著者

ホプソン ネイスン HOPSON Nathan

出版者

名古屋大学大学院人文学研究科附属超域文化社会センター

雑誌

JunCture : 超域的日本文化研究 (ISSN:18844766)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.11, pp.30-45, 2020-03-26

---

This article explores the history and politics of American-funded food demonstration buses (“kitchen cars”) in postwar Japan. Their express mission was to transform the Japanese national diet. I make two primary arguments. First, at least in the short to medium term, the kitchen cars were a win-win for both the United States and Japan. On the one hand, Japan benefited because the kitchen cars taught Japanese women how to cook cheap, nutritious, mostly easy dishes to improve the health of their families and the nation. On the other hand, these menus were planned specifically to increase consumption of American agricultural products, especially wheat, soy, and corn. For US agricultural and political interests, in addition to supporting the economic recovery and political stability of a Cold War ally, the kitchen cars—along with the school lunch program—were instrumental in teaching Japan to accept and consume American produce. My second argument concerns the reasons for the kitchen cars’ success. I identify the following two factors: staffing by mostly female professional nutritionists, who combined authority with approachability for the kitchen cars’ main audiences of middle-aged, married women; and the kitchen cars’ mobility, which allowed them to reach even remote villages and hamlets.