投稿タグ: Japanese history and traditional culture

More than ten years have passed since COP10 was held in Nagoya and the world was introduced to the concept of satoyama—a unique environment where people and nature coexist in harmony— and the concept seems to be gradually taking root. Elsewhere, the impacts of climate change are becoming more apparent worldwide, and the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for society to take a new direction.
While the definition of circular economy seems to vary to region, the main concept is that—in contrast to a linear economy (use and dispose) and even reuse—a system where used products and materials disposed in the production process are reproduced into new products, given new value, and then sold again.
In many rural regions of Japan, where the satoyama wisdom has been passed down from generations to generations, this circular approach is a core of people’s lives and continues to this day.
With rice, for example, the ingredient in Japanese sake and sushi, both of which are becoming increasing popular worldwide, an incredibly efficient cycle has been in place for generations. It is a well-known fact that sake lees, a byproduct of sake brewing, are used to make amazake (a sweet, non-alcoholic sake) and a wide range of pickles including Narazuke. Meanwhile, in the production of daiginjo and other types of sake with high rice polishing ratio, a large amount of rice flour is generated as a byproduct. This rice flour is reused in rice crackers and dumplings. Rice bran is another byproduct of the production process, and in the Hida area of Japan where I live, this has been reused as a kind of wax for polishing the floors and pillars of wooden houses for many years. Further, after the rice bran has been used to care for the home, it is then scattered onto nearby fields, returned to the soil, and reused as fertilizer for new crops.
Examples such as these are too numerous to see throughout satoyama areas. Another example can be seen in the use of the kaya grasses used to make thatched roofs, such as those in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Shirakawa-go. Harvested grass is used as snow shelters in the drying process, and then used for thatched roofs after drying. Later, part of the roof that have been damaged by wind and rain is removed and reused as livestock feed. This is then digested by the livestock and returned to the soil to complete a highly sophisticated circular system.
The word mottainai—that is unfortunate for anything to go to waste－has attracted attention in the past, but the source of the creation such a system in our lifestyle seem to have its roots unmistakably in the Japanese mentality. I believe that this approach holds a wealth of clues for the future of social formation.
There is also another perspective we must examine when learning from satoyama areas to create circular economies. This is bartering, or the exchange of goods without using money. It was not so long ago when I spoke with a neighbor who had acquired his garage in exchange for a gallon of sake. Sharing out the vegetables you have harvested with your neighbors, making pickles from the vegetables you receive, and then giving this back to others. Whether it is sake or farm products, this approach can be thought of as an element of a virtuous cycle between the deities who bring about a good harvest and local citizens. Perhaps our ancestors already known the importance of connection when forming societies. In the quest for convenience, in modern society we have reaped the benefits from the market and monetary economies, but these systems are far from perfect. In order for us to create a new, more enriched society in the future, it is essential that we learn quickly from satoyama and satoumi ecosystems and take the necessary actions. We must not delay, as with declining and aging populations, it can be said that the future of satoyama areas are not that long anymore.

“Let’s think about ways to minimize food mileage,” “If we can reduce meat consumption by promoting vegan foods, we can cut CO2 emissions,” and “I wonder if there are any local foods that have gone unnoticed…”—These are some of the remarks from a class of sixth grade students at the Keio Yochisha Elementary School. The classroom discussion among these sixth grade students is gaining momentum as they seek to widely communicate their ideas to society.
In November 2021, one class from the sixth grade at Keio Yochisha Elementary School participated in the Islander Summit Ishigaki, giving an online presentation on the theme “Food of the Future.”

For me, developing ambitions and ideas to transform society for the better is an important part of education. As such, using my position as a teacher, I have sought to shine a light on the relationship between the environment and food—something which children will be familiar with—and set up the following activities on the “Food of the Future” theme.

October
– A lesson from Kenichi Watanabe, representative at Geo Gastronomy, introducing a whole range of food-related issues and advanced case studies.
– An online lecture and interaction with Tomoko Kitamura Nielsen, environmental director on the Danish island Lolland, talking about food-related environmental awareness in Denmark and advanced case studies.
– An online lecture and interaction with Hitoshi Sugiura, winner of the gold prize at the World Vegan Cooking Contest, about the environmental impact of food and vegan cuisine.
– Use of official World Food Forum videos as teaching materials to further understanding of the diversity, cyclicity, and sustainability of food.
November
– Presentation at the Islander Summit and comments from experts.
– Online lecture and interaction with Prof. Seiko Shirasaka from the Graduate School of System Design and Management at Keio University about advanced space utilization and environmental issues from a space perspective.

