HuiQin Huang

ENGL 21002

Shana Creaney

4/2/20

Research Proposal: Japanese knife culture

Exploring the development of Japanese kitchen knife culture in America.

1. THE PROBLEM:

 This research project aims to explore the development of Japanese kitchen knife culture in America. The United States is a country of immigrants, so here you can feel the cultural diversity of the world. Tolerance, integration, common development and progress among different cultures are embodied in all aspects of life, including knives differences. Western chefs primarily used thicker and durable French and German knives that were readily available and popular in the market. In contrast, Japanese knives were not so widely known, and everything from maintenance to use was different. In order to investigate the ways in design and use purpose difference of Japanese kitchen knife and understand the history and complexity of this fading traditional Japanese knife art, this research will be conducted through the face to face interviews, observation of the connection between the chef and the knife was chosen, and analysis of the different Japanese kitchen knives use purpose. Korin as a Japanese Knife company will provide fieldsite for this research. The main objectives of this research project are to give insight into the various Japanese kitchen knives that are adopted by different use purpose for cuisines both in Japan and America and to further propose practical steps towards building a bridge between two knife cultures and introduce more Japanese knives to the market in order to improve the image of Japanese knives that are only for professional uses.

2. BACKGROUND:

The United States is a country of immigrants, so here you can feel the cultural diversity of the world. Today people know that some kitchen knives are expensive. In American shopping malls, you can buy worldwide well-known German brands kitchen knives such as WMF, Wüsthof, and so on in pursuit of quality. They are representative of a high-quality lifestyle like other German-made products. Like cars and cameras, the top products in the world of kitchen knives mostly come from Germany and Japan. Japanese kitchen knives enjoy a high reputation in the professional field. Their performance and quality often outperform their German counterparts. In most cases, their prices are much cheaper than German kitchen knives of the same level, but they are not well known. To understand the importance of knife art in the history of Japanese food culture, we must try to recover the original sensibilities that sustained it. The Japanese have long had the concept of “cutting flavor”. The meaning of cutting flavor is extended to the field of kitchen knives, which refers to extremely high and durable sharpness. A knife still maintains a smooth cutting feeling for a long time. This is the pleasure conveyed by a good knife to people. This has a bearing on the hardness and maintenance of the knife. In Eric Rath’s book food and fantasy, “ Knife ceremonies, due to their long history and prominence in elite food culture, are an important starting point for showing the connections between food and fantasy—raw ingredients and thinking about them—that were the ingredients for cuisine in premodern Japan. ” (Rath).[1] With the popularity of Western and Japanese cuisines, I found that many western chefs have accepted Japanese kitchen knives and directly invested in the arms of foreign goods. In a Japanese knife company named Korin, their catalogs introduce the complexity of the manufacturing process and a careful and focused study of knives. However, people don’t know the real difference between imported kitchen knives. It is not easy to see Japanese kitchen knives in domestic malls. Buying online, those strange shapes and strange names are always prohibitive. Through Korin’s catalogs, it introduces “the single-edged kataha blade is a distinguishing feature of Japanese knives, setting them apart from their Western-style counterparts, which are typically ground to a bevel on both sides” (Korin).[2] Using Korin’s catalogs, my research will pay particular attention to different kinds of Japanese-style knives in order to show that those practical knives were invented according to their usage and have significant meaning toward our knife culture. It is with this in mind that I find importance and meaning in New York’s chef’s choice on knives, which is evident in the emphasis on Korin interviews in my research. Combined with the New York Times report, “By far the most striking trend in the world of knife enthusiasts is the surge of interest in Japanese knives, whose thinner, harder blades have nearly become the professional standard in New York restaurant kitchens” (Matt Lee).[3] It is in light of these results that my research focuses heavily on facilitating discourse between both introducing Japanese knife culture and letting more people know and accept Japanese knives.

