Cabbage

Yoshihiro Miwa

Chairman and President of Kowa Co., Ltd.; 1978 Faculty of Business and Commerce, 1980 Graduate School of Business and Commerce

The comprehensive gastrointestinal medicine "Cabagin Kowa" began sales in 1960. Since then, product improvements have been made to keep pace with the times, such as changes in the Japanese diet. The current "Cabagin Kowa α Plus" is effective for stomach heaviness, stomach pain, and nausea, restoring a weakened stomach to its normal state.

The inspiration for the development of "Cabagin Kowa" was the 1940 discovery in the United States of the gastric ulcer preventive effect of a component found in cabbage called "Methylmethionine Sulfonium Chloride" (MMSC). Using this as a hint, our researchers proceeded with development. By creating a double-layered tablet, the active ingredients dissolve in two stages—developed over half a century ago using what is now known as the drug delivery system concept.

While this MMSC is chemically synthesized, a daily dose of Cabagin contains the equivalent MMSC of approximately five heads of cabbage. The name originates from "Cabbage-In," meaning that cabbage contains MMSC. We will continue to renew our products to meet the needs of the social environment and the times, contributing to the health and comfortable lives of consumers.

Hidehiro Kimura

Director of Chiba Institute of Science Library, Professor of the Faculty of Risk and Crisis Management, 1980 Faculty of Economics

Spring cabbage has light leaves and gives off a soft, sweet aroma when sliced. Choshi vegetables, grown in the sea breeze with a food self-sufficiency rate of 240%, are the very landscape of life in this region. The production volume is also the highest in Japan.

Cabbage is an indispensable supporting player, served alongside tonkatsu or as a filling for gyoza. "OSUSOWAKE," a disaster support initiative from Choshi that is sustainable and waste-free, is a modern application of the traditional wisdom of "osusowake"—the casual sharing of fish and vegetables from the fields.

Local food from Choshi, funded by individual donations, is delivered to the donor if no disaster occurs in the partner region for one year; if the partner region is affected by a disaster, it is delivered to that area when needed.

In 2024, we delivered to Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture. This "chain of kindness" initiative, which delivers what is needed, when it is needed, in the necessary amount to those who need it, received the Minister's Secretariat Award from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries at last year's "Mottainai Awards."

Just as many layers of spring cabbage leaves form a single head, regional peace of mind is also shaped by the accumulation of small acts of sharing.

Nobuyuki Miyake

President of Grill Manten-Boshi Azabu-juban, 1993 Faculty of Business and Commerce

From autumn, when ingredients are abundant, through the cold winter is the season when customers gather and Western-style restaurants are bustling, but spring vegetables are also important ingredients that color Western menus.

Among them, stuffed cabbage using sweet cabbage is a popular dish. At our restaurant, we simmer it in tomato sauce and top it with cheese to make a gratin.

The yellow-green of the spring cabbage, the red of the tomato, and the yellow of the cheese make it a masterpiece where you can feel the refreshing spring visually. We carefully select the best seasonal cabbage from all over Japan. Although the season has changed, during the winter we use special cabbage with an incredibly strong sweetness.

We will continue to find even more delicious cabbage with the help of President Honda of Daiji Co., Ltd., a prominent figure in the Ota Produce Market and a member of the Juyukai. Please look forward to it.

In this season of new beginnings and departures, please come and gather around the celebratory table to toast with stuffed cabbage and wine.

We look forward to seeing you!

Fumito Shirai

Associate Professor, Keio University Faculty of Business and Commerce

It seems to have been British critical journals that began calling West German rock of the 1970s "Krautrock." "Kraut" means cabbage in German. It is the same "Kraut" as in sauerkraut—the pickled cabbage that is a staple side dish in German cuisine.

That said, it is impossible to summarize the music of the underground scene born during the Cold War with the single word "cabbage." Rock nurtured in unique cities like Düsseldorf, Cologne, Munich, and West Berlin was loved across national frameworks. The experimental and heavy sounds of Faust and Can have not lost their novelty even when heard today (some members of Can studied under electronic music pioneer Stockhausen), and Kraftwerk released music with a cool demeanor that resonates with YMO.

Furthermore, "Kraut" also means "herb" or "leaf" (one wonders what kind of "leaves" they were...). If you surrender yourself to their sound and beat with a beer in hand, you feel enveloped in a precarious aroma built through layers of fermentation. It is quite different from the sweetness of soft spring cabbage, in more ways than one.