Session Name: Food and Plants as Social Objects in Contemporary Asian Foodscape: Place and Power
3 - Seri's 21st century Re-emergence in Local Foodways, Culinary Tourism, and Place Branding
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
14:00 – 15:45 (GMT+7)
Presentation Abstract This research uses the case study of seri from Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture to examine the complex phenomenon of heirloom crop varieties re-emerging in contemporary contexts, in the wake of trends like culinary tourism, local food movements, and local government backed place branding efforts. While seri (Japanese parsley or water dropwort) has a history of being grown in Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture for 400 years or so, by the late 20th century it had become a marginalized local food eaten almost exclusively during the winter holiday season. Through marketing efforts and social media outreach by networks of farmers, chefs, local officials, and food activists, seri has become an ingredient celebrated as local culinary heritage and eaten in seri hot pot dishes from September through May. But this is not all: Ishinomaki City has now registered a geographical indication for its seri (Kahoku seri), branding consultants are helping Miyagi Prefecture to expand the market further, and restaurants are selling seri in foods from ramen to hot dogs. Drawing on Kirshenblatt-Gimblett’s work on intangible cultural heritage and museums as well as recent work on different ways that communities articulate the relationship between people, land, food, and taste, this research attends to the self-conscious production of heritage foods in contemporary contexts. It also argues that while the proliferation of place brands for food and agricultural products in Japan creates some confusion for consumers, it is inclusive and gives producers a degree of agency.
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