Joint Symposium by the Ajinomoto Foundation for Dietary Culture and the National Institutes for the Humanities: “Considering the Good and Healthy Diet of the Future: Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Linking the Satoyama and the Ocean”

2025-01-22

　The National Institutes for the Humanities and the Ajinomoto Foundation for Dietary Culture (ASB) have been jointly hosting annual symposiums on food and culinary culture since 2018. The theme of this year’s symposium—the seventh in the series—was “Considering the Good and Healthy Diet of the Future: Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Linking the Satoyama and the Ocean.” The event assembled a diverse group including scholars, an agricultural worker, a specialist in culinary research, and a prefectural government official who was involved in the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System certification process. Participants had the opportunity to gain insight from the speakers’ presentations and from the discussants’ comments on the lectures from their various perspectives.

　The symposium, held at the TKP Garden Premium Tamachi conference center on January 18, 2024, can be viewed on the National Institutes for the Humanities and Ajinomoto Foundation for Dietary Culture YouTube channels.

[Lecture 1] Dr. SATO Yo-Ichiro

The first part of the presentation, titled “Food in the Context of Climate and Culture,” introduced the New Year’s ritual known as ae-no-koto, which is practiced in the Oku-noto region, the northern part of the Noto Peninsula. In this ritual, the kami deity is invited into the home and served local festive fare. Dr. SATO warns that the recent earthquake on the Noto Peninsula—an area known for robust food production—presents a challenge not only for the Noto region itself but also for Japan’s overall food security situation. He also pointed out several issues in the current food environment, such as the high energy consumption involved in transporting food over long distances, as evident in the fast-food industry; the dwindling number of producers due to a lack of successors; and damage caused by wild animals.

Dr. SATO Yo-Ichiro (Director of the Museum of Natural and Environmental History, Shizuoka)

[Lecture 2] Dr. ABE Ken’ichi

In the next presentation, “Considering the Good and Healthy Diet of the Future: ‘Delicious’Agriculture, Enjoyable Eating,” Dr. ABE examined Globally Important Agriculture Heritage Systems. These sites are unlike UNESCO World Heritage Sites in that they do not seek to preserve buildings or property, but rather to use human knowledge to reflect upon problems in regional agroecosystems—which include local people—and make changes to improve upon these ecosystems. Dr. ABE emphasized not just the importance of local production and consumption but what he calls “knowledgeable production and consumption” (jisan jishoku)—namely, consumers knowing where their food comes from and who produces it—in a world where there are great distances between producers and consumers.

Dr. ABE Ken’ichi (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature)

Panel Discussion
Moderator: Dr. ABE Ken’ichi
Panelists: Dr. SATO Yo-Ichiro, Professor OTSU Eri, Mr. KOH Kentetsu, Ms. AOTA Tomoe

The panel discussion, which was held during the latter part of the symposium, touched on the financial situation of farming households and efforts by the Shiga prefectural government to increase awareness of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems, as well as the sharing of responsibilities among households, both domestically and abroad, with respect to food and meal preparation. This year’s program was particularly relevant to young people in their teens and twenties, and the panelists closed out the discussion by offering their respective messages and advice for children with regard to food culture. Survey results indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the symposium, indicating that the speakers’ individual insights and perspectives resonated strongly with the audience.

Panel discussion at the symposium.

About the presenters:

・SATO Yo-Ichiro
Director, Museum of Natural and Environmental History, Shizuoka
Professor Emeritus (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature)

・ABE Ken’ichi
Professor, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature

・OTSU Eri
Joint representative, O2Farm
Visiting Associate Professor (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature)

・KOH Kentetsu
Specialist in culinary research

・AOTA Tomoe
Lake Biwa System public-relations ambassador
Deputy Director, Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park
Former Director, Cocoshiga (Shiga Prefecture Information Center, Tokyo)

Back row, from left: Dr. ABE, Dr. SATO, Mr. WAKAO (NIHU), Mr. MIYAZAKI (NIHU)
Front row, from left: Mr. NISHIKAWA (ASB), Mr. KOH Kentetsu, Ms. AOTA, Professor OTSU, Dr. KIBE (NIHU)

Text: OHBA Go, Research Fellow, the Center for Innovative Research, the National Institutes for the Humanities

No.105 - Joint Symposium by the Ajinomoto Foundation for Dietary Culture and the National Institutes for the Humanities: “Considering the Good and Healthy Diet of the Future: Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Linking the Satoyama and the Ocean”