Food, Power, Myth

Humanity’s most basic physiological needs consist of air, water, and food. Among these, food holds a special role as an architect of culture. From our hunter-gatherer past, to the industrial revolution, to even the growing movement of organic farming today, our ever-changing ideas and relationship to food has played a fundamental role in defining the epochs of our civilization. Japanese culture in particular has unique relationship to food. Up until the Meiji Restoration, Japan was predominantly a rice-based economy. In other words, capital was synonymous with sustenance. As one of the most well-known and celebrated folk tales in Japan, the story of Momotaro alludes to this deeply enmeshed ontological relationship between food and power distinct to the Japanese psyche. As a folk hero, his strong and upright character captured the minds of many. And with the radical changes that came with modernization, the image of Momotaro evolved with the spirit of times. As Japan joined the imperialist bandwagon at the turn of the 20th century, Momotaro was transformed from a simple folk hero into a national symbol of the empire. As seen in Mitsuyo Seo’s Momotaro’s Sea Eagles, the appropriation of the myth was used to establish and assert Japan’s new place in the global arena, and his militant image saw an increasing departure from the folk hero of the past. Yet with the dissolution of the empire after Japan lost the war, so too the militaristic Momotaro soon vanished. In the 1971 documentary, Minamata: The Victims and their World by Noriaki Tsuchimoto, the symbolic imagery of Momotaro reemerges in the national consciousness in the form of a grass-roots hero. The victims of the Minamata disease equated their pilgrimage throughout the country to Momotaro’s quest to conquer evil. In this sense, Momotaro is able to live a fluid existence, adapting to the psychic needs of the Japanese people through various contexts. In all its manifestations, the myth provides a framework to challenge and negotiate power, as well as deliver a catalyst for community-building through food. If we are to consider myths as public dreams, we can see Momotaro as the Japanese embodiment of the unconscious and universal drive for empowerment. And he carries with him the boon, the humble yet satisfying millet dumpling, which perhaps symbolizes “life force” itself.

As with most folktales, the origins of Momotaro are uncertain. In the standard version of today, the tale of Momotaro begins with an old lady’s encounter with a giant peach drifting down a river. She takes the peach home and presents it to her husband, and in their attempt to cut the peach–lo and behold–out comes a little baby boy. The rejoiced couple names the boy Momotaro, and raises him as their own. Years pass, and Momotaro grows up to be strong and righteous. One day, he resolves to embark on a journey to defeat a gang of ogres in a far away island. His parents, though reluctant at first, concede to his wish, and sends him off with some homemade millet dumplings. On his journey, Momotaro wins the loyalty of a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant; to each he gives a millet dumpling in exchange for their alliance. When they reach Onigashima, the island of ogres, they swiftly defeat the ogres, and the story ends on a triumphant note. Even in this most basic, stripped down synopsis, food plays an explicit role. Moreover, the offering of food appear to symbolize a significant transmission of power and spirit. The dumplings that the old couple prepare for Momotaro’s journey are an embodiment of all that they have to give. And when Momotaro gives each animal a millet dumpling, the transaction binds and unites them. Through the exchange of food, power is negotiable. The social contract between Momotaro and the animals could not happen without mutual agreement of the terms. The fact that the animals are willing to risk their lives in exchange for a millet dumpling suggests the value placed onto food in the story and perhaps even in a broader cultural sense. Survival necessitates sustenance, and thus food becomes the ultimate binder of people.

