Food Terrorism and Japanese Baseball: A Hanshin Tigers Case Study@SWCAS 11/4/23

Presenting at SouthWest Conference on Asian Studies.

Virtual Panel 4.2 Understanding East Asia:
Language Differences, Japanese Baseball, and Beyond
Saturday, November 11, 2023, 7:30 - 8:45 AM

Abstract: The term “food porn” describes cuisine related media with sensual content intended to provide unattached pleasure and gratification for viewers. Japan has a similar term, meshi tero (“food terrorism”) that differs slightly in that it implies more of a deliberate attack or form of harassment that creates yearning, jealousy or resentment, causing victims to seek and indulge in delicious refreshments. There are many examples of such media in manga, anime, books, television dramas and online social networks. This presentation explores a different and unexpected setting, Japanese professional baseball food and drink, using the popular Hanshin Tigers baseball team and their stadium gourmet menu campaigns as a case study. This examination will add to previous research that investigates pre- and post-COVID 19 intersections of eating/drinking behavior and food terrorism media representations.

For more information: https://www.swcas.net/

The timing is perfect; Hanshin is up 3 games to 2 vs. the Orix Buffaloes in the Japan Series. Eat, drink and Go Tigers!