MY REAL JAPAN: January 2014

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

The Japanese home-cooking leads to the healthy life !

I believe that Mr.Yoshimitsu Tamego (78) is 1 of the greatest and famous cooking teachers in Japan just like Jamie Oliver in England. Most of the Japanese housewives  above  middle age know him well through the television.
He has taught the authentic Japanese cooking as the same way as how his teacher Mr Isao Tsuji who was the founder of the 1st Japanese cooking school for the chefs and also later for the young womenfolk all over Japan 60 years ago.
Nearly 40 years ago I just enrolled myself in the Tsuji Cooking School in Osaka .
At that time I was working at the General Traiding Company and I attended the classes after my work once a week for about 5 years.The school taught 3 kinds of cooking, Japanese, Chinese and Western respectively . There as he had classes as a supervisor , I was inspired by him.  He also appeared on television for more than 40 years teaching the cooking of home-cooked food. Amazingly,he did prepare Japanese food for the NHK soap opera like the Oshin which was shown in 1983 ...During the shooting for every episode of the dramas,  his food was appreciated by all of the actors and the staff for 30 years.

At school he taught us that the home cooking must be both simple and fast. 'You should bake the cookies for your children before buying them.'.I still remember his words of wisdom.After getting married ,I brought up 3 children, following  his guidance, I really enjoyed cooking at home and my family loved the variety of food. All of us  are very healthy and very seldom went to the clinic. Especially my husband, who has been very hardworking for the past 33years after our marriage has never visited the clinic or the hospital except for his cataract operation in Singapore.
I am so proud that my food has saved my family..

After I moved to Singapore in 2004 following to his transfer, my local friends of various races enjoyed my home cooked food.. Only then did I realize my cooking  which I've learnt in Japan could make them happy .

Last November, Yoshimitsu told me that , after his teacher Isao had won the Grand Prix in Switzerland in 1954 ,he invited foreign chefs from 10 countries like China, Taiwan, Italy, Germany ,France,Austria, Switzerland ... and took care of them for 10 years. He also employed an interpreter for each 1 of them. They had taught their own cooking skills at the school  and had also exchanged their cultures with the other Japanese chefs . Yoshimitsu  was indeed very much   affected by this precious  experience .

I'm pretty sure that they've contributed a lot to the Japanese cooking culture .
In Japan we believe that good housewives can cook 3 types of food at home..
In Singapore I 've met many women who are very good at cooking but normally ,
they can only cook their own food.Their exposure on other kinds of food is not much.
That was when I got awaken to our unique food culture ..We are interested in the foreign cooking and we could  also alter it according our Japanese Curry ,Stew,  Cutlet , Gratin,Pasta, Pizza , Hashed Beef Rice, Hamburger Steak, croquette ,many kinds of cakes and bread, fried dumpling (Gyoza), chinese buns .....and the famous Ramen!

We've been  opened towards the foreign food but why we can't open our minds to foreign people?
I am teaching the Japanese cooking in Singapore,multinational country, so
Yoshimitsu is now very happy and encouraged me too.

My 2nd great teacher,Mr.Michio Kushi ,who is the founder of Kushi Macrobiotics Academy in Boston, has been spreading all over the world about his diet and the Yin Yang theory,which was taught to him by his teacher . Mr George Osawa (his real name is Yukikazu Sakurazawa) had written the great book of  the 'Zen Macrobiotics.' and pointed out that,'you can be your own doctor.' Michio was sent by him to the USA in 1949 and there he taught Macrobiotics diet which is the Japanese style of vegetarian cooking. In 1993 the world's largest Smithsonian Museum started to show Michio's accomplishment for American people's health.

In 2009,after moving back to Japan,I started learning about the Macrobiotics ,in Tokyo ,Yamanashi prefecture and Yokohama for 4 years till just before I left Japan for Singapore in June 2013.
There , I managed to learn more ways of healthy cooking based on the theory and at the same time,brushed up my cooking skills even after I became an instructor of Macrobiotics.

I strongly believe that food can act as medicine without any side effects as it is producing our blood cells , above all it's delightful in our life.
I would very much like to contribute to the Singaporeans' health to lead a long life by the Japanese home-cooking and Macrobiotics diet which I've learnt in Japan..

