My Favorite Childhood Foods | Shohei Onishi (Dean, Graduate School of Health Management)

2008.11.04

My hometown is Himeji, the town where the World Heritage site Himeji Castle is located. I've heard my ancestors were rickshaw pullers, but I don't know what they did before that. Perhaps they were tenant farmers in the Banshu-Harima region. It is often said that one's sense of taste is formed during childhood. I decided to look back on what I used to eat back then. The family I grew up in was not wealthy. I was the son of a marine products wholesaler, a business built up from my grandparents' generation. I've been told that my grandparents started their business from scratch, selling marine products and kombu off a mandarin orange crate. One of my playgrounds was on top of the piles of kombu stacked high in my father's company's huge warehouse. I remember that when I got hungry while playing, I would tear off a piece of kombu and suck on it as a snack. Thanks to that, I became quite particular about the taste and quality of kombu. My mother learned how to make kombu-ni from my paternal grandmother, but she used to complain that she couldn't get a passing grade. However, by the time I was in the upper grades of elementary school, it seems she had received my grandmother's seal of approval. My mother's kombu is salty, so I wouldn't recommend it for people with high blood pressure, but it's perfect for ochazuke. There was a Chinese restaurant called "Tonraishun" where my family and I often went out to eat. For me, the Chinese noodles and shumai there were my absolute favorites. The shumai in particular are completely different from what you might be used to. The filling was indistinct, and they had a chewy texture and an indescribably delicious taste. I couldn't wait for my parents to take me there on weekends. I have never tasted shumai like that, before or since. I would definitely recommend trying it if you visit Himeji, but it seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing.

Himeji was also rich in seafood, and as a summer fish, I loved hamo dishes since I was a child, eating them with ume-miso. A precocious brat, I was. It's a shame that you can't find delicious hamo dishes in the Kanto region. My mother often made kasujiru with salmon. It was a meal rich in protein and full of nutritional value, but it was a food I really disliked, and I was at a loss. I remember complaining about the food, just once. I was scolded severely. Ever since then, I couldn't say a word about my food preferences and ate what I was given without complaint. Therefore, I believe my current eating habits are based on the flavors of my mother, who raised me.

Recently, on my way from Shijo-dori Street in Kyoto to Yasaka Shrine and then toward Kodai-ji Temple, I had the chance to stop by Kikunoi, a Japanese restaurant at the foot of the Higashiyama mountains. I had a kaiseki meal, and the bowl of ebi shinjo soup was exceptional. Not only was the black lacquerware beautiful, but the flavor of the dashi broth was exquisite, unlike anything I had ever tasted before, and I felt a sense of pure bliss. And it brought back memories of my childhood, sucking on kombu.

(Posted: 2008/11/04)