, Vic does not fast. His eating pace is slow. He sometimes carries bento at work. When he eats he uses chopsticks. His family does not serve anyone first before the others. However, Vic holds that when he is married, he may serve his baby first. When he eats his meals he adheres to rules: taking off shoes before a meal is served at home; at the beginning of the meal, one needs to alert others, “I am eating right now, thank you”; and also, while eating noodles, he and his family eat loudly to indicate the delicacy of noodles. According to San Francisco Public Library (pg. 45), Japanese American norms are cemented in the Japanese culture. Generally, Japanese are more often than not sensitive to groups. They are sensitive to the activities around them while interacting with other people. This sensitivity is transferred even in activities such as eating. Therefore, the Japanese Americans, on retaining the culture, are likely not to talk while eating. In addition, Bloch attests that the Japanese unique culture is characterized by general respect for other individuals, politeness, harmony living and genuine apology following their wrongdoing. It is significant to the Japanese people that the right thing is done. They use chop sticks to eat their foods. Their table etiquette is usually accompanied by “Thank you”. Nonetheless, during Japanese meals, Japanese express their ‘thank you’ before their meals unlike the Americans who express their gratitude after the meal. The meals of Japanese people and their staple food rice are eaten using chopsticks. The use of chopsticks is accompanied by rules such as “no sticking of chopsticks on any food or pointing them at something or someone” (Lassiter, p. 142). Food is not allowed to be passed using chopsticks. I find Japanese people faithful to their table rules. Special Family Moments and Culture Vic and his family celebrate spring festivals in major holidays. He finds spring festivals accompanied by fascinating things and that these are opportunity for him to spend time with his family. The special foods served during these holidays include red bean rice-cake soup; blessing bag: tofu, meat; soba noodles with sauce; as well as oden: radish, chick, meat balls among others. Easton and Ellington (2015) agree that during major holidays, family members, friends and neighbors are engaged in visits and that the special foods served include: kuromane (black beans), konbumaki (seaweed roll), nishime (stock cooked vegetables), sashimi (raw fish), red snapper cooked, kamaboko (fish cakes) and kaxunoko (herring eggs) among others. Spring season is a time when almost everyone in Japan is fascinated to experience after cold days of winter. Nature allows people to experience warmth, colors, happy sounds and green environment. Japanese find these holidays fascinating because the holidays allow Japanese children and family at large to learn the language of Japan and Japanese culture through Japanese songs (Yoon, pg. 31). This tradition is more often than not retained amongst the groups of Japanese Americans. Moreover, most Japanese Americans cement their transplanted traditions attained from Japan in their celebrations during major holidays such as the New Year. Easton and Ellington (2015) hold that Japanese Americans maintain their original tradition by celebrating the New Year’s Day in a way that Issei did in Japan following the traditions of Meiji-era Japan. Based on acculturation, Japanese Americans are allowed to be Christians in the USA based on their preference and even establish citizenry. This was not the case with the Issei community who faced myriads of restrictions from the USA government including exclusion from occupation, ownership of land, and attainment of US citizenry (Easton and Ellington, 2015). The present Japanese Americans, as exemplified by Vic, are permitted to learn English and attain USA citizenry so as to fit in the American society mainstream. Despite attaining some of the American culture values and practices, Japanese Americans still retain a significant level of their homeland traditional practices as exemplified in their celebration, their frequent eating manners (use of chopsticks), their retention of staple food (rice) and table manners among other practices. Vic sums up by telling that Japanese like tea and seafood a lot and most of their meals are accompanied by tea. Sometimes, tea is used as a cooking ingredient. Generally, Japanese people like eating raw foods, due to their future concern regarding health as explained earlier (Rosdahi and Kowalski, pg. 375). One cannot find lamb easily in the Japanese market. Japanese people hardly take meat due to health concerns (Lassiter, pg. 141). Conclusion In conclusion, I was delighted that I was able to interview Vic. I have learnt a lot of things that are pretty different from other cultures I know. Japanese American is notably a unique ethnic group. The interview with Vic shed light on the traditional aspects of Japanese American origin. I needed to know the types of foods and the practices adopted by Japanese Americans and why they preferred certain types of foods over the others. Well, my answers were comprehensively answered. Japanese Americans must be the healthiest ethnic group. They are optimistic as argued by Lasitter that they look into the future and adopt preventive measures that would keep them going. Amongst these measures include a healthy diet. At the centrality of Japanese Americans’ meals are vegetables and white meat- fish as well as soup. They even dismiss foods such as crayfish and dolphin inedible. They are informed about the health concerns regarding certain foods. Even in a foreign country, they manage to retain their traditional culture. They maintain their table etiquette as practiced back in Japan; they consume rice, which is Japan’s staple food among other practices stated. I also learnt that their eating intervals should be a learning platform for other individuals especially those who skip meals. Their eating manners are also exquisite. They show respect for the people around the table and for the activity that is underway. They even express their gratitude prior to eating to notify the surrounding persons of what they are doing, so that interruptions are minimized at best. The significant transformation that noted from the interview was about the transformation of Vic to Christianity. Christianity is a minority religion back in Japan. Vic’s courage to transform to Christianity is intriguing. This piece taught me another attribute about Japanese Americans; they are flexible and bold in tolerating theologies. This, according to my findings, is attributed to the fact that they were influenced by missionaries or they find it easier to adapt to the American society when they are Christians. All in all, I find Japanese Americans strongly tied to their homeland’s traditions despite the modern dynamics of globalization and the greatest American surrounding influence. \\ References Bloch Lyudmila. World Class Business Etiquette: New York Etiqutte Guide. Retrieved March 30, 2015 from Read More