Japanese domestic life
Present-day mass production of everything from electrical appliances to instant and frozen foods has made the urban Japanese kitchen similar to any in the West. The main difference is size. In Japan, refrigeration and storage space are minimal for several reasons: the prevalence of small-size homes, the preference for foods purchased fresh daily, and the custom of entertaining guests outside the home.
But Japanese women are well trained in the arts of the kitchen, in
decoration, flower arranging, poise and good manners. Many are graduates
in home economics, belong to cooking clubs, and love to watch food shows
on television. But since most entertaining is done outside the home, and
since very often the Japanese wife is not even sure if her husband will be
home for the evening meal, most home cooking is of a much simpler nature
than that found in restaurants. Yet the great care taken in the appearance
and arrangement of both the table decor and the food itself is never
neglected.
Harmony and identity with nature is a constant theme. Metal is used in
cooking and cutting utensils out of necessity. But when it comes to
wrapping foods - meats are often wrapped in large bamboo leaves - serving
or eating foods, the elements of nature are preferred. Dishes and
chopsticks are made of bamboo, ivory, or lacquered woods. Soup spoons are
not used: larger pieces are picked out with chopsticks and then the broth
is sipped from the bowl.
Japanese homes have a serene simplicity and so does the cooking. Hidden
behind sliding shutters are folding furnishings and decorations that can
transform the atmosphere and even the use of one room. In the same way one
basic cooking method can make flavor differences in many different foods.
Or reversed: one type of food cooked by many different methods will seem
like a totally different dish. Again, a Japanese dining room with low
table and soft cushions can be pushed to one side as mats, blankets, and
pillows transform the room into a bedroom.
In the same way the tokonomo, which is a small alcove in the main
room, is completely transformed by changing the wall hanging and the
flower arrangement to give one a sense of another time or season. All of
this is part of the complex artistry and creativity entwined with a
oneness with nature that in Japanese hands comes out looking so naturally
simple.
Every Japanese kitchen has a colorful collection of teacups, soup and rice
bowls, handled teacups and saucers (for western coffee and tea), china
plates, platters and tiny dishes of different shapes to be used for
special clipping sauces. Chopstick rests made in a variety of materials
and shapes complete the table collection. For decoration, many styles and
colors of mats, cloths, and vases for arrangements of blossoms, twigs, and
leaves add that special Japanese touch.
Kitchen utensils include a variety of sharp, strong knives and cleavers.
Many have specific uses such as vegetable-cutting knives, fish knives,
etc. The mortar and pestle is probably one of the oldest utensils and is
used for grinding herbal medicines, tea leaves, and pounding rice for New
Year's cakes. Other basics include a wooden spatula (rice paddle) to ladle
rice, bamboo lattice mats for molding sushi, sieves made of wood and
horsehair, bamboo baskets for steaming, draining, and straining, a tub for
cooking rice, graters, ladles, pots and pans.