Contemporary Japan

ISSN: 1869-2729 (Print) 1869-2737 (Online) Journal homepage: http://tandfonline.com/loi/rcoj20

Immigrant integration through food: Nikkei cuisine

in Peru

Ayumi Takenaka

To cite this article: Ayumi Takenaka (2017) Immigrant integration through food: Nikkei cuisine in
Peru, Contemporary Japan, 29:2, 117-131, DOI: 10.1080/18692729.2017.1351022

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/18692729.2017.1351022

Published online: 21 Aug 2017.

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 CONTEMPORARY JAPAN, 2017
VOL. 29, NO. 2, 117–131
https://doi.org/10.1080/18692729.2017.1351022

Immigrant integration through food: Nikkei cuisine in Peru

Ayumi Takenaka
Department of Sociology, School of Languages and Social Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, England

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
In this paper, I use the lens of food to analyze immigrant integration, Food; immigration;
focusing on Nikkei cuisine, a type of Japanese ‘fusion’ food that integration; cultural identity;
emerged in the context of Japanese immigrants’ integration in Peru; Nikkei
Peru. Through the process of culinary transformation and food
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discourse in Peru, my aim is to analyze how a new genre of cuisine

emerges and what it tells us about immigrant integration. I illustrate
this by focusing on Nikkei Peruvians, or later-generation descen-
dants of Japanese immigrants in Peru, whose identities have long
been regarded as ambiguous despite their enhanced status and
representation in the country’s political and economic arenas in
recent years. The emergence and growing popularization of Nikkei
cuisine, I argue, symbolizes the integration of Nikkei Peruvians into
Peruvian society. Yet, the representation and recognition of Nikkei
food as ‘Peruvian and Japanese fusion food’ indicates how Nikkei
Peruvians integrate in Peru as Nikkei Peruvians. This was facilitated
in the context where Peru increasingly celebrates its cultural diver-
sity, promoting fusion food at the core of its identity in trying to
brand itself as a diverse nation and boost its economy.

Introduction
Nikkei cuisine is one of the most visible cultural expressions of the Nikkei community in
Peru …. It is also a cultural representation of our identity on a plate. Our identity and our
heart are embedded in each and every dish that we make.
H. Kasuga, Nikkei Peruvian chef (Kaikan April 2015)

Food provides a critical lens through which to analyze a cultural representation of

identity. How immigrants assimilate local food into their diets illustrates their adaptation
and identification with the local culture, as do the foods that immigrants consume and
how they talk about ‘their’ food. Food also tells us how immigrants are identified and
accepted by the host society. Local food is often transformed through immigration, and
the host society accepts and incorporates various aspects of foreign foods into ‘their
own.’ This culinary transformation reflects the very process of immigrant integration.
In this paper, I use the lens of food to analyze immigrant integration, focusing on
Nikkei cuisine, a type of Japanese ‘fusion’ food, which has emerged in the context of

CONTACT Ayumi Takenaka atakenak@gmail.com Department of Sociology, Aston University, Birmingham, B4

7ET, England
This article was originally published with errors. This version has been corrected. Please see Corrigendum https://doi.
org/10.1080/18692729.2017.1380925.
© 2017 German Institute for Japanese Studies
 118 A. TAKENAKA

Japanese immigrants’ integration in Peru. The story tells us not only how a new genre of
cuisine is created, defined, and appropriated. It also allows us to analyze, through the
process of ‘Japanese’ culinary transformation in Peru, the very process of immigrant
integration – or how Japanese immigrants and their descendants, today known as Nikkei
Peruvians, have adapted or come to be accepted. Since Japanese immigrants first
arrived in Peru, mostly as contract agricultural laborers around the start of the twentieth
century, Nikkei Peruvians have established and maintained a tightly knit ethnic commu-
nity, partly because of the harsh discrimination they faced and partly because of their
sojourning mentality and changing relations to Japan (Takenaka, 2003). Long perceived
as ‘in-between,’ and perceiving themselves in this way, Nikkei Peruvians have struggled
with their identity, as manifested in numerous discussions at conferences and seminars.
Their ambiguous identity has continued, despite their enhanced status and current
representation in the country’s political and economic life.
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How do they relate to Peru and Japan? How do they feel they belong in Peru, and
how are they perceived and accepted in the society? These questions can be examined
through the lens of food; how they express their identities through food, and how Nikkei
food is perceived and defined in Peruvian society. To the extent that Nikkei food has
gained a reputable position in Peruvian culinary culture, Nikkei Peruvians, I argue, are
undoubtedly well integrated. But the representation and recognition of Nikkei food as
‘Peruvian and Japanese fusion food’ indicates how Nikkei Peruvians integrate in Peru as
Nikkei Peruvians in a country that tries to define and consolidate its nationhood as a
multicultural fusion (mestizo) society. In the context of this nation-consolidation process,
through culinary mestizaje (or cultural or racial ‘mixing,’ as used in the postcolonial
context), Nikkei Peruvians have been able to promote, and use, Nikkei food as a cultural
representation of their identity as Peruvians, but distinct from other Peruvians (with a
Japanese touch). Behind this lies not only the economic success of the Nikkei Peruvian
community but also the symbolic power of Japan that has helped brand this increas-
ingly popular cuisine both inside and outside of Peru.
The analysis presented in the paper is mainly drawn from my most recent fieldwork in
Lima, Peru, conducted in May 2016, along with the content analysis of food blogs, food
festivals, and cookbooks, as well as the 2010–2015 issues of Kaikan, the official monthly
magazine of the community’s umbrella association, the Japanese–Peruvian Association
(APJ). My fieldwork in Lima entailed visits to Nikkei restaurants, Nikkei cultural and
culinary activities, and interviews with chefs, culinary specialists, policy makers, and
members and leaders of the Nikkei community.