3. OBJECTIVES:

 This research project aims to explore Japanese knife culture and increase people’s confidence in choosing to use Japanese knives. The overarching inquiries of this research resemble questions posed in people’s choice of knives in the knife market: What kind of knife is a good knife? Why pursue a good knife? Why do I choose Japanese knives instead of other style knives? What do I need to do to maintain a Japanese knife? Even though Japanese knives will be cheaper than other brands of knives, however, such a knife might not be practical for the casual home cook. Many Japanese knives are made of new hard carbon steel and require extra care to keep them clean with patience and skill to sharpen them. it’s even harder to use when the knife isn’t sharp. For this reason, people will choose other brands of knives to avoid tedious care procedures. It is also because of this worry that it makes me more firmly promote Japanese knives and build a new bridge of cultural exchange in order to let more people know and choose Japanese knives. I want to prove that Japanese style knives are also a good kitchen knife and worth it. 

4. METHODS:

This project seeks to analyze Japanese knives’ differences and introduce Japanese knives to the public. In order to determine how well people would like to choose a Japanese knife, I will do a street interview in different areas in New York City. Due to the heavy epidemic of coronavirus spreading out, especially in New York City, I can’t go out and do a street interview. So I changed to online consultation which set up questions for people to fill out. To make it easy and quick, I set up multiple choices for my questions by rating their experience from 1 to 5 stars. 1 represents the lowest scores and 5 represents the highest scores.

  The questions will be:

• How often do you use your knives?
• Which brand of knives are you using in your kitchen?
• How much do you know about Japanese knives? 
• Would you like to try to use Japanese knives? 
• If you are currently using Japanese knives, does it match my expectations?
• What is the probability that you would recommend Japanese knives to others?

To increase the predictability of marketing, I need to understand under what circumstances what customers will buy or use goods. From the customer experience, it can reflect the brand’s competition in the market. From the questions listed upon, I can know more about how much people will be interested in Japanese knives and using them. 

Secondly, I will walk into a showroom of a Japanese knife company called Korin and interview their manager to know more about Japanese knife culture and their different knife purposes. Japanese kitchen knives contain many characteristics of ancient craftsmanship, while constantly exploring materials technology. Because they also adhere to tradition in modern times, their high level can be fully experienced with touch, taste, and vision. There is more than one type of knives sold in Korin. I will ask the manager that in the selection of Japanese-style knives, New York chefs will prefer which type of knife. I will ask her what type of knife there will be more people to choose from. What are the advantages of this model of the knife? I will also ask the sharpener in the shop to understand how to properly and better care for Japanese-style knives. I will also ask them and learn the skill of evaluating if the knife is good. By this comprehensive understanding of the use of Japanese knives from interviews, I can better recommend Japanese style knives to others. 

5. CONCLUSION:

Japan is a land of long traditions, especially the arts and crafts, where hundreds of years of accumulated knowledge and experience passed down from master to apprentice, from teacher to student, each tradition has its own traditional rules, procedures, and style. In pursuit of excellence in their field, Japanese blacksmiths have focused on producing fine traditional Japanese knives required that the master chefs need to achieve their culinary goals. This research aims to give relevant information about Japanese knives and give people worldwide a cultural promotion for Japanese-style knives. I want people to understand and accept Japanese knife culture and make it as part of their lifestyles. Through this report, I believe people will know more about Japanese knives, and it could lend a valuable perspective of the interactions between western knives and Japanese knives. This can promote the use of Japanese-style knives and increase the usage rate of Japanese-style knives in America and worldwide. 

References cited

 Rath, Eric C. “Of Knives and Men Cutting Ceremonies and Cuisine.” Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan, First ed., University of California Press, n.d, 2010.

The company, Korin. The Japanese Chef Knife Collections. 35 years special ed., Korin, 2017.

Lee, Matt, and Ted Lee. “When a Knife Is the Gleam in a Cook’s Eye.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2004, www.nytimes.com/2004/12/15/dining/when-a-knife-is-the-gleam-in-a-cooks-eye.html.