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Short abstract:

Through political ecology of Japanese pickles, this paper examines knowledge politics of microbes in the past 150 years. Recent case studies of tsukemono producers and fermentation enthusiasts reflects practices of fermentation as a space for grounding an alternative epistemology and ontology.

Long abstract:

The paper examines the political ecology of tsukemono or Japanese pickles as a launching point to explore the knowledge politics of microbes and fermentation. Tsukemono making has undergone tremendous changes in the last 150 years driven by imperialism, industrialization, and globalization. Institutional feeding had a large impact on them as Japan’s industrialization and militarization since the late 19th century necessitated cheap and durable foods to be fed to factory workers and soldiers. The tsukemono use by military and large-scale textile factories transformed the once-localized and craft production of tsukemono. The post-war technological shifts in canning, packaging, and flavoring have also changed the way tsukemono was made, transacted, and consumed. Retail landscape and consumer attitudes also shifted to frame microbial liveliness of tsukemono as undesirable characteristics. Technical knowledge of pasteurization and heat control of microbes enabled certain kinds of tsukemono to dominate the market that are not fermented, acculturating consumers with different taste and sensory profiles. Yet in the last several decades, fermentation enthusiasts are also exploring different ways to do science that move away from Cartesian dualism. I will discuss more recent case studies of tsukemono producers and fermentation enthusiasts who are using fermentation as a space for grounding an alternative epistemology and ontology. Drawing on the idea of “awai” or in-between, I theorize such mischievous interventions emergent from embodied practices and experiences of fermentation.