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Episode: JAPAN

“Cook or Die – The Warrior Code of Japanese Cuisine”

A young woman is murdered and a civilization of people is lost forever. And all because of the food they eat. But why is this?

In ancient Japan the food they ate was very different to what they eat today, and so were the people that lived there. They looked more like ancient Aztecs than Asian, and their islands were in fact a garden of Eden laden with the best and most abundant foods found on earth. And it was because of this food culture that the ancient peoples of Japan were wiped out by successive invasions from Korea and China over 2,000 years ago.

This led to a food revolution more profound than anywhere else in the world, and one which ended in the formation of a great yet war-like Empire. But we also see how the food of Japan has been dictated by religion and mysticism, and how food is used by the wealthy as a sign of status and power. And it is this mix of history, religion, class, war and obedience to artistic design that gives us modern Japanese cuisine.

We begin at some of the oldest archaeological sites in Japan, southwest of Osaka on the sea of Japan, where the original Japanese people, the Jomon, lived. Then we move to ancient invasion sites in the same area which proves that new people coming in also brought with them new types of food and new ways of preparing food – the origins of authentic Japanese cuisine. Then we see how the warrior state Kingdoms of Medieval Japan were formed as a result of the control of food, stopping at the archaeological site of the first Emperor’s palace to see what the ancient rulers ate.

Finally, we finish this episode with the infamous 40 course banquet which covers the entire gamut of modern Japanese cuisine.

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