【简译】古代日本的饮食与农业

The diet of ancient Japan was heavily influenced by its geography as an archipelago, foodstuffs and eating habits imported from mainland Asia, religious beliefs, and an appreciation for the aesthetic appearance of dishes, not just the taste. Millet was replaced by rice as the main staple food from c. 300 BCE and seafood was preferred to meat, both for its abundance and because Buddhism, introduced in the 6th century CE, largely prohibited the killing of animals and birds. A wide variety of fruit and vegetables were available while tea and sake were the popular drinks, at least for the aristocracy.

          古代日本的饮食在很大程度上受到其作为群岛的地理环境、从亚洲大陆学习的食品与饮食习惯、宗教信仰以及对菜肴外观美感的欣赏（不仅仅是味道）的影响。从公元前300年起，大米取代了小米，成为日本人的主食；海产品比家畜肉类更受欢迎，一方面是因为海产品丰富，另一方面是因为公元6世纪传入的佛教在很大程度上禁止杀害动物和鸟类。各式各样的水果和蔬菜都有，茶和清酒则是受欢迎的饮料——至少对贵族来说是这样。

地 理 与 天 气

The geography of Japan is varied and so, therefore, is each region's capacity for agriculture. The Inland Sea basin between Honshu and Shikoku benefits from heavy rains during the growing season and sunny, dry days of subtropical temperatures prior to harvest, while late Autumn rains coming in with the Pacific Ocean winds and mild winters help winter crops. Delayed rains or early typhoons can destroy crops. In contrast, the north-west of Honshu receives icy winds and snow sweeping in from Asia.

           日本的地理环境各不相同，因此，每个地区的农业能力也不尽相同。本州岛和四国之间的内海盆地得益于生长季节的大雨和收获前亚热带气温的晴朗、干燥的日子，而晚秋的雨随着太平洋的风与温和的冬季到来，有助于冬季作物的生长。延迟的降雨或早期的台风会毁坏农作物。相比之下，本州岛的西北部会收到来自亚洲的冰冷的风与雪。

神 话 传 说

Given the fickle whims of Nature and the real possibility of devastating weather phenomena which could wipe out crops, it is not surprising that the ancient Japanese conjured up deities to protect their interests.

          鉴于大自然的变化无常，以及破坏性天气使庄稼绝收的可能性，古代日本人企图召唤出神灵来保护他们的利益也就不足为奇。

Food (shokumotsu) could have its own gods. There was a general and ancient food goddess from Ise, and Inari was established as the national rice god long after local rice gods had already been protecting farmers and promising them a good harvest when they received suitable offerings. Even rice fields had their own protective Shinto spirit, ta no kami. An important part of agriculture were religious ceremonies and rituals, especially around sowing and harvest time, which were meant to ensure a good crop and protect it from disasters. Ceremonies involving rice were particularly important and involved the emperor. Famine, too, was represented in mythology as an old crone who had set fish traps to deprive the people of salmon but who was eventually killed by the hero Okikurmi. Buddhism also featured food-related figures, notably Iorin, a manifestation of Kannon, who is the patroness of fishermen, and Ida-ten, the god of the meal in Zen sects. The latter is prayed to before meals and watches for any excess of appetite.

          食物（shokumotsu）可以有自己的神。在伊势，有一位古老的食物女神；而稻荷神，在当地的米神已经保护农民并在收到合适的供品时承诺丰收之后，过了很久才被确立为全国的米神。即使是稻田也有自己的保护神灵，即ta no kami。宗教仪式和典礼是农业的一个重要部分，特别是在播种与收获的时候，这是为了确保丰收并保护其免受灾难。水稻的仪式特别重要，这涉及到统治者。饥荒在神话中被人们表现为一个老妪，她设置捕鱼器抢夺了人们的鲑鱼，但她最终被英雄Okikurmi（アイヌラックㇽ，阿伊努人之父或人类之父）杀死。佛教中也有与食物有关的人物，例如Iorin，她是观音的化身，是渔民的守护神，还有Ida-ten，禅宗中的餐神。后者是人们在饭前祈祷的神灵，他观察人的任何多余的食欲。

农     业

Agriculture (nogaku) in ancient Japan, as it remains today, was largely focussed on cereal and vegetable production, with meat only being produced in relatively limited quantities. Early food sources during the Jomon Period (c. 14,500 - c. 300 BCE or earlier) were millet and edible grasses. The first traces of crop cultivation date to c. 5700 BCE with slash-and-burn agriculture. Farming of specific and repeated areas of land occurred from c. 4,000 BCE.

