The addition of ¡°washoku¡± to UNESCO¡¯s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage has government and food industry officials hoping the recognition will provide a boost to traditional Japanese food not just overseas but also at home, where its popularity is waning.
¡°The biggest issue was that washoku may be fading from our psyche, and I felt a sense of alarm,¡± said Isao Kumakura, president of Shizuoka University of Art and Culture and head of the panel of experts advising the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry on Â鶹´«Ã½ campaign for the UNESCO listing.
¡°My wish was that the listing would create a chance for the Japanese to refocus on Japanese food and culture,¡± said Kumakura, who specializes in Japanese cultural history and the history of the tea ceremony. ¡°We are eating less rice, and less domestically produced ingredients. We should eat more domestically produced foods.¡±
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