CULTURE: Homogenous Japan Changing, If Slowly

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Dec 13 1998 (IPS) - When South Korean Kim Ok first settled here 25 years ago with her Japanese husband, she cried for days while searching for familiar food from her homeland.

“It was especially bad when I was pregnant,” she recalls. “I cried and was sick so much that my husband finally (invited) my mother.”

Kim, 46, adds that her worried mother decided to leave her clothes behind just so she could pack her suitcase with as much Korean food as possible. But today, Kim is able to buy the spices and pickles her mother uses – once considered too smelly and hot by the Japanese – at the local supermarket. She also is able to get rare delicacies of neighbouring countries such as turtle soup and stewed dog meat, which can be had at some shops that cater exclusively to foreigners like her.

“What’s even better is that the shops are run by Koreans or people from other countries and it’s great to stop by and chat about home or exchange recipes while I shop,” Kim says happily.

In an era of globalisation, the availability of products from all over the world should be no surprise. But this has been a relatively recent phenomenon in Japan, which has long prided itself for its homf