From Yokohama to Amsterdam: Meidi-ya and Dietary Change in Modern Japan

Katarzyna J. Cwiertka

Contemporary Japan, 2001, vol. 12, issue 1, 45-63

Abstract: In this paper I will focus on the early history of Meidi-ya, a leading shipping and trading company in modern Japan that specialized in merchandizing luxury Western foods and liquors. Established in 1885, Meidi-ya provided an important means for the spread of Western food culture among the Japanese upper and upper-middle classes, and played a pioneering role in introducing modern promotional strategies to Japanese retailing business. From around the turn of the century, the company expanded its role from that of an importer of foreign products to that of a retailer of domestically produced foods. A few years later, it also became involved in food processing. By entering these new domains, Meidi-ya began to play an increasingly important role in the domestication of Western food in Japan.By analyzing Meidi-ya's marketing strategies, I will elucidate its role in the introduction and popularization of Western food in Japan, and the modernization of Japanese retailing and food processing. However, my aim is not to focus solely and simply on food. By examining changing consumption habits and the various socioeconomic processes involved, I will also discuss the role of enterprises like Meidi-ya in producing new class identities and status sensibilities in Japan.

Date: 2001
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/09386491.2001.11826867 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:rcojxx:v:12:y:2001:i:1:p:45-63

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/rcoj20

DOI: 10.1080/09386491.2001.11826867

Access Statistics for this article

Contemporary Japan is currently edited by Isaac Gagni

More articles in Contemporary Japan from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().