History of Japanese cuisine

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This article is part of the series
Japanese cuisine 日本料理
Regional cuisines Main article Nagoya Okinawa Yōshoku
Ingredients Bento Main dishes Desserts Noodles Sashimi Sushi
Preparation and cooking Stir frying Double steaming Red cooking
Utensils List of Japanese cooking utensils
Rituals and festivals Etiquette Kaiseki New Year
Japan portal Food portal
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This article traces the history of cuisine in Japan. Foods and food preparation by the early Japanese Neolithic settlements can be pieced together from archaeological studies, and reveals paramount importance of rice and seafood since early times.

The Kofun period (3rd to 7th centuries) is shrouded in uncertainty. Some entries in Japan's earliest written chronicles hint at a picture of food habits from the time of the formation of the imperial dynasty. When Buddhism became widely accepted with the rise of the Soga clan, a taboo on eating meat (especially mammals) began to be enforced, and became common practice, although wild game was still being taken by mountain people, and would be eaten by townspeople when the opportunity arose.

Treatises on ceremony, tax documents, and fiction allows one to make a list of food ingredients used, and basic preparation methods in the Heian period. However anything like recipes from the Middle Ages are a rare commodity in Japan or any country.

Records throughout Middle Ages may give some idea of the dishes being enjoyed, but do not give details such as to provide accurate recipes.

Once Japan entered the Edo period, there were rich records of foods and cuisine from commoners (i.e., non-samurai), who were largely literate, and produced a great deal of wood-block printed literature.