Mago-no-mise building
The Japanese have long been revered and studied for their long life expectancy, which is higher than almost anywhere else in the world. A recent study by the British Medical Journal found that those who stuck closer to the Japanese dietary guidelines –high in grains and vegetables, with moderate amounts of animal products and soy but minimal dairy and fruit – had a reduced risk of dying early and from heart disease or stroke.
With a diet traditionally high in soy and fish this may also play a significant role in this reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. The Japanese also have the lowest rates of obesity amongst men and women as well as long life expectancy. Habit and education is key to the relationship Japanese have with the food they eat, something that is learnt very early in life. Japanese school lunches aren’t synonymous with “mystery meat,” but rather, shokuiku meaning “food and nutrition education,” a vital part of all Japanese children’s early education beginning in elementary school, where students learn that what you put into your body matters a great deal in how you think and feel throughout the day — while the debate about educational attainment and nutrition and what exactly the links are continues in the UK this is something that is taken for granted in Japanese society.
Students inside the school restaurant
This education doesn’t just stop at elementary school, and food education continues on into high school and for some is a major focus in professional skills, educating students for the catering and restaurant industry as well as teaching about traditional Japanese cuisine and diet. One school that has gained national fame for its food education is Ohka High School in Mie Prefecture, acclaimed for its ‘Mago-no-mise’ restaurant offering students a specialist education course, which is nationally accredited, focusing on using local produce for local consumption as well as nutrition. The restaurant is located in the Taki Town Council facility Gokatsura Pond Furusato Village Park, a farm and country park in Mie Prefecture with a historic pond dating back to the 15th century, which offers a variety of outdoor sports and pursuits as well as shopping facilities for locals to sell and market produce and crafts from the area. Mago-no-mise offers students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of local produce and how local agriculture and cuisine plays a role in the economy of the area, to learn classical Japanese cooking methods and about traditional ingredients.
While Mago-no-mise is a restaurant providing over 200 covers a day to local people and visitors to the farm park, it is also an educational establishment which focuses on collaborations between ‘food and agriculture’ in the wider community and the regional food education network in Mie Prefecture. Local produce is also used for a variety of events throughout the year at events such as festivals, as well as outside the prefecture and across the country at events such as farmer’s markets and local authority organised fairs where the students help raise the profile of the high school food education programme and restaurant, inspiring other local education boards to set up their own similar programmes focusing on local produce, the local economy and nutrition. Mago-no-mise is so well known that the story was turned into a popular and successful drama series broadcast nationally on Nippon-TV from 2011 featuring Japanese pop music and film star Masahiro Matsuoka of boy band ‘Tokio’ fame.
Mago-no-mise is one example of how important food education is in Japan and in schools there. UK children’s lunches are by and large often packed with processed foods with no information about where ingredients come from, nor education about nutritional choices or how healthy the food is. Childhood obesity is reaching epidemic levels in the UK, while the link between diet and cancer is proven with profound impacts on health services. While food education cannot be the only reason for healthy outcomes in Japan, education from elementary all the way through to high school and focus on nutrition and produce offers lessons for healthy lifestyles, as well as why Japan’s cuisine is so renowned for high quality and cultural importance, supported by local government and boards of education.