Food and immigrant integration

Immigrant integration is an ever-growing field in scholarship, but the debate over how
it is to be measured, defined, and studied is far from settled. This is particularly the
case in relation to identity or the affective dimension of integration (Simonsen, 2016).
Immigrant integration is most commonly measured by socioeconomic indicators, such
as income, occupation, education, host language proficiency, and home ownership
(e.g. Constant & Zimmermann, 2007; Portes & Rumbaut, 2006; van Tubergen, 2006).
Accordingly, successful integration is often defined as economic success, which tends
to be accompanied by high levels of educational attainment and language proficiency.
 CONTEMPORARY JAPAN 119

What is less clear, however, is how economic integration translates and relates to less
tangible dimensions of integration, such as an emotional attachment or feelings of
belonging to the host society.
We cannot assume that economic success automatically leads to greater identifica-
tion with the host society. The emotive aspect of integration (or identity) is more difficult
to measure and is therefore less studied in empirical research (Simonsen, 2016). Yet, it is
critical to examine this, not only because belonging is considered a basic human need
(Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Fiske, 2004) but also because it is essential for establishing
and sustaining a cohesive society (Simonsen, 2016). Classic assimilation theories regard
immigrants’ identification with the host society as the final step in a successful integra-
tion process (e.g. Gordon, 1964). In other words, complete assimilation should culminate
in, and be accompanied by, what Gordon (1964) referred to as identificational assimila-
tion. How is this identificational assimilation to be measured and studied?
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Food, I argue, provides a strategic lens to study this nebulous aspect of immigrant
integration. That is because food is tangible; one can see what is presented on a plate and
how, as well as the process by which it is prepared. Food is also central to identity and identity
making, both at the individual and national levels. Food shapes and reflects our personal
identities, because it is closely related to our everyday lives, lifestyles, pasts, and customs
(Counihan & Van Esterick, 2012; Gabaccia, 1998). It ties individuals to a place, tradition,
community, and a nation (Ferguson, 2010). Moreover, since we experience food through
our senses – by tasting, smelling, seeing, and touching – these senses create a strong link
between place and memory in a personal, emotional, and intimate way (Pham, 2013).
Food also matters at the national level. Nationhood often gets consolidated
through the creation of ‘national cuisine’ (Mennel, 1985). Cusack (2000) affirms that
the modern nation-state, at least in the developed world, has its own cuisine. Food
often occupies a central place in national culture and identity. National cuisine may
emerge through the production and consumption of cookbooks or the mass media
that define what, for example, is Indian, French, or Japanese cuisine (Anderson, 1991;
Appadurai, 1988). It may also proliferate through cultural policies, marketing, and
governmental campaigns. Because of its centrality in culture, food serves as a tool of
diplomacy, as ‘soft power,’ in branding the nation and promoting its culture. This
‘gastro-politics,’ or the use of food in diplomatic relations and nation-branding, is
widely practiced through culinary campaigns around the world, such as ‘Global Thai
Cuisine’ (Thailand), ‘Malaysia Kitchen for the World’ (Malaysia), ‘Gourmet Taiwan’
(Taiwan), ‘Café de Colombia’ (Colombia), and the Diplomatic Culinary Partnership
Program (USA) (Rockowor, 2014). Peru is no exception. The Peruvian government,
together with culinary organizations and charismatic chefs, runs various programs –
‘La Cocina Peruana para el Mundo,’ ‘Marca Perú,’ and ‘Perú Mucho Gusto’ – to try to
promote its food, culture, and nation brand (Pham, 2013; Rockower, 2014; Wilson,
2013). Through these efforts, Peruvian ‘national cuisine’ gets defined and created in
demarcating what is included in ‘our food’ from what is not.
Food is an effective tool to forge identities, and to analyze them, because it connects
and intersects multiple levels of identity making and expression. While food plays a key
role in fomenting a nation through top-down culinary policy and diplomacy, it also
cements a sense of belonging through everyday rituals, shared meals, and festivities
(Cusack, 2000; Ichijo & Ranta, 2016). Food is political, yet at the same time, it is deeply
 120 A. TAKENAKA

personal. It is this intersectionality that helps us understand the emotive aspect of

immigrant integration to a nation-state.

Nikkei Peruvians today

Mostly in their third and fourth generations, the Nikkei Peruvian community today is, by
any conventional measure, well integrated. First-generation immigrants, who arrived
from Okinawa and mainland Japan between 1899 and 1930s, suffered a great deal of
discrimination, including racially motivated riots and deportation programs (Takenaka,
2004). Ever since then, the community has come a long way to earn a reputation as one
of the most successful and respected communities in Peru (Kaikan April 2015). Today,
most Nikkei Peruvians speak Spanish and practice Catholicism; and in their life style and
cultural mannerisms, Nikkei Peruvians are considered well assimilated. As a highly
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educated group, moreover, they occupy prominent positions in business, education,