The countless iterations of Momotaro greatly differ in emphasis, tone, and detail. For example, in the highly condensed 1951 Osaka Koyosha Shuppan version, the encounters between Momotaro and the animals are simple and straightforward. The narrator states, “Momotaro shared his millet dumplings with a monkey, a dog, and a pheasant. They went along with him to Momotaro to serve him and help him.” Similarly, the 1885 version by Hasegawa Takejiro maintains a relatively neutral tone in the encounters between Momotaro and the animals. In comparison, the 1894 version by Iwaya Sazanami exhibits a much more aggressive tone in both Momotaro and the animals. When Momotaro first encounters the dog, the prideful dog threatens to bite his head off. In response, Momotaro says, “You wild dog of the woods, what are you talking about! I am traveling for the sake of the country and am on my way to conquer “Ogres’ Island.” My name is Peach-Boy. If you try to hinder me in anyway, there will be no mercy for you; I, myself, will cut you in half from your head downwards!”. Immediately, the dog retracts his hostility and swears his loyalty to Momotaro. And when the dog politely asks for a millet dumpling, Momotaro gives him only half, reasoning that they are the best millet dumplings in Japan. The dog accepts the half-dumping earnestly, and they continue on their journey. Their encounters with the monkey and the pheasant thereafter continue to display aggression and hostility (particularly between the animals), until each one is tamed by Momotaro’s authoritative command, though they ultimately become friends. It is curious that the first two versions mentioned–written over half a century apart–maintain a similar neutrality in tone, while the Sazanami version is charged with an overtly militant one. It is also strange that Momotaro gives each of the animals only half of a dumpling, for this detail is unique to Sazanami’s version. Overall, the animals have less negotiating power in this version, which may be indicative of the increasingly oppressive power structures during the time it was written. In addition, in this version Momotaro is associated with the divine. Upon his birth, Momotaro tells his parents, “The truth is, I have been sent down to you by the command of the god of Heaven.” The reference to a heavenly mandate is highly reminiscent of the kind of apotheosis that the emperor achieved during the Meiji era. These factor suggest that Momotaro in this incarnation is an allegory for the growing Japanese empire. 1894 is a notable year for Imperial Japan, for it was the year the First Sino-Japanese War was waged, thus marking the Japan’s debut as a world class military power. Perhaps Sazanami, as an eminent figure in children’s literature at the time, felt it was fitting to calibrate the folktale with the national ‘zeitgeist’. And indeed he would not be the last one to do so.

In Momotaro’s Sea Eagles, a 1943 animated film directed by Mitsuyo Seo, we find a version of Momotaro that is far removed from the tale’s traditional depiction. Here the folk hero has been appropriated to fit the militaristic values of Imperial Japan. Released at the height of the Pacific War, it was used as propaganda to inspire patriotism in the Japanese youth. The traditional structure of the folktale is replaced by a narrative embedded in the realism of modern warfare. The film is set on a ship in the open ocean, with a Japanese fleet of animals (including dogs, monkeys, pheasants and rabbits) preparing for an attack of Demon Island: the allegorical Pearl Harbor. Although Momotaro is the commanding officer of the ship, his presence in the film is limited and somewhat detached. This might be surprising considering that the title of the film denotes that the adventure is his, but instead the plot focuses on the actions of the animals. The animals are depicted as comical, endearing, and their playfulness implies the sense of youth. In comparison, the American antagonists are collectively depicted as Bluto, a character from Popeye. The animals’ aerial attack of the Americans can be compared to Momotaro’s attack of Onigashima. Interestingly enough, the film does not depict the Americans as evil, as the Momotaro folktale depicts the ogres. Instead, the Americans are portrayed as lacking basic integrity. The many bottles of alcohol littered on their ship deck suggests a sloppiness. And the commanding officer is a disheveled, blundering drunk who exhibits very little honor or dignity in the face of calamity. In comparison, Momotaro’s dignified presence reinforces the superior character on the Japanese. The triumph of the Japanese cartoon animals over the American Blutos is certainly allegorical of a broader cultural victory of the Japanese empire over the West.

