Eric C. Rath

Eric C. Rath is a professor of history at the University of Kansas where he teaches courses on food history and premodern Japan. A specialist in traditional Japanese foodways drawing from print sources and visual culture, Rath has published articles and translations on the use of food in ritual, the history of vegetables and confectionery, tableware, and the representations of food in Japanese art. His books include Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan (2010), Japan’s Cuisines: Food, Place and Identity (2016), and Oishii: The History of Sushi (2021). He is a member of the editorial collective of Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies and serves on the editorial board of several other food studies journals. His next book is a history of Japanese food culture.