Buddhist cuisine is known as shojin ryori (精進料理, devotion cuisine) in Japan; sùshí (素食, vegetarian food) in China; đồ chay in Vietnam; sachal eumsik (사찰음식, temple food) in Korea; jay (เจ) in Thailand and by other names in many Buddhism countries. The dishes that comprise Buddhist cuisine in any given place will be influenced by the style of food there.
Buddhist cuisine is based on the concept of”undertake the training rule to abstain from killing" by the Five Precepts. It's close to vegan cuisine that using plant-based ingredients for example vegetables, beans, seaweeds, mushroom and grains.
Shojin Ryouri is a Buddhist cuisine in Japanese style with using Japanese ingredients for example, Japanese soy sauce, kelp (konbu) and shiitake for bouillon. At shojin-ryouri, not only meats but also fishes, milk products and eggs are prohibited.
Japan is the country in the island and people didn't have a custom to feed livestocks for meat production. (cows and horses were domesticated as workforce of agriculture) Eating fish was more common because Japan is rich in marine products based on geographical conditions. Since the introduction of Buddhism to Japan (more than 1000 years ago) , "eating meat" became gradually be shunned in general. And corresponding to the introduction of Buddhism, a ban on eating livestock was issued several times. For example:
675: Emperor Tenmu banned the consumption of animal meat (horse, cattle, dogs, monkeys, birds), due to the influence of Buddhism.
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi era(1680–1709); The Law Prohibiting Cruelty to Animals refers to a large number of proclamations and ordinances by owing to religious fundamentalism.
However talking about meat-eating, there was disgust about meat-eating among Japanese people rather than prohibiting.
Shojin ryori was basically developed by buddhism as dishes for entertaining guests at temples. Especially, the introduction of the Zen buddhism during the Kamakura period contributed to the development of Shojin ryori. Kaiseki ryori are also derived from Shojin ryori. Shojin ryori exerted effects on Japanese cuisine and contributed to its development. This means Shojin ryori is the origine of Washoku, Japanese cuisine.
Since Meiji period (1868), Japanese began to eat meats under the influence of Western culture. However the popularity of meat-eating in Japan became later than the high-growth period after the Second World War under American influence. Therefore Japanese well-known meat dishes don't have a long history. Some dishes are adapted to western eating habits. Today those western-adapted Japanese foods are wellknown in western countries. Therefore many Japanese foods that are shown in western countries, those are adapted to western style and often different from original Japanese taste.
Tokyo Doll gives Shojin Ryori cooking workshop at Utrecht, The Netherlands. The workshop teacher is a Japanese who learned Shojin cooking at the temple when she was in Japan. You can learn authentic knowledge about both cooking and concepts with Japanese history background.
Prices:
Shojin ryori (Japanese vegetarian cooking) workshop basic.
Contents: rice, soup, 1 main dish, 2 side dishes.
1 person: 55 euro excluding Dutch tax 21%
2 person : 40 euro/per person excluding Dutch tax 21%
3 to 6 person 30 euro /per person excluding Dutch tax 21%
Gluten-free menu is available.
Extra side dish costs 5 euro (including Dutch tax 21%) per person plus an extra half hour)
Extra main dish costs 10 euro (including Dutch tax 21%) per person plus an extra half hour)
Please send your request via application form.
http://www.123contactform.com/form-1838134/Workshop-Contact-Form-EN
Following map is the station nearby workshop location.
ref: wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_cuisine
