South American development and transmission of dietary culture through Japanese migration

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K07995
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Agricultural science in rural society and development
• Research Institution: Nihon University
• Principal Investigator: KIKUCHI Koh 日本大学, 生物資源科学部, 准教授 (30325831)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 溝辺 哲男 日本大学, 生物資源科学部, 教授 (50592622) ; 中村 哲也 共栄大学, 国際経営学部, 教授 (80364876)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 食文化 / 移民

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study employed interviews with related parties and participatory fieldwork at restaurants serving Japanese cuisine in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina (Paraguay and Uruguay were not included due to public-safety concerns).
Its main findings are summarized as follows: First, according to Okinawa Kenjinkai organizations for people of Okinawan descent in the areas studied in each country, provision of meals has been omitted over the generations in annual functions that no longer are recognized in the migrant community. Second, restaurants operated by people of Japanese descent and serving Japanese cuisine are common in the countries that were destinations of Japanese migration. Third, everyday Japanese cuisine has been transmitted among migrant communities. Fourth, development of the Cerrado region of Brazil showed industrial clustering through the formation of a value chain for soybeans.

Free Research Field

農業経済

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、南米に苦労して生活の基盤を築き上げた日系移民において、彼らの出身先で培ってきた年中行事や通過儀礼を実施しているのか、そこで振る舞われる食事がどのようなものなのかを明らかにした。それにより日系移民のアイデンティティが確立されているのかを検討した。また、移民の家庭においては伝統的な食文化を次世代へ継承させているのかを検討した。