Artistry@Work Series
by Maison des Sciences de l’Homme–Université Clermont Auvergne, in collaboration with the RAI
Tuesday, 01 October 2024 4:00-6:00pm BST
This is an online event. Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kkKWJwoUThmJ_JwGYED54A#/registration
Image: Kôji molds blooming on soybeans and wheat at Suzuki Shôten brewery (Fukushima, March 2024) ©Alice Doublier-Akakpo
Cultivating the most beautiful kôji: the aesthetics of brewing soy-sauce in twenty-first century Japan
Discussant: Iza Kavedžija, Associate Professor of Medical Anthropology, University of Cambridge
Abstract:
In this paper I wish to explore an often-overlooked aspect of making craft soy sauce in contemporary Japan, namely the aesthetic dimension of soybeans and wheat fermentation. The revival of artisanal soy sauce that I have been investigating since 2018 aims mostly at promoting the distinctive good taste of their seasoning compared to industrial products. Yet, for some brewers, the pursuit of a tasty sauce is also rooted in a deeply aesthetic quest based on a constant attunement to the minute changes during fermentation. In this process, growing kôji (aspergillus oryzae) moulds on grains and soy until the texture becomes “fluffy” (mokomoko) and the colour bright green (moegi iro) is extremely delicate. I will focus here on the “microbrewery” of the Suzukis (located in Fukushima prefecture in Northern Japan), whose quest to cultivate the most beautiful kôji is oriented at generating an unforeseeable taste.
Biographical note:
Alice Doublier-Akakpo is an anthropologist working on craft, materialities and transmission practices in contemporary Japan. She is currently investigating the revival of artisanal soy sauce production and how this movement transforms the circulation of knowledge within brewers’ networks. She is a research fellow at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris.
Iza Kavedžija is an Associate Professor of Medical Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. She has written on topics including meaning in later life, wellbeing and creativity. Her book publications include Meaning in Life: Tales from Aging Japan (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019); Values of Happiness: Toward an Anthropology of Purpose in Life (University of Chicago Press, 2016); and The Process of Wellbeing: Conviviality, Care, Creativity (Cambridge University Press, 2021).
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Artistry@Work is an online Seminar Series in the Anthropology of Artists & Artisans, running 2024–2025
Maison des Sciences de l’Homme–Université Clermont Auvergne, in collaboration with the Royal Anthropological Institute
Organisers: Dr Raphaël Blanchier & Professor Trevor Marchand
This seminar series in anthropology explores the situated practices of ‘artistry at work’ and, more broadly, the working lives and career trajectories of artists and artisans plying their trades in regions around the globe. The scope of the series also encompasses studies of occupations not conventionally categorised as “artistic” but that nevertheless foster creativity among (some) practitioners and even accommodate the development of “artist” identities.
Find a list of all events here.
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