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- Panel 3-2 Everyday Eating Practice of Intra-Asian Migrants: Seasoned with Shoyu or Fish Sauce? /Vien T. T. Dinh
Panel 3-2 Everyday Eating Practice of Intra-Asian Migrants: Seasoned with Shoyu or Fish Sauce? /Vien T. T. Dinh
Vien T. T. Dinh
PhD Student, Kyoto University, Japan
Arising from significant social and cultural changes in new destinations, immigrants might face the dilemma of deciding the extent to which they should preserve traditional food and embrace modern food practices. The process of culinary assimilation can be acute immediately after migration or chronic over several years or generations. However, the drivers of coping mechanisms and their relations to social mobility and resettlement intentions are still understudied.
Despite geographical and cultural proximity, Vietnamese residents in Japan had received little attention from the government and academia until recent influxes of technical trainees and international students. This surge has elevated Vietnamese to become the primary labor source and the second-largest foreign community in Japan since 2020. Using a life course approach, this study aims to examine the dietary modification of Vietnamese migrants in Japan over 40 years, and how it can be used as a means of cultural preservation, identity expression, and social integration in the receiving country.
The data are derived from qualitative interviews on methods of obtaining, preparing, and consuming foods of Vietnamese migrants in Hyogo, Osaka, and Kyoto prefectures in Japan between 2021 and 2024. Preliminary results indicate that Vietnamese migrants tend to prefer and maintain traditional cuisines and practices in their daily lives, despite limited resources in the host country. These home-country materials can be acquired through various means: foraged wild plants, homegrown vegetables and herbs, imported ingredients from Vietnam groceries, and other imported supermarkets selling ethnic foods. The paper argues that immigrant eating practices, influenced by various individual, communal, and governmental factors, should be understood as an adaptive process along with their socio-cultural interactions and aspirations within the host societies.
Keywords: migrant foodways, dietary acculturation, everyday eating, Vietnamese migrants, Japan
PhD Student, Kyoto University, Japan
Arising from significant social and cultural changes in new destinations, immigrants might face the dilemma of deciding the extent to which they should preserve traditional food and embrace modern food practices. The process of culinary assimilation can be acute immediately after migration or chronic over several years or generations. However, the drivers of coping mechanisms and their relations to social mobility and resettlement intentions are still understudied.
Despite geographical and cultural proximity, Vietnamese residents in Japan had received little attention from the government and academia until recent influxes of technical trainees and international students. This surge has elevated Vietnamese to become the primary labor source and the second-largest foreign community in Japan since 2020. Using a life course approach, this study aims to examine the dietary modification of Vietnamese migrants in Japan over 40 years, and how it can be used as a means of cultural preservation, identity expression, and social integration in the receiving country.
The data are derived from qualitative interviews on methods of obtaining, preparing, and consuming foods of Vietnamese migrants in Hyogo, Osaka, and Kyoto prefectures in Japan between 2021 and 2024. Preliminary results indicate that Vietnamese migrants tend to prefer and maintain traditional cuisines and practices in their daily lives, despite limited resources in the host country. These home-country materials can be acquired through various means: foraged wild plants, homegrown vegetables and herbs, imported ingredients from Vietnam groceries, and other imported supermarkets selling ethnic foods. The paper argues that immigrant eating practices, influenced by various individual, communal, and governmental factors, should be understood as an adaptive process along with their socio-cultural interactions and aspirations within the host societies.
Keywords: migrant foodways, dietary acculturation, everyday eating, Vietnamese migrants, Japan