health, art, and politics. These include the highest posts held in government, as in the
case of former President Alberto Fujimori, a son of Japanese immigrants, and his
daughter, Keiko, a Congress member, who may soon follow suit after narrowly losing
the Presidential run-off elections in 2011 and 2016. If integration refers to processes that
allow members of immigrant groups to attain opportunities to improve socioeconomic
positions and gain inclusion in a broad range of societal institutions (Alba and Foner,
2014; Berry, 1997), Nikkei Peruvians are certainly very well integrated.
In assimilating and integrating in Peru, however, Nikkei Peruvians have not comple-
tely blended into the mainstream society in terms of identity. As they integrate more,
their distinct ethnic community has grown in size, status, and visibility, and their central
institutions have flourished. Although Nikkei Peruvians roughly number 90,000 (Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, 2014), constituting less than 1% of Peru’s population, they have grown
into one of the most powerful and economically successful ethnic communities in Peru.
In a 2003 article, I described the community as a ‘tight-knit social microcosm,’ compris-
ing a 10-story cultural center, an athletics stadium, schools, a theatre, banks, a church, a
hospital, and 70 voluntary associations (Takenaka, 2003). Today, the community is more
open to accommodate non-Nikkei Peruvians but is expanding rapidly as a distinct Nikkei
community, with more activities, more programs, more resources, and more staff and
participants engaged in wider ranging activities. A major annual community event,
Matsuri (Japanese-style festival), now attracts 20,000 people, mostly Peruvian youth of
non-Nikkei background, according to a staff member interviewed (2016). There is also a
diploma-issuing Japanese–Peruvian vocational school, a Japanese–Peruvian publishing
house, and over 300 courses offered on Japanese language, cooking, martial arts, crafts,
business management, etc. The construction of a second Japanese–Peruvian hospital is
underway, as is expansion of the Japanese–Peruvian cultural center. The revenue of the
APJ, the central organ of the community, quadrupled between 2005 and 2015
(Asociación Peruano Japonés del Perú [APJ], 2016), and the number of participants in
cultural activities and educational courses has grown ‘drastically,’ according to several
community leaders interviewed in 2016.
While the descendants of Japanese immigrants are undoubtedly well integrated in
Peru, they have selectively integrated as Nikkei Peruvians. Central to this integration
process and strategy are the creation and affirmation of ‘Nikkei culture,’ a type of hybrid
 CONTEMPORARY JAPAN 121

culture believed to be uniquely their own. Eduardo Tokeshi, a prominent Nikkei artist,
once famously described this identity as ‘a bottle of soy sauce filled with Inka Kola’
(Kaikan October 2014), referring to the Kikkoman soy sauce bottle ubiquitous in the
Japanese household and the bright yellow-colored popular carbonated drink in Peru.
This hybrid identity, neither completely Peruvian nor completely Japanese, represents
their ‘unique Nikkei culture,’ as is so understood and claimed by most Nikkei Peruvians.
And this type of identity, or discourse, has been central to their selective integration
strategy.
Traditionally, ‘values’ have occupied a central place in representing Nikkei culture and
identity. The ‘Nikkei code of values,’ as they call them, consists of positive values, such as
honesty, hard work, perseverance, sincerity, respect, and solidarity. They believe that
they have inherited these values from their Japanese immigrant ancestors and regard
them as uniquely their own – and simultaneously – as universally positive and beneficial
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for Peruvian society. ‘Since these values are good, we should preserve them among
ourselves first; and second, spread them widely throughout Peru,’ explained a commu-
nity leader in a matter-of-fact manner: ‘Our culture of doing enryo (to be modest) is
better than the quintessentially Peruvian culture of criollismo’ (or ‘me first’ culture), as
the leader put it.
Community leaders believe that these ‘superior’ values will help develop the country.
‘This is how we contribute to Peru, as Peruvians, by promoting our unique values,’
affirmed the past President of APJ, who helped launch the ‘Nikkei value campaign’ by
displaying posters of Nikkei values all over the community complex. At the same time,
he lamented the ‘gradual loss’ of such values among younger Nikkei Peruvians: ‘As they
acculturate more, they no longer maintain these positive values. We need to inculcate
them. Otherwise, we will lose our identity and distinct culture.’
Just as leaders have tried to cling to their ‘traditional’ values to preserve a distinct
community and identity, a more tangible and effective symbol has emerged to
represent their culture. That is ‘Nikkei food.’ Largely defined as Peruvian and
Japanese fusion food, this new genre of cuisine has recently become popular and
trendy in Peru and elsewhere. Nikkei food sits well with their hybrid identity and
strategy on the part of Nikkei Peruvians to selectively integrate in Peru through their
‘unique culture.’
Today, Nikkei food plays a central role in Nikkei community activities and discourse
about Nikkei culture and identity. The first Nikkei Convention, held in 2016, as well as the
annual Nikkei Cultural Festival (since 2014) and Tastes of Nikkei (2016) featured Nikkei
food as an emblematic aspect of Nikkei culture. ‘Food is all over, nowadays,’ commented
a Nikkei community member who frequents the cultural center. Japanese movies, music,
manga, and anime are frequently featured in the community’s cultural activities, but
‘They are Japanese, not really Nikkei,’ she says, because they are from Japan. Nikkei food,
by contrast, is an essential symbol that represents their ‘unique culture,’ born and bred
in Peru. In 2015, the Association of Nikkei Gastronomy was created within APJ, and a
new Nikkei Culinary School is underway. The official publication of the APJ, Kaikan,
features one or two Nikkei restaurants every month, and food has grown into perhaps
the single most important issue, judging from the coverage of the magazine’s contents
published between 2010 and 2015. Food generates significant revenues for the com-
munity, according to several community leaders I interviewed in 2016. Accordingly,
 122 A. TAKENAKA

leaders use Nikkei cuisine as a strategy to promote their community and culture, as well
as a way to bolster their privileged status in Peru.
How did this cuisine emerge and why? In the sections that follow, I illustrate the
process, along with what it tells us about Nikkei Peruvians’ integration, both in terms of
how they identify themselves and how they are identified, through food in Peru.

