00:00 [Music]
00:09 [Music]
00:11 Almost all Japanese elementary schools provide lunch for their pupils.
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00:18 These are carefully designed for nutritional balance.
00:21 [Music]
00:27 As the children eat their meal, the teacher gives a simple explanation of its nutritional content.
00:32 [Music]
00:34 We eat these little fish whole, including the bones, because they have lots of calcium.
00:39 Why is calcium good for us?
00:41 It helps our bones grow strong.
00:43 That's right!
00:45 I learned a lot about nutrition today.
00:48 I think this is going to be very useful to me after I grow up.
00:53 The children learn about their food and how to choose a balanced diet.
00:58 [Music]
01:03 Shoku-iku, or food education, is being heavily promoted these days.
01:07 [Music]
01:12 Professional washoku chefs are sometimes invited to give shoku-iku classes.
01:17 [Music]
01:19 Shoku, or traditional Japanese cuisine, is good for health.
01:23 It has been recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
01:27 [Music]
01:29 Today, the children are learning about dashi, the stock that's the basis of miso soup.
01:34 [Music]
01:36 Kombu seaweed gives the soup umami.
01:39 [Music]
01:41 Umami is produced by simmering certain kinds of seaweed, seafood or vegetables.
01:47 [Music]
01:49 Miso soup is so familiar to the children,
01:51 they are surprised by all the techniques and ingredients needed to make it.
01:55 [Music]
02:00 I learned how to use different combinations of things to make dashi,
02:04 and the ways it makes food tastier.
02:08 [Music]
02:09 Shoku-iku classes also teach children about traditional Japanese approaches to cooking and food.
02:15 [Music]
02:18 Washoku is more than just a cuisine, it contains so much of our Japanese culture.
02:23 These classes are a great way to teach the traditional understanding of life as well as food.
02:27 [Music]
02:29 This nursery school is for children up to six years old.
02:33 Shoku-iku lessons cover everything from how food is produced to how it's consumed.
02:38 [Music]
02:41 Food education gives children the knowledge and skills they'll need to function properly in society as adults.
02:48 [Music]
02:51 Topics range from growing and cooking food to how to properly serve and eat it.
02:56 [Music]
03:01 Rice is the staple food of the Japanese.
03:06 These nursery school children plant their own rice and care for it until it's ready to harvest six months later.
03:14 With their newly harvested rice they learn to make rice balls,
03:19 discovering for themselves the difficulties and the joys of growing food.
03:27 The children make the side dishes too.
03:31 "I love cooking!"
03:34 They learn cooking techniques like cutting, stir-frying and deep-frying.
03:45 And they're taught how to serve themselves.
03:50 Eating habits acquired at an early age stay with us all our lives.
03:57 Hearing my son say how confident he was in today's class really makes me feel how quickly he's growing up.
04:06 Food education in Japanese schools is helping improve the nation's diet.
04:12 Teaching children basic knowledge about food and instilling desirable eating habits,
04:17 Shoku-iku classes lay a good foundation for health in adult life.
04:21 [Music]
04:24 [Silence]
04:30 [Music]
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