Post-war American Dietary Culture
Okinawa Before Reversion:
Just after the war, scarcity of food in burned and blasted Okinawa was much worse than in other prefectures. Emergency rations supplied by the occupying American forces - canned corned beef, lunchmeat, bacon, ham, sausage - were heavily slanted toward processed meats. For most Okinawan people, this was their first taste of such food. Nevertheless, they swiftly took to them. First of all, in this time of starvation or close to it, they lacked the luxury of choice. But the main basis for this swift adaptation to processed meats was simply Okinawa's history of meat eating. Lunchmeat especially suited people's taste and it was instantly incorporated into "Champuru" and other everyday dishes. Needless to say, it has now become virtually impossible to think of life without this food. Additionally, many older people like to have bread and coffee for breakfast. Local Kissaten style themselves as "coffee shops" and people drink "ice water," evidence aplenty of the many impacts of American dietary culture and usage still felt. Prior to Okinawa's reversion to Japan, Okinawa acquired a taste for American foods and dietary habits faster than mainland Japan. When families went out for the day, they stopped at a drive-in restaurant, a fast food store, or a steakhouse. Eating out meant mainly eating American-style food. Still today, foreign companies seeking to enter Japan first set up "antenna shops" in Okinawa to test the market.
Post-Reversion Okinawa:
With Okinawa's reversion to Japanese sovereignty, the availability of rice and seafood improved and a change in dietary habits began that has persisted to the present day. Izakaya (Japanese-style pubs) and sushi bars flourished. The increasing liking by Okinawans for Japanese food began at this time. However, the taste for American-style food has by no means disappeared. Ever since the Ryukyu Kingdom era, the Okinawan diet has been an international one. Adapting American ingredients into traditional Okinawa everyday dishes, skillfully using the flavors of mainland Japanese seafood not obtainable in Okinawan waters - things like these are what Okinawan culinary culture is good at. These culinary developments make one think anew of the vital importance of building bridges of peace to other countries.
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