Something that every child around the world does every day is sit down for a meal. Helping children understand the relationship between food and the environment can help them realize the close link between themselves and society’s problems.

In the lesson from Kenichi Watanabe, children were surprised to learn about the katemono (edible wild plants) recipes that were made to overcome hunger in the Yonezawa domain during the Edo period. Some children suggested that if we had a modern-day version of these katemono recipes, we might be able to help countries suffering from food shortages.

For many years, the emphasis in schools has been learning from textbooks. I believe that now is the time for students to directly confront the issues facing society and think about possible solutions.
In education moving forward, thinking about solutions to food issues will be the ideal way to encourage people to examine solutions for wider social challenges.
My aim is to use education based on geo gastronomy to develop the desire to take ownership of social issues and find the necessary solutions.

The Ise Jingu Shrine hosts approximately 1,500 festivals and rituals each year, but perhaps the most important one is the Kannamesai festival, which is a symbol of Japan’s rice culture. Among these annual festivals, the Shikinen Sengu ritual is said to be the shrine’s most solemn ceremony, that the shrine’s deity (the sun goddess Amaterasu) is transferred to a new shrine building every twenty years. This In the Man’yoshu book of poems and other classical texts, the Ise Jingu Shrine is so called as Kamukaze no Ise, or Ise of divine winds. “Divine winds” brings to mind a gentle climate, natural features, and sufficient amount of rain for abundant harvests. I believe it is the ideal representation of Ise. Moreover, according to the Nihon Shoki, or Chronicles of Japan, during the reign of Emperor Suinin, Amaterasu said to Yamatohime-no-mikoto, “This Ise of divine winds is a province where the waves of heaven continuously reach the shore.” Amaterasu is a symbol of the sun, and her words imply the sun, the wind and the waves nurtured the nature of Ise, and show how the sacred city exists as one with nature.
　Food, clothing, and shelter are essential for humans These three elements are also an essential part of the Shikinen Sengu, which was first conducted around 1,300 years ago. Here I would like to focus on the food that have been offered forshrine deities throughout the shrine’s long history.
　Today, global environmental consideration are growing and the increase in greenhouse gas emissions and the disposal of leftover food are frequently broadcasted on news. I believe that the food culture at Ise Jingu Shrine could contribute to the future of global society.
　According to a record from 804 (Enryaku 23) of the ceremonies held at the Kotai Jingu Shrine, which is the inner shrine at Ise, at the Tsukinamisai festival held on June 15, local peasants from Shima province offered abalone and turban shells to the deities. Meanwhile, in chapter 4 of the Engishiki (Procedures of the Engi Era; completed 927 (Engi 5)) , which is about ceremonies at the Ise Jingu Shrine, offerings at three important shrine festivals were said to be dried foods, sea slugs, skipjack tuna, seaweed, salt, and oil. In the medieval text Jinposho—a list of districts within the Ise Jingu Shrine —we can see that, including from 14 districts in Ise province, the inner and outer shrines of the Ise Jingu Shrine received offerings from 1,350 different locations in 40 of Japan’s more than 60 provinces at the time.
　Even after the relaxation of the Ritsuryo system, provinces continued to present offerings to Ise. Up until the Meiji Restoration, slices of fish, wild birds, and water birds were placed in special baskets, washed in the Isuzu River, and offered to the deities at the Ise Grand Shrine’s three important festivals. The way of these offerings were varied, and in some eras, Fruits of the sea and the land were placed on special leaves (mitsuna kashiwa) atop tables elaborately woven with wisteria vines.
　Organizational changes that were part of the national shrine reforms implemented in 1871 (Meiji 4) abolished the territory system, and shrines were required to be self-sufficient and provide for their own food,in principle. Today, there are a total of 25 great food offerings (known as Yuki-Omike) presented to the Kotai Jingu Shrine and the Aramatsuri-no-miya Shrine during the Kannamesai: rice, mochi rice cakes, three types of abalone, dried sea bream, Ise shrimp, raw sliced sea bream, dried barracuda, dried sand borer, dried turban shell, dried sea slug, dried bonito, carp, dried shark, dried gnomefish, dried sweetfish, wild bird, water bird, two types of seaweed, lotus root, daikon radish, pear, and persimmon. Also offered are white sake, black sake, thick sake, refined sake, salt, and water. Yuki means “sacred offering”.
　Records from the Ise Jingu Shrine show that morning and evening offerings included steamed black rice, solid salt (katashio) from Futamiura, and water from a sacred well (Ameno-Oshihoi), showing that rice, salt, and water—three key elements for life in Japan—have been offered to the deities since ancient times. Moreover, this salt from Futamiura was not only used as an offering during festivals, but also used for purification purposes. This offering of has begun during the era of Emperor Suinin when Amaterasu was enshrined at the Kotai Jingu Shrine.
　When Yamatohime-no-mikoto set out across the provinces to find a location for Amaterasu, Samitsuhime-no-mikoto is said to have greeted her at Futami beach and made an offering to her of solid salt. This led Yamatohime-no-mikoto to set up Katada Shrine in that location. Katada Shrine is an auxiliary shrine of Kotai Jingu Shrine in Futamichoe, and the offering of salt from Futami began from here. Later, Owakugo-no-mikoto, who followed Yamatohime-no-mikoto, is said to have established Mishio-hama beach and Mishio-yama mountain, two essential locations for salt production.
　Since long ago, woods of Mishio-yama mountain have been cut to draw water from the sea. This seawater is then taken to be boiled to produce salt before being hardened at the Mishiodono Shrine. Records show that dedicated salt-producing staff worked at both the outer and inner shrines of Ise Jingu Shrine from the early Heian period.
　Up until the Kamakura period, a tax system was in place so that these salt-producing staff could supply salt. However, this system ended at the end of the Kamakura period when the salt-producing staff were replaced with new salt-producing shrine officials. Incidentally, in the second volume of Ise shinmeisho-e utaawase emaki (Illustrated Scroll of a Poetry Competition Based on New Scenic Sites of Ise) there is an excellent depiction of this salt-making process.
　While there have been several problems between the early modern and modern era, the supply of solid salt from Futami continues today.

