The reflection of a Japanese lunch discipline on the plate
During a short but impressive business trip to Japan some time ago, what impressed me most was not their high technology or bullet trains. It was a simple lunch I had in a school cafeteria.
That day I visited a public school. When lunchtime came, students lined up and got their food from the cafeteria. But not in the way we are used to.
Everyone was calm, everyone was orderly. Food trays were carried carefully, children thanking each other, showing respect for the food by saying “itadakimasu” before starting to eat. I realized there that in Japan, food is not a habit but a teaching. Discipline is not only in school but in the respect for the bite on the plate, in the whole table setting.
The meals were simple, without exaggeration. But everything had a balance, a measure, and a purpose. And I thought. While we tell children “eat to grow,” there they are told “why you should eat.” We say “well done” when the meal is finished, but there that phrase is said even before starting to eat.
Food culture also shows a country’s outlook on the future. Because the order on a society’s plate is a mirror of its vision in life.
That day, I brought back from Japan not technology, but a difference in consciousness.
And now, with every bite, I ask this. Is this just food, or is it an awareness?