          古代日本的农业（nogaku），就像今天一样，主要集中于谷物和蔬菜的生产上，肉类的生产数量相对有限。绳文时代（约公元前14,500年-约公元前300年或更早）的早期食物来源是小米和可食用的植物。最早的作物种植痕迹可以追溯到大约公元前5700年的刀耕火种的时代。大约从公元前4000年开始，出现了对特定区域的重复耕作。

By far the most important staple food was rice. There is evidence of rice c. 1250 BCE, introduced to Japan via migrants from mainland Asia in the late Jomon Period, but its cultivation was likely not until c. 800 BCE. The first evidence of growing rice in wet fields dates to c. 600 BCE when the technique was introduced, again by migrants from Asia, during the transition from the Jomon to the Yayoi Period. The earliest paddy fields appeared in the south-west and then spread northwards. Yayoi immigrants also brought azuki beans, soybeans, wheat, and, from China, what has become the Japanese dish par excellence, sushi.

          到目前为止，最重要的主食是大米。大约在公元前1250年，有证据表明水稻是在绳文时代后期通过亚洲大陆的移民传入日本的，但其种植可能要到公元前800年才开始。在湿地上种植水稻的第一个证据可以追溯到公元前600年左右，在从绳文时代到弥生时代的过渡时期，这种技术也是由来自亚洲的移民引进的。最早的水田出现在日本西南部，然后向北扩展。弥生时代的移民还带来了小豆、大豆、小麦，以及从中国带来的已经成为日本最出色的菜肴——寿司。

Agricultural was slow to develop, and it was not until the introduction of iron tools and techniques from Korea in the Kofun Period (c. 250 - 538 CE) that progress was made in efficiency. Even during the Nara Period (710-794 CE) agriculture still depended on primitive tools, not enough land was prepared for crops, and irrigation techniques were insufficient to prevent frequent crop failures and outbreaks of famine (notably in 730 CE and c. 1180 CE). There was some state support in the form of loans of seed-rice in the 9th century CE, but the interest rates were between 30 and 50%. Only the Kamakura Period (1183-1333 CE) and medieval times would see such techniques as double-cropping, better seed strains and a wider use of fertiliser.

          农业发展缓慢，直到古坟时代（约250-538年）从韩国引进铁制工具和技术，才在效率方面取得进展。即使在奈良时代（公元710-794年），农业仍然依赖于原始的工具，人们没有足够的土地用于种植，灌溉技术也不足以预防频繁的作物歉收和饥荒的爆发（特别是在公元730年和公元1180年左右）。在公元9世纪，国家以贷款方式提供了一些种子水稻的支持，但利率在30-50%之间。只有在镰仓时代（公元1183-1333年）和镰仓时中期，才出现双季稻、更好的种子品系和更广泛地使用肥料等技术。

Given this unreliability, most small farmers preferred the greater security of working for landed aristocrats on their large estates (shoen). Only these estates were properly irrigated, and small independent farmers had to do with rainfall or natural underground sources, and so settle for dry field crops like millet (and hemp) as well as barley, wheat, and buckwheat. Rice, when grown in such conditions, was reserved to pay taxes. Other crops included barley and mulberry, the latter needed for the production of silk.

          考虑到这种不可靠的情况（自然环境、耕作技术），大多数小农宁愿选择在大庄园（shoen）里为贵族们工作，因为这样更有保障。只有这些庄园才有相应的灌溉设施，而独立的小农户只能依靠降雨或天然的地下水资源，因此只能种植小米（和麻）以及大麦、小麦和荞麦等旱田作物。种植的水稻，被保留下来以支付税收。其他作物包括大麦和桑树，后者需要用于生产丝绸。

饮     食

As Japan is a collection of variously sized islands, seafood was easily acquired and was much more popular than meat, animal husbandry being a more costly and time-consuming source of food. Examples of seafood eaten are shellfish, seaweed, sea cucumber, bonito, bream, sea bass, eel, carp, mackerel, sardine, salmon, trout, shark, prawns, squid, jellyfish, and crab. Fish, if not eaten fresh and on site, was transported inland dried.

          由于日本是一个大小不一的岛屿的集合体，人们很容易获得海产品，而且比肉类更受欢迎；畜牧业生产的肉类更昂贵和耗时。吃的海鲜，有贝类、海藻、海参、鲣鱼、鳊鱼、海鲈鱼、鳗鱼、鲤鱼、鲭鱼、沙丁鱼、鲑鱼、鳟鱼、鲨鱼、大虾、鱿鱼、海蜇和螃蟹。如果新鲜的鱼吃不完，就会晒干并运往内陆。

When Buddhism was introduced into Japan in the 6th century CE and then officially adopted and sponsored by the state, the religion, with its avoidance of killing animals and birds, provided another reason for seafood and vegetables to dominate the Japanese diet. Buddhism did not prohibit the eating of all types of meat, with wild boar and venison being exceptions to the rule. Pheasant was another meat which maintained its popularity. It is also true that some Buddhist sects were stricter and required their followers to eat a vegetarian diet.