The youth of Japan

Thus, in this incarnation of the tale, the negotiation of power is happening on an international scale. Meanwhile, the unequal power relations between Momotaro and the animals seem to be taken for granted. For example, Momotaro is the only human on the ship. The distinction between man vs. animal is one that evokes the image of domesticated animals being dependent on their owners. And the fact that Momotaro is the only character with that speaks throughout the film suggests the lack of power the animals actually have. It would also be wise to mention the minimal role that food plays in this version of Momotaro. Unlike the other incarnations of the story, there is no exchange of the millet dumplings between Momotaro and the animals. While there are scenes that do feature millet dumplings, it doesn’t seem to have the same weight that the dumplings normally have in the plot development. In the various versions of the Momotaro tale, the exchange of food for service is crucial to the bond created between Momotaro and the animals. Without it, power relations between Momotaro and the animals become opaque and abstracted. But considering the intended audience of the film, it makes sense that the focus is on the camaraderie between the animals, for it fosters national pride, a fairly new concept at the time. Ultimately, this film delivers a truly modern take on Momotaro as being the symbol of the Japanese national character by re-contextualizing the hero altogether.

With the advent of industrialization, we having become increasingly alienated from our food sources. Thus in our capitalist world, power has become vastly abstracted. The problems that come with such abstraction of power may not be so obvious on a daily basis, but becomes evident in certain circumstances such as when our food security become jeopardized due to entities more powerful than us. An example of this illustrated in Minamata: The Victims and their World, a documentary film made in 1971 by Noriaki Tsuchimoto. The film is about the rural communities in Minamata, Japan affected by a debilitating disease caused by acute mercury poisoning. The disease was caused by mercury being released into the ocean by a factory owned by Chisso Corporation, and gradually reached epidemic proportions. The coastal fishing communities were affected the most, for their main food source was directly being poisoned.

A fisherman’s life depends on the sea

The Minamata disease became an embodiment of a large corporate entity’s oppression of rural, marginalized communities. During their country-wide pilgrimage to publicize their plight and protest the corporation at fault, the members equated their journey to that of Momotaro. Even though victory would not be as clear-cut for the Minamata people as it was for Momotaro,  their quest was in the same grass-roots spirit. In a way, the function of food in the documentary is inverted from that of the folktale. In the folktale, the goodness of the food is the uniting force. But for the people of Minamata, it is the damaged state of their food source that brought the community together. Either way, it is food that ultimately brings the people together. In the Minamata documentary, we find an incarnation of Momotaro that reveals considerable tension between 20th century capitalism and the rural communities that struggle against the grain.

The potency of the Momotaro myth is twofold: first, that it uses food to bring people together, and second, that it uses food to negotiate power relations. The ways in which the myth of Momotaro is reinterpreted throughout Japanese history provides profound insights into a culture where food and power are very much entwined.

The Effects of Food

Miyazaki’s film Spirited Away presents a world where magic exists and spirits dwell. A young girl named Chihiro stumbles upon the existence of this world where the wicked witch Yubaba is the supreme ruler. Here, Yubaba is the owner of the bathhouse which serves as a central location for spirits to congregate. When Chihiro’s parents eat the food of the spirit world and turn into pigs, Chihiro must work for Yubaba while finding a way to reclaim her parents’ human identities. Along this journey, it is the crucial that Chihiro remembers her own identity instead of the one that Yubaba bestows upon her in order to be able to return to the real world.

Throughout Chihiro’s adventures in Spirited Away, food appears to be of a central importance. Miyazaki affiliates the aspect of eating and the existence of food with happiness, power, and greed. The role that food plays in the film helps establish the circumstances that Chihiro encounters.

 Food is a source of pleasure. As is shown in the opening scenes where Chihiro’s parents are consuming a buffet of roasted meats and delicacies, the act of eating brings about a sense of happiness. Chihiro herself finds joy in consuming the buns that her friend Haku offers her. Moreover, the patrons of the bathhouse are served bento boxes and platters of alluring foods in an effort to make their experiences the most enjoyable.

