Authentic Voices:
Conversations on Food and Agriculture

In the early 1970s, Hiroko Kajimura and Yasuko Munekata relocated with their scientist husbands and families to Tsukuba Science City, located approximately 30 miles northeast of Tokyo. Before moving to Tsukuba, they both experienced living overseas with their families—Mrs. Kajimura in Westchester County, New York, and Mrs. Munekata in Heidelberg, Germany. Mrs. Kajimura is the mother of two grown children and a longtime volunteer teaching Japanese to foreign researchers and their families at Tsukuba University. Mrs. Munekata is the mother of three grown children, a grandmother, and leader of various Catholic church volunteer groups in Tsukuba.

1. Thoughts on Natural Foods, Beef, and Food Safety

2. More on Beef

3. Importance of Rice in Everyday Life

5. Japanese and Foreign Food

Larzalere: Here in Tsukuba, I see rice fields all around and within the city. It’s very different to Tokyo. Do you think the younger generation, referring to your sons and daughters, do they have as much concern about rice or things like that--do they care about such issues? Do they eat as much rice for one thing? Do they feel as you do? Do they need to eat rice everyday?

Mrs. K: Not so much I guess--when they were young. Up to around the age of 20, they didn’t think their taste is Japanese, but after that, gradually, their tastes changed and became like a typical Japanese. Until 20 years of age or so, the body is growing so when it grows the young people eat anything, very oily things-- but once they become adults, they tend to prefer typical Japanese cooking-- and they shift a little bit to being Japanese--not only the girls but also the boys.

Mrs. M.: That’s true. It was that way for my daughter. Now, my daughter is 33 and married but when she was single, she didn’t take heed as to what she ate. But now that she is married and has two children, she takes much care with her diet and prefers to cook Japanese locally-grown Ibaraki rice.

L: For the health of the children, right? Did that surprise you?

Mrs. M.: Yes. When my daughter and her family eat out, they go to McDonald’ or to restaurants that serve Western-style dishes, but at home she cooks and eats Japanese dishes.

L: What about your daughter, Mrs. Kajimura?

Mrs. K: When she was a student, she didn’t cook so much for herself. When she ate lunch, or other meals out, she always had something fried or a very oily food. But at home, she liked to eat Japanese-style food.

L: She cooks much more at home now, right?

Mrs. K: No. Her husband cooks a lot! His favorite book is the one I gave to my daughter. He loves this book. Both of them are working full-time so they don’t have much free time, but he likes to cook--but not housecleaning so that’s what she does. Not always, but he usually cooks and she cleans. L: Getting back to the significance of rice--

Mrs. K: It’s just like air. It’s too close to our lives that we don’t think about it much in our everyday lives.

L: An outsider like myself will say it’s significant, but as you said—you don’t think about its importance--you just know it’s important--like the air you breathe. With all the rice fields in Tsukuba, are there many rice festivals?

Mrs. K: In autumn, there are many rice harvest festivals all over Japan--for example--there are Inari jinja [Inari shrines]. This kind of shrine has a fox in front at the entrance. The first character—ina--means rice—the second character ri-- means pack or load—and jinja means shrine.

Festivals

L: Do you participate in any festivals?

Mrs. K: No.

Mrs. M: No.

L: Who participates in the local festivals? Mostly the rural residents?

Mrs. K: Many of these shrines have their own people who organize the festivals.

Next: Japanese and Foreign Food