Japanese Food and Food Packaging with Katarzyna Cwiertka

Summary

In this episode, Katarzyna J. Cwiertka speaks with Satoko Naito of the University of Turku to share her expertise on Japanese food and food packaging. The discussion deals with washoku (“Japanese food”), designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013, as well as the fascinating and interrelated histories of edible meibutsu (noted product of a particular site) and omiyage (souvenir) that developed alongside domestic tourism. Dr. Cwiertka's recent publications, discussed in the episode, include Branding Japanese Food: From Meibutsu to Washoku (with Miho Yasuhara, University of Hawai’i Press, 2020) and Too Pretty to Throw Away: Packaging Design from Japan (with Ewa Machotka, Museum of Japanese Art and Technology Press, 2016, available for download from her website https://www.cwiertka.com/). Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) based at the University of Copenhagen, along with our academic partners: the Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the University of Turku, Asianettverket at the University of Oslo, and the Forum for Asian Studies at Stockholm University.

About NIAS: https://www.nias.ku.dk/

Transcripts of the Nordic Asia Podcasts: https://www.nias.ku.dk/nordic-asia-podcast

Your Host

Satoko Naito

Satoko Naito is a docent of Japanese studies at the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku, Finland. Research interests include Japanese literature, cultural history, and gender studies.

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