How did Nikkei food emerge?

Nikkei food, generally defined as Japanese–Peruvian fusion, became popular at the end
of the 1990s (Balbi, 1997; Morimoto, 2010; Tsumura & Barrón, 2013; Yanagida, 2014).
After Peru successfully defeated terrorism and restored order in the 1990s, the country
began to see its economy recover, the middle class grow, and culinary culture flourish. In
2011, former President Ollanta Humala declared ‘a gastronomic revolution.’ Today, food
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plays a central role in Peru’s cultural policy that promotes Peruvian food and agricultural
products inside and outside Peru. In the context of this ‘gastronomic boom,’ Nikkei
cuisine gained much popularity and recognition. The number of Nikkei restaurants has
increased rapidly in the past decades (APJ, 2013; Morimoto, 2010) – the Peruvian Yellow
Pages list 60 in Lima alone – and became popular around the world with the advent of
trendy Nikkei restaurants owned by renowned chefs, such as Ferran Adrià (Barcelona),
Gastón Acurio (Lima), and Nobu Matsuhisa (New York).
How Nikkei cuisine emerged has multiple stories, however, depending on how the
cuisine is defined and by whom. The APJ, which actively promotes Nikkei food by
organizing food fairs and offering cooking lessons, regards the food as rooted, first,
and foremost, in what was prepared and consumed by Japanese immigrants and their
descendants. Accordingly, APJ traces the origin of Nikkei food to the ‘need of Japanese
immigrants who arrived in Peru to nourish themselves’ (APJ, 2013). What we know today
as ‘Nikkei food,’ thus, all began in the homes of Japanese (and Okinawan) immigrants,
where they tried to replicate what they had eaten before, substituting local ingredients
for the traditional ingredients they lacked and improvising their food (Morimoto, 2010).
If Nikkei cuisine is to be defined as a type of cuisine consumed by the general
Peruvian public, its origin must be traced to restaurants in Peru (Balbi, 1997).
According to Gastón Acurio, Peru’s most renowned chef and a major promoter of
Nikkei food, Nikkei cuisine emerged in Peruvian restaurants that were owned and run
by Japanese descendants. One such restaurant was La Buena Muerte, founded by
Minoru Kunigami, a son of Japanese immigrants from Okinawa (Acurio, 2006; Balbi,
1997; Morimoto, 2010). Like most other restaurants of Japanese–Peruvians, La Buena
Muerte served Peruvian food, known as creole food (comida criolla), and catered mostly
to the general Peruvian public. In the small cevichería that Kunigami started in the 1960s,
he created fusion seafood, such as ceviche with ginger and wasabi, served as ‘sashimi,’
and ‘tamal de kamaboko,’ fish cake made with Peruvian dried potatoes. Historically,
many Japanese immigrants had engaged in the restaurant business in Lima after having
completed (or escaped from) their contract work on plantations. In 1930, 45% of
Japanese immigrants were owners of small businesses, mostly in food-related enter-
prises (60%) (Takenaka, 2003). In the late 1960s, a quarter of Japanese–Peruvians owned
or worked at restaurants (Morimoto, 2010). Most of these restaurants catered to
Peruvians (of non-Japanese background), serving some kind of Peruvian food. Since
 CONTEMPORARY JAPAN 123

most of their employees were also non-Japanese Peruvian, restaurants served as a place
to mix flavors and experiment with different ingredients (Tsumura & Barrón, 2013).
Nikkei cuisine as a label offers yet another story. While the food we know today as
‘Nikkei’ may have origins in Japanese–Peruvian homes and restaurants, it became
labeled and popularized as such by non-Japanese Peruvian actors. First of all, the
popularization of Nikkei food is owed to two renowned chefs from Japan, Nobu
Matsuhisa and Toshiro Konishi, who arrived in Peru during the 1970s (Tsumura &
Barrón, 2013). Nobu, a master sushi chef known for his adept skills in adapting
Japanese food to local taste, invented ‘tiradito,’ a signature dish of Nikkei cuisine, by
mixing thinly sliced raw fish with lime juice and Peruvian peppers. Toshiro followed in
his footsteps by further popularizing fusion sushi through appearances on national
television (Tsumura & Barrón, 2013). This fusion food was first coined as ‘Nikkei food’
by Rodolfo Hinostroza, a Peruvian poet and a food writer, in his 1983 article in La
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Republica, a Peruvian daily. ‘Nikkei food,’ he wrote, ‘brings together the great rigor of the
Japanese preparation of fish and seafood, and the spicy, aromatic sauces of Creole
cuisine’ (Balbi, 1997; Tsumura & Barrón, 2013). Following this, the status of ‘Nikkei
food’ as a new genre of cuisine was established firmly when Gastón Acurio promoted
it as such in the context of the Peruvian gastronomic boom of the 1990s.

What is Nikkei cuisine?