          当佛教在公元6世纪传入日本，然后被国家正式采纳和赞助时，由于宗教避免杀害动物和鸟类的教义，为海鲜和蔬菜在日本饮食中占主导地位提供了另一个条件。佛教并不禁止食用所有类型的肉类，野猪和鹿肉是例外。野鸡是另一种保持其受欢迎程度的肉类。一些佛教教派也确实比较严格，要求他们的信徒吃素食。

They send cormorants forth

Over the upper shoals,

They cast dipper nets

Across the lower shoals.

Mountain and river

Draw together to serve her -

A god's reign indeed!

Manyoshu poem by Kakinomoto Hitomaro on Natures bounty for Empress Jito (Ebrey, 150).

他们把鸬鹚送到

上面的滩涂上。

他们将北斗七星网

穿过下游的滩涂。

山川和河流

凝聚在一起，为她服务。

真是神的统治!

柿本人麻吕的《万叶集》，关于大自然对持统女天皇的恩赐（Ebrey，150）。

The best-known period regarding Japanese diet is the Heian Period (794-1185 CE) when literature flourished and references to eating practices can be found amongst the court intrigues and romantic interludes. Our knowledge is largely restricted to that of the aristocracy as they were the ones who wrote the literature and they concentrated on their own lavish dinner parties held in their pleasure palaces of the capital Heiankyo (Kyoto). We can imagine that the diet of the ordinary population was much less palatable, although it might have been healthier as many a noble court writer alludes to the boils and other maladies related to malnutrition which plagued the imperial court.

          有关日本饮食，最著名的时期是平安时代（公元794-1185年），当时的文学很繁荣，在宫廷阴谋和浪漫的插曲中可以找到有关饮食习惯的记载。我们的认知在很大程度上局限于贵族阶层，因为他们是撰写文学作品的人，他们专注于自己在首都平安京（京都）的欢乐宫中举行的豪华晚宴。我们可以想象，普通人的饮食就不那么可口了，尽管它可能更健康，因为许多贵族宫廷作家都提到了困扰朝廷的疖子和其他与营养不良有关的疾病。

Aristocrats had two meals a day - one at around 10 am and the second at 4 am but, again, we can imagine that labourers and farmers probably ate early and late in the day so as not to interfere with their work. People would have eaten snacks, too, of fruit, nuts, or rice cakes, for example.

          贵族们一天吃两顿饭——一顿在上午10点左右，第二顿在凌晨4点。但是，我们可以想象，劳工和农民可能在早中晚都要吃饭，为他们的劳作提供能量。人们也会吃零食，例如水果、坚果或米饼。

Rice, the staple, was boiled, steamed, or cooked and then dried. It was mixed with vegetables to make rice cakes or made into a thick porridge and spiced up with vegetables or other cereals. Popular vegetables included the versatile soybean which could be made into a flavouring paste (miso), tofu (bean curd), or soy sauce. There were red beans, Japanese sweet potatoes, bamboo shoots, aubergines, cucumbers, burdock, onions, spring onions, yams, and radishes. They were eaten raw or boiled, steamed or pickled. Food was seasoned using salt, ginger, mint, garlic, vinegar, and fish broth. A sweeter taste was achieved by adding honey, a rice jelly, or a liquid known as amazura which was pressed from wild grapes. Another way to add extra taste was cooking using walnut or sesame oil.

          大米作为主食，被煮熟、蒸熟或煮熟后晒干。它与蔬菜混合制成米饼，或制成浓粥，并用蔬菜或其他谷物进行调味。受欢迎的蔬菜包括用途广泛的黄豆，它可以被制成调味酱（味噌）、豆腐（豆制品）或酱油。还有红豆、日本红薯、竹笋、茄子、黄瓜、牛蒡、洋葱、葱、山药和萝卜。它们可以生吃，也可以煮着吃、蒸着吃或腌着吃。食物是用盐、姜、薄荷、大蒜、醋和鱼汤来调味的。人们通过添加蜂蜜、米果冻或从野葡萄中压榨出来的一种被称为阿马苏拉（amazura）的液体，可以获得更甜的味道。另一种增加额外味道的方法是使用核桃油或芝麻油烹饪。

Fruit available included peaches, the Japanese orange, tangerines, persimmons, loquats, plums, pomegranates, apples, raspberries, and strawberries. There were also nuts such as chestnuts, walnuts, and pine nuts. Fats were provided (probably in insufficient quantities) by eggs, milk and butter products.  

