Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
(77)Stove-maker.Whileherhusbandputsfinishingtouchestoatriplestove,thewife,with
baby on back, cuts off lengths of straw to be incorporated in the mortar.
Although women prepared the meals in the normal private household, professional
cooks were nearly always men, trained by a characteristically long apprenticeship. For
them the possession of a cook's knife of their own was a symbol of entry into the profes-
sion; they greatly cherished this knife and considered it as their basic and essential piece of
equipment if they set up on their own.
Foods eaten overtly for their beneficent effect on the health were things like rice-gruel,
a watery, easily digested concoction for invalids, and occasional game-stews as fortifiers.
There wasnomilk. Generally speaking, all therestofthedishes wereeaten forwhatmight
beconsideredasirrelevantreasons,suchastheattractiveness oftheirappearance,thethirst
theyinduced,ortheirrarity,eitherabsoluteorintheseason.Itistruethattastewasimport-
ant; with a few exceptions, such as
miso
and pickled vegetables, Europeans would have
found most Japanese foods far less highly flavored than those to which they were accus-
tomed. The more elaborate and delicate the food, the greater was the ceremony attached
to the eating of it. The
samurai
in particular received lessons in etiquette, and some mer-
chants aspired to elegant manners as well. The drinking of
sake
was accompanied in all
circles with a certain ritual. When drunk at mealtimes, it was served only during the first
part of the meal, and rice was not eaten until the drinking was over. In the home the wife
or daughter-in-law would see to the service of the
sake,
which came to the table in elegant
containers, and poured into each person's cup—holding about as much as an egg-cup—as
he presented it for filling. To do honor to a guest, a host would pass him his own cup and
fill it himself, and the guest might then return the compliment. On more festive occasions,
perhaps when a group of men were enjoying themselves in some place of entertainment,
one of their number might go round the assembly with a full jug and exchange drinks with
his companions, and they might persuade their hostesses to drink with them.