Today, Nikkei cuisine is broadly defined as fusion food that combines Japanese and
Peruvian ingredients. Yet, it does not refer to just any mixture. The creation of Nikkei
cuisine, like any other cuisine, entails the process of selection and legitimation of only
certain ingredients. ‘Japanese’ ingredients regarded as key in Nikkei cuisine are certain
spices – shōyu, miso, ajinomoto, hondashi, or wasabi – which have all entered the
Peruvian culinary vocabulary today. The key ‘Peruvian’ component, on the other hand,
is ají or Peruvian peppers. Also central are fish, shellfish, and other sea products
(Morimoto, 1996). Japanese food in Peru is strongly associated with seafood. (Thus,
chefs who specialize in Japanese and Nikkei cuisines are all known as Itamae or sushi
chefs.) So, Nikkei cuisine usually contains fish, in combination with Peruvian ají.
The most typical Nikkei dish is ‘maki,’ and the most emblematic of all, according to
Tsumura and Barrón (2013), is ‘Maki Acevichado’ or ceviche roll, containing Peruvian-
style marinated fish rolled up with rice, avocado, or seaweed. Similarly, ‘Inka maki’
consists of avocado, Philadelphia cream cheese, and salmon, covered with sesame
seeds; ‘Samuray maki’ is made with lobster, and ‘Kamikaze maki’ is made with tuna or
yellowtail (Más Que Sushi). Other typical Nikkei dishes include ‘tiradito,’ sometimes
referred to as ‘Nikkei ceviche,’ as well as steamed fish (known as ‘mushi’), curry-
flavored fish (chita con curry japonés), and octopus with black olive sauce (pulpo al
olivo) (APJ, 2013; Tsumura & Barrón, 2013).
In addition, Nikkei cuisine is characterized, and celebrated, as a blend of opposites.
‘Japanese and Peruvian foods are so different … like oil and water,’ according to
Tsumura and Barrón (2013), and it is this difference that creates dynamic and pleasant
new flavors. In creating and defining Nikkei cuisine, therefore, differences associated
with Japanese and Peruvian cuisines – and indeed cultures – are emphasized. The APJ
characterizes Nikkei cuisine as Japanese simplicity blended with flavorful Peruvian spices
 124 A. TAKENAKA

(APJ, 2013). According to El Comercio, a major national daily, Nikkei cuisine nicely
balances out heavily seasoned Peruvian food by incorporating the Japanese tradition
of using natural and neutral flavors (El Comercio, 3 May 2010). Since Japanese cuisine is
‘diametrically opposed to ours in terms of portions’ (Tsumura & Barrón, 2013), moderate
serving portions are also identified as a characteristic of Nikkei cuisine.
The difference emphasized sometimes goes beyond the realm of food. According to
Tsumura and Barrón (2013), Japan gave Peru the orderly, delicate, and meditative
elements of cuisine, while Peru contributed daring spices and peppers both in form
and in content. For some, Nikkei cuisine represents ‘values’ associated with Japanese
stereotypes prevalent in Peru. ‘Honesty’ is deeply embedded in Nikkei cuisine, according
to Santa Cruz (2014), and it offers a sense of ‘solemnity’ and ‘calmness’. To Luis Arévalo
Brilla, a non-Japanese Peruvian chef of a fancy Nikkei restaurant in Madrid, it is a cuisine
of ‘discipline’ (Kaikan October 2011). And, Tsumura and Barrón (2013) describe Nikkei
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cuisine as ‘Peruvian food with a Zen spirit.’

For some chefs, Nikkei cuisine is a means to express one’s identity. For Chef Hajime
Kasuga, Nikkei cuisine is about ‘my culture and identity, because Nikkei, or fusion, is
what we really are’ (Kaikan March–April 2011; Kaikan June 2012). Chef Luis Arévalo Brilla
does not know, or care, if what he cooks (in his ‘Nikkei’ restaurant) is called Nikkei,
Peruvian, or Japanese, because ‘I only cook what comes out of my heart’ (Kaikan
October 2011). Even though the definitions and meanings of Nikkei cuisine have been
debated, it does not matter if you use a Japanese ingredient or how you prepare it,
states Santa Cruz (2014): Nikkei cuisine is about philosophy, concept, or identity. Nikkei
cuisine, thus, has multiple meanings and is open to ideas and innovations.

Why did Nikkei cuisine become popular?

There are several factors behind the boom of Nikkei cuisine in Peru and beyond. The first
dates back to a government policy of the 1960s and 1970s that aimed to boost seafood
consumption in Peru. Despite the rich fishery off its coast, Peruvians had not had the
custom of consuming much seafood (Balbi, 1997). This was attributed to lack of refrig-
eration and lack of knowledge of how to prepare seafood. The military government of
Juan Velasco (1969–75), in an attempt to amplify the Peruvian diet and avoid food
shortages, ordered a 15-day monthly prohibition of beef consumption. This led to a
massive consumption of seafood by the end of the 1970s (Balbi, 1997) and contributed
to the boom of Nikkei food, which is closely associated with seafood.
A second factor has to do with the global boom of sushi, and the transformation of
Japanese food across countries, particularly in the United States. Prior to the 1980s,
eating raw fish was widely considered unpalatable. However, partly because of the
influence of celebrity and partly because of the local adaptation of sushi through the
invention of the ‘California Roll,’ the number of sushi restaurants increased exponentially
in the United States during the 1990s (Allen & Sakamoto, 2011). The popularization of
Japanese food was boosted further by the rise of Japan as a global economic power and
the increased visibility of the country and its culture. During Japan’s economic heyday,
many Japanese chefs traveled to the United States, along with Japanese expatriate
businessmen, making Japanese cuisine more available and accessible to the public.
Gradually, sushi became a symbol of sophistication, health-consciousness, and
 CONTEMPORARY JAPAN 125

