Invited by the Taiwan Cultural Center (TCC) in Tokyo, author Chen Yu-jen (陳玉箴) attended an author talk at the Kinokuniya Shinjuku main store on Sept. 20 in Japan to introduce her book “Cultural History of Taiwanese Cuisine (臺灣菜的文化史)”.
In an effort to promote Japanese translations of Taiwanese books, the Taiwan Cultural Center in Tokyo invites Taiwanese authors each year to hold discussion sessions with Japanese translators or critics.
The event featured guest speaker Riho Isaka (井坂理穗), a professor at the University of Tokyo who specializes in contemporary South Asian history and South Asian cuisine. At the event, the two shared their research findings and discussed the relationship between food and culture.
Chen is a professor at the National Taiwan Normal University who is an expert on culinary history. She noted that Taiwanese cuisine has a rich history with contributions from various ethnic groups and classes of people throughout different time periods, and that the definition of what counts as “Taiwanese cuisine” is still changing to this day.