Paper short abstract:

In 2005, Japan launched a food education campaign called shokuiku. Through tracing the historical roots, I argue that the food education campaign represents a form of governmentality, which seeks to improve the nation's dietary habits and links national identity to foodways.

Paper long abstract:

The enactment of the Fundamental Law of Food Education in 2005 led to the launch of a nationwide food education campaign called shokuiku, which is now an integral part of school lunch programs and nutritional guidelines for adults. A closer look at the campaign reveals that shokuiku is a historical concept and needs to be seen in a broader context of culinary politics that aimed to enable Japanese citizens to cope with the demands of modernity but also pursued a nationalistic agenda. The early shokuiku teachings originated in the Meiji period and viewed food education as part of a holistic educational concept, which stressed self-cultivation, discipline, familial conviviality, an appreciation of local food but also included foreign foodways. In contrast, the current shokuiku campaign advocates a return to an indigenous - and supposedly healthier - food fare as a way to contain globalization. Through tracing the historical roots of shokuiku, I argue that the revival of this educational concept represents a form of governmentality, which seeks to improve the nation's dietary habits and simultaneously evokes a strong sense of national identity linked to foodways.