trendiness. This sent ripples to Peru, and it was later reinforced by the growing influence
of Japanese popular culture in Peru, such as anime and manga, and the so-called return
migration of Japanese descendants (and other Peruvians) to Japan that began in the late
1980s.
In addition, the Japanese culinary boom in Peru was boosted by the raised status of
the Nikkei community. The community’s prestige is both a result and a manifestation of
the economic success of Japanese descendants as well as the emergence of prominent
political figures, such as former President Alberto Fujimori. It is also attributable to the
financial resources poured into it from Japan and the cultural influence brought about
by the migration of thousands of Peruvians to Japan (Takenaka, 2004). The community
has also grown in status as a result of the growing popularity of Japanese culture in
Peru, which has attracted both more Japanese and more non-Japanese Peruvians to the
community’s cultural center, and elsewhere, to eat and learn about Japanese food.
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More importantly, perhaps, a key to the popularization of Japanese (and Nikkei) food
lies in the broader gastronomic boom in Peru. In 2007, the Peruvian government
recognized the country’s gastronomy as ‘national heritage’ (Matta, 2013) and began to
promote it nationally and internationally as an engine of economic development and
national integration (Valderrama León, 2010). To these ends, the Peruvian Society of
Gastronomy (APEGA), the trade association of Peru’s elite chefs, was created in 2007.
Their major activity is to organize ‘Mistura,’ an international gastronomic festival that has
grown (since its start in 2008) into a truly international extravaganza, attracting media
attention, celebrity chefs, and more than 500,000 visitors from around the world (El
Comercio, 2013a). The food industry, which generated 11.2% of Peru’s GDP in 2009
(Camara de Comercio de Lima, 2013; Valderrama León, 2010), is now recognized as a key
industry in Peru as a means of promoting tourism, restructuring the agricultural produc-
tion systems, and exporting organic products (APEGA, 2010; Matta, 2013). The Peruvian
government and the industry, thus, aim to consolidate the visibility of Peruvian cuisine
abroad through the ‘gastronomic revolution.’ Gastón Acurio, a major protagonist of the
gastronomic movement, elaborated on this: By consolidating ‘the place of Peruvian food
in an economic vision … [we] will instill pride in local traditions and resources….’
(García, 2010, p. 25, cited in Matta, 2013). Mistura, he commented, is ultimately a ‘festival
of Peruvian-ness’ (Kaikan October 2011). Peruvian cuisine is therefore promoted not
simply as a motor of economic growth, but as a symbolic representation of the country’s
cultural diversity and a vehicle to cement its nationhood.
In promoting Peruvian cuisine, Nikkei cuisine has become identified as its key
component. It is a symbol of Peru, as a multicultural and tolerant nation comprised of
immigrants and their descendants from all over the world, and a country rich in culinary
tradition due to its geographic and ecological diversity. It has succeeded as a symbol of
Peruvian cuisine, in part because the popularity of Japanese food, such as sushi, was
already in place, and in part because of the relatively high status of Japan and Japanese
culture around the world. Ferran Adrià, a renowned Spanish chef, once proclaimed that
Nikkei food would become the most successful type of Peruvian cuisine in the world.
It is important to note that Nikkei food is promoted and packaged as Peruvian. Even
though ‘it may have roots in Japanese cuisine,’ assert Tsumura and Barrón (2013, p. 156),
‘there is no such thing as Nikkei cuisine in Japan. Nikkei is Peruvian. It is in the DNA of
our food.’ Indeed, Nikkei food is not quite considered Japanese by the Japanese
 126 A. TAKENAKA

embassy in Lima, and culinary activities labeled Nikkei are not directly supported and
financed by the embassy, according to a staff member interviewed in 2016. In his
cookbook on Nikkei cuisine (entitled La Cocina Nikkei), Gastón Acurio also claims
Nikkei cuisine as a ‘new Peruvian invention’ (Acurio, 2006). The Peruvian media often
feature rising Nikkei star chefs, such as Mitsuharu Tsumura, and treat them as repre-
sentatives of Peruvian gastronomy (Morimoto, 2010). Chef Tsumura responded affirma-
tively: ‘Nikkei cuisine represents our national identity. It demonstrates that we can live
together and happily’ (Kaikan August 2011, p. 4). According to APJ (2013), Nikkei cuisine
undeniably has its own unique identity, but it is now cooked and consumed not only by
Japanese–Peruvians but by all Peruvians. It is promoted as part of Peruvian cuisine by
the Peruvian government and always occupies a central place in Peruvian culinary fairs,
events, and (high-end) restaurants. It is an integral part of Peruvian national cuisine –
representing, indeed, the country’s cultural diversity, inclusion, and tolerance (Kaikan
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October 2011).
The emergence of Nikkei cuisine in Peru – as Peruvian, rather than as Brazilian,
Mexican, or American – also has to do with the gastronomic boom in Peru and initiatives
by the Peruvian government, the Nikkei community, and prominent chefs to promote
their food. In addition, it is attributable to the long historical presence of Japanese
immigrants in the food business, where they accumulated culinary knowledge and
techniques through interactions with local Peruvians. Unlike other South American
countries, Japanese immigration flows to Peru were practically cut off well before
World War II. Japanese immigrants and their descendants, therefore, had to devise
their food using locally available ingredients.
Their culinary integration has come a long way. Prior to World War II, Japanese (and
Okinawan) immigrants, who used to dominate in small restaurants and food business,
often located on street corners, were derided as chinos de la esquina (street-corner
Chinese) by other Peruvians. They faced much animosity and were fundamentally
treated as the ‘racial other’ by the host society. In perpetuating anti-Japanese senti-
ments, some national newspapers reported that the foods and drinks sold by the
Japanese were poisonous (Takenaka, 2004). Japanese dominance in business was con-
sidered so dangerous and threatening that some white Peruvians made statements,
such as ‘Even the manufacturing of chicha, an exclusively national drink of Peru, is now
in the hands of the Japanese’ (quoted in Normano & Gerbi, 1943, p. 99). The Japanese
were treated, and discriminated against, as unassimilable aliens with a completely
different set of cultural behavior, norms, and taste (Takenaka, 2004). The food consumed
by Japanese immigrants and their descendants was therefore simply disregarded as
unpalatable and unacceptable.
Half a century later, the food associated with the Japanese made it to the center stage
of the Peruvian national culinary scene. Obviously, the food consumed by Japanese
descendants today is much different from what was originally brought and consumed
by immigrants from Japan and Okinawa. Over time, Japanese immigrants and their
descendants assimilated local food into their diets, transforming ‘their’ food; in the
process, the culinary label changed from Okinawan to Japanese and now to Nikkei.
Peruvian society has also come to tolerate and embrace what was once regarded as
alien and unpalatable. This reflects and symbolizes the process of Nikkei Peruvians’
assimilation and integration in Peru.
 CONTEMPORARY JAPAN 127

