Japanese Food and Food Packaging with Katarzyna Cwiertka

In this episode, Katarzyna J. Cwiertka speaks with Satoko Naito to share her expertise on Japanese food and food packaging. The discussion deals with washoku (“Japanese food”), designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013, as well as the fascinating and interrelated histories of edible meibutsu (noted product of a particular site) and omiyage (souvenir) that developed alongside domestic tourism. Dr. Cwiertka's recent publications, discussed in the episode, include Branding Japanese Food: From Meibutsu to Washoku (with Miho Yasuhara, University of Hawai’i Press, 2020) and Too Pretty to Throw Away: Packaging Design from Japan (with Ewa Machotka, Museum of Japanese Art and Technology Press, 2016, available for download from her website https://www.cwiertka.com/).