Pleasure but loss of identity through eating

Through the existence of food, one is able to obtain power. When Chihiro’s parents devour the spirit world food, they allow Yubaba the ability to control their identities. In this sense, Yubaba has the power to decide whether they shall be returned to the human world or be kept as pigs to be slaughtered. On the other hand, the monster No Face gains power through the food that he is fed at the bathhouse in such a way that he is unable to be controlled by Yubaba. As the workers continually serve No Face with the hopes of being tipped with some of the monster’s endless supply of gold, No Face grows in size and strength. The food is the source of No Face’s power since he weakens when Chihiro feeds him food from the river god that makes him throw up all that he has eaten.

Purging river god of his greed

Accordingly, greed through temptation and consumption may arise. As No Face gains power from all the food he is served, his desire to consume is also growing. The presence of the bountiful dishes causes No Face to be relentlessly hungry. The greed that No Face acquires as he continues to eat manifests itself as a menacing depiction of a monster that refuses to stop his rampage until he is finally full and satisfied. Similarly, the river god that approaches the bathhouse cloaked in a reeking sludge appears as he does because of his overconsumption of misshapen objects. The temptations of all that the river god could consume led to his greed in eating all that he could. It is not until Chihiro dislodges a bicycle from his body that the river god is relieved of the consequences of his greed. In all, the effects of food and eating are ever present in this film.

Momotaro: Leading the Troops

The most important shot of Momotaro’s Sea Eagle is when Momotaro is instructing his troops on how to enter battle. They are planning a surprise attack on the island, Hawaii, and he is reviewing the strategy with his troops: where, when, and how they should attack. This scene demonstrates Momotaro’s power and intelligence. Momotaro is standing in the foreground looming much larger than the monkeys, indicating his presence is more significant than theirs. The monkeys are lined up in the background standing at attention, but they are still rather silly looking in comparison to Momotaro’s stark features, his arched eyebrows and his straight stern mouth. Half the monkeys are smiling and some of them have their view blocked by the ears of their companions, they come in various sizes and are standing with their feet together and their bellies out. This contrast between Momotaro and the monkeys emphasizes the seriousness with which Momotaro regards his mission, and the willingness with which his troops follow him. The monkeys may look silly but they are standing at attention and listening to Momotaro’s every word.

The fact that the troops (in this scene) are monkeys and Momotaro is a human also emphasizes Momotaro’s superior intelligence. Monkeys are viewed as primates, the creatures from which humans evolved, and so Momotaro is the clear leader. This shot also affirms the idea from the folktale that Momotaro was born to lead. In the folktale Momotaro leads a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant to fight the ogres on Ogre’s Island. Here Momotaro leads monkeys, rabbits, dogs, and birds to fight the “ogre” Americans on Hawaii. Though in the film Momotaro does not lead the fight himself, but rather remains on the ship, the same idea of him as a just and strong leader is conveyed. The seriousness of Momotaro and the playful silliness of his animal troops enforces violent Japanese patriotism.

Food and Power in Battleship Potemkin

Battleship Potemkin demonstrates the importance of food to society and the power it gives to individuals.  The sailors on this ship are given rotten meat as the staple of their diet despite their complaints that maggots are living in it.  Because nothing changes, the sailors become angry and rebel against their superiors.  The uprising causes a shift in the hierarchy on the boat that sends the soldiers into a spiral of power.  Food is important because it gives whoever controls it power over others.

The sailors surround their officers symbolizing a shift in power.

The officers of the Battleship Potemkin control the sailors’ food and therefore control the sailors themselves.  Because food gives strength, and essentially life, the soldiers are in the authority of the officers.  The food that is being given to the sailors has maggots living in it; maggots are used to demonstrate how spoiled the meat is.  When the sailors complain, the doctor tells them to simply wash it with brine; the fact that the doctor lies about the state of the meat shows that the officers control him as well.  However, once the sailors decide not to accept the rotten food they are given, they are released from the strings that control them and take control of their own lives.  Without food one cannot live, but without soldiers, the officers don’t have anyone to sustain the ship.  The soldiers refusing to eat the meat given to them poses a threat to the officers power and when the sailors surround their officers, they are indicating who is now control.  After the takeover, the sailors take to the city of Odessa in the first show of their newfound power.