Culinary integration and identities

How do Nikkei Peruvians express their identities through food then, and what does food
tell us about their incorporation and acceptance in Peruvian society? To many Nikkei
Peruvians, the celebration of Nikkei food symbolizes the ‘perfect harmony’ of their
cultures (Kaikan 2015). ‘Nikkei food is the product of cultural encounters and dialogue
between two cultures – Peruvian and Japanese. It is not Japanese food with Peruvian
ingredients, nor Peruvian food with Japanese ingredients, but is a unique cultural
mixture,’ commented a Nikkei chef (Kaikan September 2015). According to the chef,
this fusion food incorporates the best of both worlds: the Japanese culinary tradition of
using fresh products, the Japanese culinary techniques of cutting with precision, and the
Japanese values of discipline, in combination with a Peruvian flair of flavorful spices,
energy, and creativity. According to the other chefs I spoke to, this culinary combination
is ideal, ‘because Peruvian and Japanese cultures are so different.’ One of them said,
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‘Japan is classical music. Peru is heavy metal. Together they make a very interesting
combination.’ Similar types of cuisine, such as Peruvian and Mexican, do not work well
together, according to this chef. Echoing this, another chef also commented: ‘Putting
two extraordinary ingredients, like miso and aji, makes a perfect marriage. Successful
fusion food must be a marriage, not a relationship between brothers, sisters, or cousins.’
But the perfect fusion is not just about throwing in miso and dashi, according to the
president of the newly created Association of Nikkei Gastronomy, ‘You must seek the
balance of culinary fundamentals and feel the principal ingredients. Let the ingredients
be the main protagonists, with different flavors and spices.’ This perfect unison of
cultures precisely reflects their identity. ‘Defining what is Nikkei food is like defining
ourselves,’ said Chef Kasuga

It’s like how we grew up, like praying to Christ in front of a butsudan (Buddhist altar at
home). It’s natural for us, as we were surrounded by this kind of culinary syncretism all our
lives, like eating sashimi with lime and rocoto pepper. (Kaikan April 2015)

Nikkei food, in short, is ‘our history,’ according to Chef Kasuga: ‘It’s our identity, and our
food.’
As Nikkei cuisine gains acceptance and popularity in and outside of Peru, Nikkei
Peruvian chefs feel proud of ‘their’ food. They are proud not simply of their culture and
tradition but fundamentally of the acceptance and recognition of their culture outside
their community. Shinji Soeda, a Nikkei chef, commented in an interview featured in
Kaikan that because of the high recognition of Nikkei cuisine, ‘I now feel more proud of
being Peruvian,’ and ‘also proud of having Japanese ancestry’ (Kaikan March–April 2011).
This extends beyond chefs to other (non-chef) members of the community. A former
president of APJ welcomed the growing popularity of Nikkei food and reiterated the
importance to promote ‘our food’: ‘This pretty much shows that Peruvians now accept
us, and of course, we are proud.’ To many Nikkei Peruvians, it symbolizes their integra-
tion and social acceptance, which they have long felt ambivalent about. And it also
demonstrates the transformation of their own identities; the owner of Nakachi, one of
the oldest Nikkei (Japanese) restaurants in Lima, reflected, ‘The Nikkei community has
also changed since the 1980s. The community has opened up to Peruvians, accepts Peru
as their home, and are now accepted in Peruvian society’ (Kaikan July 2015). Nikkei food
 128 A. TAKENAKA

is fundamentally Peruvian in form and content, they consider, which affirms their ‘roots’
in Peru. The proliferation of Nikkei food in Peru is proof of this. According to Chef
Tsumura,

Nikkei communities are present in many countries. But here in Peru, we are completely
integrated. You are Peruvian like any other, but have a distinct culture that makes you
unique. Peruvian society has become tolerant and open to accept us as Peruvians the way
we are. This doesn’t happen in many other countries. (Kaikan July 2015)

