OISHINBO: JAPANESE CUISINE
Product Description
Follow journalist Yamaoka Shiro on a rich cullinary adventure as he hunts for the “ultimate menu”.To commemorate its 100th anniversary the heads of newspaper Tozai Shimbun come up with a plan to publish the “Ultimate Menu”. The assignment is given to journalist Yamaoka Shiro, the protagonist of the series. With the help of a female coworker, Kurita Yuko, Yamaoka starts off on what can only be termed an epic saga to find the dishes hat will go into the “Ultimate Menu”.The subject of volume 1 is Nishon ryori, or Japanese cuisine, featuring stories on subjects like how to prepare a proper dashi (broth that is one of the building blocks of Japanese cooking), or matcha (the powdered green tea used in the tea ceremony), or red snapper sashimi. The subjects of the later volumes are: 2) sake, 3) fish, 4) vegetables, 5) rice dishes, 6) udon, and 7) izakaya or “pub” food.To commemorate its 100th anniversary the heads of newspaper Tozai Shimbun come up w… More >>
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I discovered Oishinbo over 20 years ago and I even owned the first three volumes of the original Japanese version. I long hoped to see this manga
series or the TV anime version in English, and now we finally have this excellent manga in English.
Everything about this series, from the careful attention to high quality Japanese ‘washoku’ cooking to the contentious enmity between Yamaoka and his father Kaibara, make this one of the most enjoyable manga series aimed at adults out there.
That said, I do have just one complaint. Each English language volume is a “best-of” series.
With dozens of volumes published in Japan,
and the unwillingness of most Americans to invest in any series consisting of such a large collection, I can understand Viz’s choice of going “a la carte,” though the first volume should have reproduced the
original Japanese first volume of Oishinbo since it introduced the cast, prepared readers for the quest to find the ultimate menu, and introduced
readers to the father/son conflict between Yamaoka and Kaibara.
Despie my complaint, I’m happy to see even parts of this series finally in English and hope you all find each volume as rewarding a read as I do.
Let’s hope Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim takes notice and brings over the anime series
Now, go order this book!
The Oishinbo ‘a la carte’ collections are an excellent way to get your Japanese food fix while reading manga. All the major elements of Japanese cuisine are represented along with some classic stylistic devices – the feud between the older traditional father and rebellious son, love interests, and plenty of showdown battles.
There reaches a point in your development when you’re no longer just an otaku young adult, and you can get sick of continuous fantasy battles and power beams and magic etc etc… Oishinbo manages to retain the exciting elements of Manga with more real world content – food, drink, opinion and criticism. It’s like a lively debate with your friends over the dinner table on the best food and restaurants
This collection covers the ‘basics’ of Japanese cuisine, including sashimi, tea and table manners as well as giving some background as to the feud between the protagonist and his father.
Each book also contains a recipe or menu item that is featured in one of the stories, and a personal article from the writer, both of which add to the context of the stories and add to your enjoyment. This edition contains two intriguing sashimi styles I can’t wait to try.
Each story informs and entertains. I’m a devoted collector.
I was glad to find this series is being brought out in English now. The translation seems good and it is as enjoyable as the originals were years ago. I like that the format is still ” Japanese Style”, read from back to front. A really fun way to get an quick education in Japanese cuisine. Helps when traveling, too, to have at least read about the different foods that are available in Japan.
“It’s not very common in other countries to eat fish raw. And since it’s raw, people might think it doesn’t take a lot of skill. But for fish or meat to be eaten raw, a great deal of technique is required. We should be proud that Japanese cuisine has developed such delicious ways to prepare sashimi.”
This is a very “meaty” manga. All puns aside, it has a definite message and carries a fascinating look at the Japanese culture and cuisine – which are very closely intertwined.
We follow the story of a father and son who have had a feud with one another. Both are Japanese chefs in their own right, the son being more of an amateur learning and the father one of the finest in the country. They repeatedly run into one another causing much drama, which is hilarious and perfect and really gives the story a lot more character.
The artwork for the characters is fairly typical, from my limited experience in manga. It’s not quite as beautiful as some others that I’ve seen but the drawing of the food is so precise and delicate, I could almost taste it.
If this is your first Manga, be prepared to read it a little differently. You being at the end of the book and read from right to left, rather from left to right. It took me a few pages of getting used to, but I adapted well and enjoyed reading the story so much I forgot how I was reading it.
Through this first volume I’ve learned the correct method of cutting fish to several ways of serving seabream, learned how the food should be enjoyed, how chopsticks are made and why they are such a valued cultured item. I’ve learned how rice should be made and that it is a delicate, difficult task to make it well.
There were a few moments in this volume that really spoke to me. The first was the passage I quoted above. The second is out of the middle of the book in a section where the author is speaking to us, the readers. He says:
Eventually, I realized “What is Japan”, “What does it mean to be Japanese?” “What is Japanese cuisine?” are all meaningless questions. It is the spirit of washoku that brings everything together as one in harmony.
So, one day, looking around my dining table at several Australians enjoying a meal at my house, I realized that what we were all eating wasn’t “Japenese food” of “Japanese cuisine,” but washoku: a cuisine that brings people together in harmony and gives them pleasure. Here in my house in Sydney, I eat washoku every day.
Reading that made me want to experience that feeling more often. It made me want to change every mealtime to one of washoku. A time for pleasure, harmony and togetherness. I think that’s something we all want to experience on a daily basis.
Even the most die-hard of literary ‘foodies’ will find much delight in this first volume of Tetsu Kariya’s comic-book “Oishinbo” series. Forget about the characters and meager, unifying storyline for the time being. The beauty of this series is the sheer amount of detail conveyed in its bite-sized, easily digestible, graphic novel format. Concepts such as what comprises the ‘essence’ of Japanese cuisine oftentimes gets muddled in erudite and pretentious articulations when presented in text-essay format but here, with simplistic illustration and breezy flow from one panel to another the reader quickly absorbs complex and detailed concepts with very little effort.
This book will certainly appeal to foodies first and foremost. Whether you have a detailed understanding of Japanese cuisine or are a neophyte curious to learn more there is much to be gleaned within for both parties. Do not be turned off just because of its comic format, at 276 pages this book is information dense and you may be surprised to discover the efficiency of the medium in presenting its subject matter.