          水果包括桃子、日本橙、橘子、柿子、枇杷、李子、石榴、苹果、覆盆子和草莓。还有一些坚果，如栗子、核桃和松子。脂肪由鸡蛋、牛奶和黄油产品提供（少数）。  

Such quintessential Japanese dishes as tempura and sukiyaki were introduced to the islands much later - tempura via the Portuguese in the 16th century CE and sukiyaki in the early 20th century CE after beef was made fashionable there by western Europeans.

          天妇罗和寿喜烧等典型的日本菜是很晚才出现的——天妇罗是在16世纪葡萄牙人来的时候出现的，而寿喜烧是在20世纪初牛肉成为流行食物后（生活在日本的外国人引入了食肉文化）出现的。

Tea (cha) was another popular introduction from China (6th-7th century CE), and according to tradition it first grew from a bush which grew from the discarded eyelids of the sage Daruma (aka Boddhidarma), the founder of Zen Buddhism. Also, from China came better tea plants and the elaborate ceremony involved in its preparation (chanoyu). Tea drinking was first adopted by Zen Buddhist monks as it was thought to aid meditation and ward off sleep. The drink was also considered to have medicinal qualities. The tea was prepared by pounding the leaves and making a ball with amazura or ginger, which was then left to brew in hot water. Eventually, from 1200 CE, specialised tea schools were opened, people drank in dedicated tea rooms (chashitsu), and people's finest porcelain was reserved for tea drinking.

          茶（Cha）是另一种从中国引进的流行产品（公元6-7世纪），根据记载，它最早是从禅宗创始人达摩（又名Boddhidarma）的废弃眼皮上长出的灌木。此外，从中国传来了更好的茶叶品种和精心准备的仪式（chanoyu）。饮茶最早是由禅宗僧侣发明的，因为它被认为有助于冥想和驱赶睡眠。这种饮料也被认为具有药用价值。茶的制备方法是将茶叶捣碎，与天竺葵或生姜制成球，然后放在热水中冲泡。从公元1200年开始，日本开设了专门的茶叶学校，人们在专门的茶室（chashitsu）里喝茶，人们用最好的瓷器饮茶。

Finally, one important drink which, again, remains a quintessential symbol of Japan is sake or rice wine. In mythology, the drink comes from Tokyo, a gift from Sukunabikona, the god of magic and healing. Sake was and is a common offering to the gods of Shinto shrines. Finally, illustrating the antiquity of sake and its importance in Japanese culture, Otomo no Tabito (665-731) famously composed 13 poems praising the drink, and here is one of them:

Instead of fretting

Over things of no avail,

It would seem better

To drink a cupful

Of clouded sake.

(Keene, 137)

最后，有一种重要的饮料，它是日本的一个典型象征，那就是清酒或米酒。在神话中，这种饮料来自东京，是魔法和治疗之神Sukunabikona的礼物。清酒在过去和现在都是向神道教神社的神灵们提供的常见祭品。为了说明清酒的古老和它在日本文化中的重要性，大伴旅人（665-731）创作了13首赞美清酒的著名诗歌，这是其中之一：

而不是为那些无用的东西烦恼

为无用的事情烦恼。

似乎更好

喝一杯

浊酒。

(Keene, 137)

参考书目：

Ashkenazi, M. Handbook of Japanese Mythology. Oxford University Press, 2008.

Beasley, W.G. The Japanese Experience. University of California Press, 2000.

Ebrey, P.B. Pre-Modern East Asia. Wadsworth Publishing, 2013.

Habu, J. Ancient Jomon of Japan. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Henshall, K. Historical Dictionary of Japan to 1945. Scarecrow Press, 2013.

Keene, D. Seeds in the Heart. Columbia University Press, 1999.

Mason, R.H.P. A History of Japan. Tuttle Publishing, 1997.

Sansom, G. A History of Japan to 1334. Stanford University Press, 1958.

Seligman, L. "The History of Japanese Cuisine." Japan Quarterly, April 1994, 41, 2, pp. 165-180.

Whitney Hall, J. The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, 1999.

作者：Mark Cartwright

          驻意大利的历史作家。他的主要兴趣包括陶瓷、建筑、世界神话和发现所有文明的共同思想。他拥有政治哲学硕士学位，是《世界历史百科全书》的出版总监。

原文网址：

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1082/food--agriculture-in-ancient-japan/