To the extent that they feel accepted, Nikkei Peruvians also feel that they should promote
Nikkei food as their own and reappropriate the ‘Japanese’ element of the cuisine as their
own contribution to Peru. A part of this effort involves teaching and spreading the ‘correct’
Japanese culinary techniques. The advent of a variety (and dubious types) of Nikkei dishes –
such as ‘maki’ with ‘lomo saltado’ or any odd combination of ingredients, according to the
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president of the Association of Nikkei Gastronomy – has made the Nikkei community wary
of the proliferation of Nikkei food and has resulted in their feeling the need to protect the
label and control the quality of Nikkei food. They have created the Association of Nikkei
Gastronomy and plan to establish a Nikkei cooking school partly for this reason, and also
because they want to diffuse and promote Nikkei food in the ‘right’ way. As one community
leader told me in 2016, ‘We need to protect and take care of our cuisine. So we should
formalize an institution and spread the proper ways of preparing Nikkei food.’ In so doing,
members of the Association, together with APJ, also attempt to authenticate Nikkei cuisine
and claim its ownership.
By promoting Nikkei cuisine as their own, Nikkei Peruvians also try to strengthen their
distinct identity. With numerous Nikkei culinary activities, where they share and talk
about their food, Nikkei Peruvians are ever more reminiscent of their identity as Nikkei
Peruvians. Chef Kasuga commented:

Like all Nikkei, we know we look Japanese in walking on the streets, but we are so
completely Peruvian. Yet apart from that, our lifestyle, our way of being, what we eat at
home, how we celebrate Oshogatsu (the Japanese New Year) with the food of our obaachan
(grandma), is after all, very Nikkei, as all other Nikkei will understand it. (Kaikan July 2015)

In declaring that Nikkei food will soon conquer the world, Chef Tsumura also talks
about the importance of ‘telling the world who we Nikkei are and what we are like,
through our food.’
At the same time, they also believe that this contributes to Peruvian national
integration, because ‘it is a part of Peruvian history and culture,’ explained the president
of the Association of Nikkei Gastronomy, referring to the cultural diversity of the country.
In a culturally diverse society like Peru, that is the way to integrate, he added, ‘We
sometimes feel unsure about to what we should integrate anyway.’ The affirmation of
Nikkei identity is a central aspect of integration to Peru; it is about becoming Peruvian,
with a special touch of Japanese flavor (con un toque japonés). Holding a ‘maki acevi-
chado’ with chopsticks at a Nikkei restaurant, the president asserted, ‘This is our way of
integrating. It’s Nikkei, and it’s very Peruvian.’ As Nikkei food has become popular as
Peruvian food, the Nikkei community has gained acceptance and grown through culin-
ary activities. It has reassured their belonging in Peru and it, in turn, has reaffirmed their
identity as Nikkei.
 CONTEMPORARY JAPAN 129

Conclusions
This paper has aimed to examine immigrant integration, particularly the identificational
and emotional aspects of integration, through the lens of food. As seen in the emergence
and proliferation of Nikkei food, Japanese immigrants and their descendants in Peru have
come to be identified, and identify themselves, as an integral part of Peruvian society. As
Nikkei and other Peruvians define and regard Nikkei food as quintessentially Peruvian,
Nikkei Peruvians feel rooted and well accepted in Peru. Peruvian society also regards
Nikkei as its integrated members, as illustrated by the representation of Nikkei food in
Peruvian gastronomy and plates, as well as national culinary campaigns and programs.
But as Nikkei Peruvians became integrated in Peru, the Japanese part of their identity did
not diminish or disappear; that part, they believe, is what actually helped them to
integrate and gain acceptance. In a culturally diverse and highly divided society where
Nikkei Peruvians often feel unsure about what they should integrate into, they believe that
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they can integrate by maintaining a ‘difference.’ Given their relatively high socioeconomic
status in the country, it was largely considered an effective strategy within the community.
The culinary transformation we have seen – from unpalatable alien food from Japan
and Okinawa to trendy Nikkei food – is a remarkable history of the integration that
Japanese immigrants and their descendants have achieved in Peru. But it is also a
reflection of the transformation of Peruvian society itself, from the one that exercised
explicitly racist policies and anti-Japanese activities to the one that has come to
embrace, at least in policy and discourse, multiculturalism, and cultural diversity.
Japan’s raised status as an economic power has also helped Nikkei Peruvians achieve
widespread respect and acceptance among Peruvians, as has the growing popularity of
Japanese food (sushi) and culture (manga, anime) around the world. All of these factors
have helped Nikkei food to flourish and gain acceptance in Peru and elsewhere.
Although Nikkei Peruvians have long been ambivalent about their identities and
belonging in Peru, the emergence and proliferation of Nikkei food demonstrates that
they do belong in Peru. Yet, as this Japanese–Peruvian fusion food indicates, Nikkei
Peruvians are integrated as Nikkei Peruvians in a country that increasingly celebrates its
cultural diversity and promotes fusion food as an emblem of that.
Food unites and divides populations (Parasecoli, 2014). The story of Nikkei cuisine is
about how food, as a cultural representation of identity, integrates a community and
forges a sense of solidarity. But it is also about how food serves as a tool to claim a
culture and write a history, as distinct from others.

Notes on contributor
Ayumi Takenaka previously served on the sociology faculty at Bryn Mawr College and currently
teaches courses at Meiji University. Specializing in immigration studies, race and ethnicity, and
diaspora politics, she engages in research on immigrant integration and identities through food.

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