　Although there have been numerous changes in the above offerings, the pure, clear, correct, and honest spirit of Shinto priests, as well as the customs and rules of religious rituals and services, remain unchanged. Today, as before, people continue to pray deeply to the deities. It is important to note that these offerings are not put to waste, but divided and given to those involved in the rituals and services.
　Today, global warming and the destruction of nature are becoming international problems,that is caused by energy resources wasting and industrial wasting increase. In contrast, food culture has become much more efficient in our lives today. Delicious microwaveable frozen food products are available at our supermarkets. In today’s world, where nuclear families and dual-earner households are a matter of course, saving cooking time is a revolution in food culture for families with some children or families required to be cared..
　In Japan, people traditionally express their thanks before and after a meal with the phrases itadakimasu and gochisosama. This custom can be traced back to a scholar from the Edo period called Motoori Norinaga, who wrote two poems about his appreciation for food. This Japanese custom to express thanks for the blessings of nature is at risk of being lost through today’s food culture.
　Earlier in this article, I introduced the many different offerings made at Ise Jingu Shrine, and you might have noticed the abundance of dried foods. Dried fish, which are also a valuable preserved food, are said to increase in umami and nutritional value when dried under the sun. At the Ise Jingu Shrine, steamed foods such as shrimps, oysters, and squid are also offered to the shrine deities. Up until medieval Japan, simmering foods was not an established cooking method, with ingredients either being grilled or steamed. Perhaps the people of old thought that steaming foods would create a more delicious offering to present to the deities. In some of today’s rituals, old cooking methods for these offerings are still maintained.
　Shinto priests at ancient shrines show their appreciation for food by first offering the fruits of the sea and the land to the deities before consuming the food themselves. Looking back on my own childhood growing up in Shiga, I have memories of my grandmother or mother offering freshly steamed rice to our household shrine and Buddhist altar every morning. Although I am unsure whether the practice is still upheld today, previously, there were many families who would make daily offerings to their ancestors without fail. My hope is that this article can act as a pointer for the future before Japan’s traditional food virtues and values are lost entirely.