Japanese cuisine is one of three world cuisines that have been honored by UNESCO as a treasure of the intangible cultural heritage of the world. This happened in December 2013, and Japanese historian and culinary expert Isao Kumakura was largely involved in the process and success. He is also the co-author of a wonderful book published by the Culinary Academy of Japan in 2015. The book is called “Introduction to Japanese Cuisine – Nature, History and Culture” and it offers a beautiful picture of what makes Japanese cuisine – washoku – a valuable treasure for everyone, even if they are not exactly in love with Japanese food. Washoku is permeated by the idea of gratitude for gifts of food – kansha in Japanese – expressed in the simple words Itadakimasu and Gochisousama. Itadakimasa is said by the Japanese before a meal and Gochisousama when they finish eating.
It was Isao Kumakura who described the idea of kansha in wonderful sentence, and I quote: “Japanese cuisine is sustained by the rich variety of ingredients available from fertile seas and generous land. Japanese people are attuned to nature and keenly aware of their reliance on its bounty. They express gratitude for the blessings of nature with the customary expressions Itadakimasu – I gratefully receive the blessings from this food – before eating and after eating Gochisousama – I have partaken of the feast – after eating. Japanese cuisine is also a canvas for the beauty of nature. Distinct changes accompany the four seasons, and enjoyment of those changes provides the underlying motives for Japanese arts, crafts and literature. In cuisine as well, reoccurring patterns and references, like the plum and cherry blossoms of spring, express attention to the beauty of the seasons.”
Gratitude for gifts of food should naturally arise in us, but this is not always the case. And yet, when we eat food, it is not difficult to imagine that some raw material had to be sacrificed for us. When it is an animal, we imagine its pain, but we really realize that painful it is for a plant as well. And if we realize the pain, then we definitely want to give something to that animal or that plant for their sacrifice. We should! We have torn them from their environment, from their home. Similarly, we pluck flowers to put in a vase, and when we do, our act should end with celebrating the flower giving it a new life. We can see the beauty of flowers in the vase, we are happy with it and that’s the point. In our care and creativity, we can highlight the beauty of the raptured pure things in some new, different way so that the beauty is noticed. Awarded. Japan and its gastronomy gave me exactly this important reminder to think about how to give those sacrificed ingredients something for their sacrifice, and I am grateful for that.
For example, we celebrate vegetables already if we don’t let them wilt, if not even spoil, before using them. Then we have further chance to celebrate them in the careful preparation of the plants for food – it is good to preserve as much of its individuality as possible trying to capture its essence. And if it’s even a little bit possible, we only change what is absolutely necessary in its appearance, color, smell, and internal structure. Japanese people generally pay a lot of attention to this and I like it a lot. But in order to use the raw material well, we need to acquire a lot of knowledge about what is inherent in the given plant, what good it provides and where its home is, so that the plant can pass on us the gifts – energy, minerals, vitamins, simply so that it becomes beneficial and helpful. The material needs to become as useful as possible. It is also important to recognize the season of the year when the plant tastes best and looks best. Even smells best. Simply said – all aspects matter and all is about what is important in life – about beauty of giving and receiving gifts. When we take, we must take with humility, admiration and love. And beautifully! Because beauty communicates. And it is the same when we accept something. It is appropriate to receive with humility, admiration, love and beautifully! Gracefully!
When we sit down at the table and start eating, someone says a prayer, someone just thanks, but most of us just start eating and that’s it. In Japan, people almost always say the word Itadakimasu. For yourself and together with other diners. It is more than a word – Itadakimasu is a strong idea that co-creates a good life. It contains that humility, gratitude and admiration. And that’s how the Japanese perceive it. When we say “bon appetit”, the Japanese say “itadakimasu”. We think of the pleasure of eating, and the Japanese think of the gratitude. I remember how my dad used to say “Thank you mom for cooking so well for us”, but I don’t remember him thanking God or maybe the pig that was killed for us, or the carrot that grew for us. Maybe I wasn’t able to hear it between the lines. My mom was a really good cook and we sometimes paid tribute to her even after we had eaten. But often we just finished eating and said nothing. In contrast, people in Japan almost always say Gochisousama, expressing their feeling that they have gratefully received the feast of food and love.
