Curry is often regarded as one of Japan’s most popular comfort dishes, appearing everywhere from school cafeterias to convenience stores to family dinner tables. Despite its popularity, the Japanese government has officially categorised curry rice as a Western-style dish rather than a traditional Japanese meal. While this classification might seem surprising to many, given curry’s deep association with Japanese cuisine today, its journey to Japan reveals a fascinating story of cultural exchange that began more than a thousand kilometres away in India before it passed through the British Empire. According to an article in Food Anthropology , Japan’s curry reflects centuries of cultural exchange instead of a direct culinary exchange with India.