Yoshimitsu Tamego 2013 Nov.10, Osaka

Basic Cooking

One of my Brazilian friends did love this menu↑ 'Meat stuffed Cabbage' .When she got married with the Japanese man 30 years ago , her mother- in -law who had already passed away cooked this meal for her.She still appreciated it and ordered it at one Japanese reataurant in Tokyo when we met just before they had left Japan for Brazil on April ,2011.

Basic Cooking for the New Year's meal

↑　Mr.Michio Kushi

Macrobiotic's Menue ↓

Macrobiotics diet doesn't use any sugar,egg and dairy product.

http://www.kushiinstitute.org/about-the-kushi-institute/

http://www.macrobiotics.nl/

(About Kushi Institute)

* http://macromacrobiyoko.blogspot.sg/2012_01_01_archive.html

(French Macrobiotic Class in Yokohama)

Mayumi is Madonna's private chef working for 8 years.

I attended her class and tasted her food in Tokyo in 2012.

http://macromacrobiyoko.blogspot.sg/2012_07_01_archive.html

(Madonna's Japanese private chef of Macrobiotics)

Friday, January 10, 2014

Teaching our own culture is fun!

I was teaching the Japanese language for 3 months to a Malaysian Chinese lady who had lived in the US for 8 years when she was in her teens. 6 months ago her husband was transferreded from Singapore to Japan so last month she had to follow him with her children and mother . Last August, I was employed by the American Language and Culture Training Company .I was introduced by 1 of my Singapore friends who is a professor in NUS teaching the Japanese Arts ..

Once after we moved back to Japan in 2009, I have seen many foreigners who are either travelers or residents struggled to get on well with local Japanese and mostly could not enjoy the real and new experiences .Maybe Japanese people might seem to be not helpful for the foreigners.

Generally they are kind but they have very little chances to speak English with the foreigners so they are scared to talk and help .These people are just too shy.

In Japan we speak very carefully not to didturb anyone and try to read their expression.and gesture .Here nobody reads my thought without any words.How far from Singapore and the US!

Actually this case is not only for the foreigners but for Japanese too. They seldom talk outside to the strangers, so I did feel they have had masks not to show their real expression. It is a fact that most of them do fear in making mistakes.As thus,they prefer to do nothing in their efforts to communicate with the others.

In Singapore,things are just the opposite. I lived here from 2004-2009.I too accompanied my husband just like my student.After starting my life in Singapore,I did realize what a joyless life I have had in Japan for 50 years! At that time,I did not think that it was something very unusual as a typical Japanese woman .Since I'm both outstanding and socialable,I've been much happier than the normal Japanese people but,in Singapore this is still at an inadequate level.I told myself that ,'Oh!I can say anything I want to the others!Well,isn't it rude?'The local people have been very kind,helpful and they are always pleased to help me whenever I had troubles even before me asking for it. I was here,I too could not speak English at all.

In those past 5 years,I have made friends of various races here and this is 1 of my greatest treasure in my life.I do want to share these precious experiences with the Japanese youth who are feeling inconvenient in their motherland.If they can try to make a change,their life will be better for sure.

Since it was the 1st attempt for my student in learning the Japanese language,she did have a hard time in the initial stage.I tried to make my class a pleasant 1 to draw her interest. Learning the foreign language is also learning about a different culture.She made every effort and amazingly she started to speak to me  just after 30 hours lessons !In Japan people learn English for 6-10 years or more but they hesitate to speak in English in the public.. But she dared to speak using simple words!

This teaching experience reminded me of the 2 British English teachers who I had met in in Singapore during our life here.They have given me lots of interest about the British culture and I also learned to have a matured mind.I attended their school 3 times a week and continued till 1 week before we left for Japan in 2009.I really liked their classes and tried to comprehend their jokes too. I  also had Korean and Chinese friends  there ...
.
Thus,I learned to mingle well with the foreigners through the English language.If I had not met the teachers, I would not have many foreign friends who are still in my present life and I would not have taught about our language and the real culture to her.So now I felt that I could repay for them.

In my blog in Japanese ,I have asked my readers to take care of the foreigners who need any kind of help as I have fully experienced that kind of situation.I hope my student's big smile seen at my class will continue till her last day of her life in Japan.When she returns to Singapore after 2 years,she might miss Japan.

Now,I'm busily writing in the Japanese blog to show the Singapore newspapers' explanation of their fair opinions especially about the historical issues which I learnt  here not in Japan and also Mr.Lee Kwan Yew's opinion about Japan which was published last August.I've always encouraged the young people to go abroad to crack their hard shells with the cultural shocks just like me!