Perfect fruits of Japan: agrarian structure, agricultural policy, and the quest for aesthetics in Japan’s fruit market

Visitors to Japan are often bewildered by high-end specialty fruit stores found in department stores. Items on display are individually wrapped and cushioned, flawless in shape and color. Even in supermarkets, instead of piles of produce sold by weight, fruit is typically tucked in attractive box sets, sealed in plastic wrap, or nestled in individual foam wrappers. Why are aesthetic standards for fruit so high? Fruit in Japan is traditionally considered as a delicacy and often used as a gift, but why is the market not more stratified if demand for less-than-perfect produce exists? This article documents how the reproduction of farming practices and consumption habits, naturalized as the product of tradition and the expression of culture, is largely driven by institutional mechanisms designed to protect producers’ interests. Based on participant observation conducted for 1 year in fruit farms in central Japan, this study sheds light on the role of food producers on food environment and on the link between agrarian structure, farming knowledge, and culinary culture.