A live chicken to provide the sailors with sustenance.

The Oddessians react to the martyr by giving food to the soldiers, which gives them nutrition and strength to grasp even more authority. The food the Oddessians give to the sailors is actually alive, which is a sharp contrast to the decayed food they were eating before. Even though the city is attacked by the military because of the uprising, the sailors are able to use their new strength and power to deflect the attack by the incoming ships.  There is suspense when the oncoming boats raise their guns to the rebellious sailors, but when the sailors simply wave to them, the guns lower and the audience gets a sense of how much authority the sailors now have.  Without the people of Odessa’s food, the sailors would still be without control or healthy food, but because they stand up for themselves and find a new food source, they are able to not only take control of the ship, but also assert their authority with the other military ships.

Food is important to the human race because it is a human’s means of living, but because it is a necessity, certain people have a lot of power.  Those who have control of the food control the people that the food feeds.   Battleship Potemkintells the story of sailors who become free from the control of their officers by refusing to accept the food they are being given and finding their own source of food.

Food as a Link to Characterization, Propaganda, Strength and Victory

Momotaro is a well-known folk tale that has been around Japan for a long time. In the original tale, Momotaro is a brave hero who fights ogres to defend Japan and bring back all their treasures. In “Momotaro’s Sea Eagle,” a history on display, Momotaro is about a naval commander emperor sending his monkeys, dogs, and pheasants on a mission to defeat the demons, the Western colonialist aggressors. This nationalistic film is used as propaganda and depicts the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Although subtle, food plays a significant role in characterizing Momotaro and is a key to success in winning against the Western aggressors.

Momotaro, when translated, means Peach Boy. Often in the scenes, there appears a Japan is Number 1 flag with a symbol of peach. Peach symbolizes piety and longevity. Viewers already have an attachment to Momotaro and thus he is illustrated as a charismatic hero. He successfully leads a group of human-like animals to victory, but does not necessary seem inspiring as he is just commanding directions. However, viewers watch this film with background knowledge of his faithful, well-liked character from the folk tale. Thus, they are attracted to the familiar, recognizable Momotaro and the cute, round, simple, and small figures of the animals who have adopted the human behavior such as the pheasant flying the plane, which makes it more acceptable and justified for people from all ages to watch without the fear of war. Momotaro’s voice in the animation sounds like a very young boy, unthreatening and relatable. They are able to promote the war through the goofy, happy, and playful sound effects as well even though there are violent scenes of bombing. This film is propaganda for nationalism as it shows the justified, relatable culture. Propaganda can be cultivated through nonthreatening scenes and likeable characters. Momotaro gets all the glory and is an already established leader through his name, Peach Boy. Thus food plays a significant role in establishing his character, using him as propaganda for war, and depicting relationships.

After eating the millet dumpling, monkey now has a new source of power, showing off his muscles.

As seen in this scene, millet dumplings are given as a source of strength, a gift for substance. The monkey and the dog’s physical appearance change drastically after eating them. The camera gives a close up of their muscles and the background music is cheerful. Although there are few dialogues in the film, people young and old, can enjoy this animation and really focus to details of the images. The millet dumpling is also a link to their home country and is a rich symbolic marker of different relationships in the story. It is a link to the folk tale, to parents, piety devotion, and propaganda.

Monkey takes out the "millet dumpling" bag to help the baby eagle stop crying. Surprisingly, it has an airplane toy instead of food.

For instance, this scene depicts the relationship between the monkey and the eagle, which is a key factor in their victory. Monkey thinks of an idea to help the baby eagle stop crying. Therefore, the camera zooms in on his white bag. It is labeled in big black bold letters, “Millet dumpling-kibidango” in Japanese, but instead, the monkey takes out an airplane toy and successfully rescues and gives power to the baby eagle. Towards the end of the film, when their airplane almost crashed, the mother eagle saves them from drowning. Thus, the “millet dumplings’” eventually led to the victory and success of the war. It also shows that Japan have grown into a country with not only agriculture but also developing technology. Japan is depicted as a fast developing country throughout this film and therefore, the millet dumpling bag is a source to show off, in a sense, of the power Japan holds. Food in this animation is a link that connects everything from the source of strength to the victory to success to the propaganda of war.

