Dinner with the Kimuras

I’ve heard a lot of people say: “You are what you eat;” this has proven to be true for those who’ve witnessed what people eat and how they run their lives. To me, this also applies on how people see culture, especially if its one not their own. How people eat other people’s food, or one culture’s in particular, will show their true attitude towards the one that made the food. I’ve kept this in mind and it has opened me to one of my biggest realizations about the Japanese culture.

During a home stay I was fortunate enough to join, I got to stay with a typical Japanese family, the Kimuras, in the suburbs near Tokyo, and one of the most striking part of culture that we’ve experienced when eating with this family is their food culture. How they prepare their food was as simple as possible, using only the few ingredients required in making these. Steps included from purchasing rice, seaweed and seafood from the local supermarket to the setting of these items on the table for everyone to mix and match in their own way.

It is here where it struck me how this very meal offers a very unique representation of the Japanese culture. Their traditional roots still exist through today’s modernity, and it has kept their focus on simplicity and healthiness mostly intact despite a growing global trend towards more complicated processes and even unhealthier practices. Despite stronger influences, the Japanese always remind themselves of what they are, never losing their identity even while still continuously going with the flow of modernization.

One does not need to study very detailed texts on the Japanese culture to grasp it; one only needs to live with the locals and be aware of the subtle and not-so-subtle metaphors of their everyday lives, especially when it comes to how they eat their meals. One can discover even other metaphors of their eating culture so long as one remains open and aware when experiencing them. In the end, I can say that the Japanese are what they eat.