Food Culture and Traditional Performing Arts in Japan

Food and cuisine in Japan as well as in Italy - and certainly not only in France - are culture. The importance of food is naturally vital and is therefore the foundation of the rites, in which offerings to the deities also take place. In Japan, gods are presented offerings of rice, foods from the seas and the mountains, drinks (sake), as well as flowers, in rituals. At the same time the performing arts; poetry, music and dance are also important in the rituals, dedicated to the divinities and to all the bystanders/audience on the occasion of rites and festivals. Professor Ruperti will therefore discuss food and drink, which are the basis of civilization and nutrition in Japan, in connection with traditional theaters: from nō to kyōgen, from kabuki to puppet dramas.