The second idea of washoku is closely related to the first idea of thanksgiving. It is inscribed in the phrase Ichi Motsu Zen Shoku. It expresses a sincere and intense need to use food and energy as efficiently as possible so that people can be truly awarded. It is necessary to think in terms that work is honored and that our world is honored in its material and spiritual resources. In translation it sounds as a very simple commandment – use the whole raw material; eat it all! Yes, it is never a good thing if we cut only a piece of the raw material and throw out the rest as a waste. The whole thing should be used! When it comes to vegetables, you have to think not only about what happens to the inside soft parts, but also to the skin, even the roots of the vegetable, its shoots, its stems and its seeds. Ichi Motsu Zen Shoku in direct translation is “one ingredient – all is to be eaten”.
But in order to use the whole raw material, we need to know as much as possible about it. We need to know what part of the raw material is best suited for what. And when we know that, then we can set a plan for how we will use parts of it for the various components of our particular menu. The idea of the ideal use of raw materials is expressed in the words of Kondate Zukushi, and it is the third idea of Japanese cuisine that I consider a great aid in cooking. I remember when – for a guided feast in Miyabi – I created an entire menu based on just daikon radish and the menu was called Daikon Zukushi. There was daikon in each of the nine small courses. The daikon became the beauty of the evening, and we together and sincerely paid tribute to the common radish. I believe that since then the gastronauts of that dinner have a different perception of daikon than before. They treat now daikon with interest and understanding.
The principles of Kansha, Ichi Motsu Zen Shoku and Kondate Zukushi are greatly honored in one of the most important branches of Japanese cuisine, in Shoujin ryouri. Shoujin ryori is described by many as vegetarian Japanese cuisine, but it is much more. Shoujin cuisine is imbued with Zen ideas of temple life as a path to enlightenment. It is slightly ascetic and does not rely on the pompous techniques of modern gastronomy, but relies above all on human abilities – on the dedication to hospitality, on the creativity and experience. Over the centuries of its existence, Shoujin cuisine has developed many cooking techniques using simple tools. Shoujin does not mean limitation, but on the contrary the joy of the great wealth that plants offer and the possibilities of how one can handle them. The taste of each shoujin dish – a little of each is always served – should harmonize with the taste of the other dishes, while the ingredients used should be as varied as possible. Everything should be dynamic and at the same time it should create harmony. The ingredients are to be seasonal. Even in this attitude is the respect, purity and wonder expressed. Wonder that all is given and received as gifts.
Shoujin ryouri is an inspiration and a challenge for other cooking as well, cooking where we can use any ingredient, not just ingredients from the plant world. The goal is to convey the best taste of the ingredients to the guests at the table in a beautiful way, so that the guests quite naturally and freely want to honor the ingredients with their admiration, so that even an ordinary carrot can be a hero, so that even an ordinary spinach makes an impression, so that a mushroom is a mushroom and proud of its mushroom perfection. It is also important that each component has its output on the stage special time, where it shines for a while. Creating a harmonious, comprehensive, tasty and communicative menu is both an adventure and a meditation.
In temples, food is often prepared by those who also have spiritual equipment, perhaps even the best endowed. This is so that these people can pass on other gifts through food with their sincere and mature care, with their love for people and respect for nature, all understood as the sources of human survival. This of course applies to any kind of cooking and anytime. The person who cooks food, when he or she prepares it with love, also passes on the love. So let’s be cooks with the best spiritual equipment – Chefs in the service of love. Cooking and eating should be a path to spiritual growth and understanding of the world. Yes, the gift of food has the power to teach us to be good people and live in peace in the community of people around us. We have several opportunities to practice every day. Whenever we eat, let’s say and think Itadakimasu! And when we finish meal, let’s say and think Gochisousama!
Itadakimasu! Gochisousama!