Tampopo: The Power of and Dedication to Food

Tampopo is a film directed by Juzo Itami, featuring the many aspects and ways to interpret and view food.  The movie develops on a main storyline in which Goro, a truck driver, and his friend Gun, just so happened to stop by a ramen shop. The film focuses on Goro deciding to help the ramen shop owner, Tampopo, to improve her techniques in making ramen and to save her business from dying. Together, and with the help of others, they went through many kinds of hardships and challenges as she gradually sharpens her ramen-making skills. Other than the central narrative, many seemingly random and sometimes absurd sub-vignettes are also incorporated into Tampopo as another way for Juzo Itami to illustrate the food motif. One of the recurring themes in this movie is the power of and dedication given to food.

In one of the subplots of Tampopo, in which it depicts a young subordinate accompanying a group of seemingly sophisticated and highly regarded businessmen to a very elegant French restaurant. While in the restaurant, as each of the highly regarded businessmen order the same meal after one another,

The young subordinate demonstrating his refined knowledge of French cuisine

it was revealed that they apparently do not have any refined knowledge regarding high-class western cuisine. However, when it was the young subordinate’s turn to order, despite his superior’s repeated subtle kicks, he demonstrated his highly cultivated experience in French cuisine by asking the waiter a lot of high knowledge questions and ordering the most expensive dish. In Japan, ignoring a superior’s order is the most disrespectful action possible, but for food, the young subordinate chooses to disregard his superior’s instruction and potential consequences. This illustrates the power of food, enough to even prompt a subordinate to commit one of the most disrespectful actions in Japanese culture.

The power of and dedication to food also appears in another sub story of Tampopo. In this vignette, a businessman is hurrying back to his house to see his dying wife. Right when he arrives home and sees his wife, she is already on her deathbed, viewed as extremely weak and would die at any moment. Nevertheless, the businessman, scared of his wife dying, instructs her to prepare a meal for the family. For the sake of food, even if it is her last breath, the wife used her last bit of energy to cook the family one last meal. The minute the husband praises her for the deliciousness of the food, she smiled and seemed to have died peacefully.

The wife dies peacefully after cooking her family one last meal

An interesting aspect to point out here is that before when the wife is on her deathbed, she seems to have no emotion; however, when she dies after finish preparing the meal, she looks satisfied. This shows that the wife is very dedicated to food; even when she could die at any moment, she still pulls through until she finishes cooking.

The subplot that features the gangster’s dying moment again explains the theme of the power of and dedication to food. In this scene, as the gangster dies in the

As he dies, the gangster's last words are the delicious time when he grilled and ate boars

arms of his mistress, his apparent last words were describing the time when they had the delicious boars and the process of hunting them and grilling them. Rarely does a person mention food as he/she is dying; usually it is about a precious message or momentous moment during his/her lifetime that he/she greatly misses. It demonstrates that the power of food even allows a person to reminiscent about food and regard food as the most important thing as he/she is dying.

Lastly, in the main narrative of Tampopo attempting to save her ramen shop, the recurring theme of this dedication to food is manifested here as well. Throughout

Tampopo, trying to build up her strength, repeatedly practice moving the heavy pot back and forth

the whole movie, Tampopo, trying her hardest through her training, is willing to do anything to perfect her technique for making ramen. Two scenes that especially strike out to me are when she has to run and lift the water-filled heavy pot from side to side to build up her strength. For food, she is willing to go to such length; her actions display her dedication for food and how the power of food is able to enable a person to have such strong mindset.

In conclusion, Juzo Itami cleverly incorporated many themes regarding food to Tampopo, in which one of the important themes is the repeating reference of the power of and the dedication to food.