Perfect indulgence: how "five elements" shape the success of Japanese cuisine

The first surviving reports on Japanese food culture were anything but flattering: "They have ginger, citrus fruits, Szechuan pepper and Mioga ginger, but don't know how to use them in cooking," it reads. "And since the climate is warm, they eat raw vegetables in both summer and winter. At mealtimes, they eat with their fingers." The records date back to 239 AD - and are admittedly not from the islands directly, but from the chronicles of the Wei dynasty in neighbouring China. They are still worth reading and full of insight today.