Author(s): Katherine Tamiko Arguile

Gift | South Australian Authors

For Katherine Tamiko Arguile, the Japanese food her mother cooked was a portal to a part of her that sometimes felt lost in the past. In Japan, food is never just food: it expresses a complex and fascinating history, and is tied to tradition and spirituality intrinsic to Japanese culture.Exploring the meals of her childhood through Japan s twenty-four sekki (seasons), Katherine untangles the threads of meaning, memory and ritual woven through every glistening bowl of rice, every tender slice of sashimi and each steaming cup of green tea. With rich, visceral prose, vivid insight and searing emotional honesty, Meshi ( rice or meal ) reveals the culture and spirit of one of the world s most beloved cuisines.

Matilda Bookshop Review

Evoking the poetry of the Japanese seasons, the fragrance of Japanese foods, and the memories of a childhood spent between cultures, this is a meditation on food as both physical and spiritual nourishment. Embedded in daily rituals and annual festivals, the sharing of food in Japan is an expression of love, family, and culture. In this tender book, Tamiko Arguile reckons with her  inheritances as daughter of a Japanese mother and an English father, in mouth-watering prose. Molly