"Itadakimasu"—What I Learned from the Dinner Table

A long time ago, I lived in Aix-en-Provence, in the south of France.

I was still getting used to life there, and my only pleasure was the food prepared by Grandma Denise, who ran the boarding house.

She was a wonderful cook.

As summer approached and the temperatures gradually rose, fresh salads would appear on the table.

When it got chilly, warm potage made with plenty of vegetables would be served.

As the seasons changed, the dishes on the table also gradually changed.

When the food was brought to the table, Grandma would always say,

"Bon appétit!"

And then I would begin my meal.

"Bon appétit" and "Itadakimasu"

"Bon appétit" seems a little similar to the Japanese "Itadakimasu."

Both are phrases used before a meal.

However, if you think about it carefully, there's a slight difference between the two phrases.

The French Bon appétit is

"Enjoy your meal,"

a phrase directed at the person who is about to eat.

On the other hand, the Japanese "Itadakimasu" is

"I will now receive this,"

a phrase that expresses one's own action.

So,

What exactly are the Japanese "receiving"?

Since I was a child, I've put my hands together and said "Itadakimasu" before meals.

But I had never deeply considered the meaning of that phrase.

Back in Karatsu, I look at the dining table once more

After returning to Japan, I sometimes started preparing meals for my aging father.

My father loves to eat.

He especially loves fish, so I buy fresh fish at the Karatsu fish market and make sashimi.

When I go to the market for vegetables, I find seasonal vegetables lined up there.

As I look at the vegetables,

"I'll quickly blanch these vegetables and make ohitashi."

"I'll deep-fry this once and simmer it richly."

"What kind of seasoning would be best?"

"I should use first-grade dashi for this."

I think about such things.

The time I spend cooking is a very enjoyable time for me.

And then, choosing the dishes

Once the meal is prepared, it's time to choose the dishes.

Dishes that make the colors of the ingredients look beautiful.

If it's a soupy dish, a slightly deeper bowl.

Dishes that make the food easy to eat and look beautiful.

"Which one is good?"

The time I spend choosing dishes while thinking is also a favorite of mine.

And when I had arranged all the food on the table, I noticed something.

Beyond a single dish

Rain falls on the mountains.

The water seeps into the earth, eventually becoming spring water, then a river.

By the river, there are people who cultivate fields and grow crops.

What flows from the earth to the river and then to the sea is also connected to the lives of sea creatures.

Fishermen catch fish in the sea.

We buy that fish at the market.

And there are people who cook,

And people who make the dishes to serve the food.

When I think about it this way, many people and nature are truly involved in the single dish before me.

"Itadakimasu"

With that thought, I started to feel a little differently about the word "Itadakimasu" than before.

The people who prepared the food.

The people who grew the ingredients.

The people who caught the fish.

The people who made the dishes.

And the land, water, and sea that nurtured those ingredients.

Even if we are dining alone,

that dining table was never created by one person alone.

Our dining table exists within the connections between many people and nature.

That's why today, before my meal, I will say,

"Itadakimasu."