Something to hand down to the next generation! An interview with island elders about local recipes

In 2021, we are working on an initiative to pass on the traditions of Mikurashima's local cuisine. Within a harsh natural environment, the people of Mikurashima have left a distinctive food culture based on creative use of seasonally available ingredients. However, much of this traditional cuisine has become a mystery even to the island's youth.

We are therefore working on recording local recipes bursting with the island's characteristic appeal, so that the treasure that is local cuisine can be inherited by future generations.

First, we began by visiting elders living on the island to interview them about local cuisine and its recipes.

We visited the home of two people in their 80s for two interviews in August. Having been born on Mikurashima, they later left the island, but within ten years they returned, got married, and have lived here ever since.

In our conversation about local cuisine, dishes never seen nowadays came up constantly. We heard about boiling and reducing sweet potato to make sweet potato candy, which is no longer produced on Mikurashima, and about dobuzuke - made by pickling vegetables in rice cooking water with leftover rice and salt. Different households have their own twists on dobuzuke, which can involve adding bonito flakes, garlic or ginger.

This photo shows hayaki, a Mikurashima snack made by frying a mixture of local Japanese mugwort, flour, sugar, water and other ingredients. It is an easy-to-make dish with a simple and pleasant aroma.

From our interviews, we learnt that life on Mikurashima in the past was tougher than we imagined, and people had to devise ways to obtain food. Meat and vegetables were used efficiently, with the fat drippings from cooking chicken being used as lamp fuel. Researching local cuisine made us appreciate the blessings of modern life.

Based on our interviews, we began work to record and pass on local recipes. As the ingredients available differ according to the season, we started by preparing a seasonal food calendar.

From among those dishes, we selected four with no remaining recipes and very few people who can pass on their knowledge. We are planning to create an opportunity to learn about them from our elders.

Going forward, we feel it is important to leave behind the recipes we inherit. By saving and sharing recipes using the likes of online recipe sites, we are working to ensure that the treasure that is Mikurashima's local cuisine is effectively handed down to the next generation.