Yōshoku

In Japanese cuisine, yōshoku (洋食, western food) refers to a style of Western-influenced cooking which originated during the Meiji Restoration.

[4] Seiyō ryōri mostly refers to French and Italian cooking while Yōshoku is a generic term for Japanese dishes inspired by Western food that are distinct from the washoku tradition.

Yōshoku varies in how Japanized it is: while yōshoku may be eaten with a spoon (as in カレー, karē, curry), paired with bread or a plate of rice (called ライス, raisu) and written in katakana to reflect that they are foreign words, some have become sufficiently Japanized that they are often treated as normal Japanese food (washoku), served alongside rice and miso soup, and eaten with chopsticks.

Reflecting this, katsu is often written in hiragana as かつ, as a native Japanese word, rather than as カツ (from カツレツ, katsuretsu, 'cutlet').

[citation needed] Yōshoku began by altering Western recipes for lack of information about foreign countries' cuisine, or adaptions to suit local tastes, but over time, yōshoku also evolved dishes that were not at all based on European foods, such as chicken rice and omurice (omelette rice).

[3] In addition, there are also a number of upscale yōshoku restaurants in Japan, such as Shiseido Parlor in Ginza and Taimeiken in Nihonbashi (two areas of Tokyo).