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Raising Children with Local Food: "Dietary Education" at a Nursery in Hokkaido

Episode Synopsis

ID: DC261308
Documentary
2013
46 MINS
EN
Two adults enroll for a day at a nursery school in Otaru City, Hokkaido. Education critic Naoki Ogi, also known as Ogi Mama, has become a familiar face on Japanese television, loved for his gentle tone of speech. The main character of the popular TV school-drama series "Kinpachi Sensei" is based on Ogi Mama, as he was once a passionate teacher who always confronted his students. Partnering Ogi Mama is Naoki Tanaka of the popular comedy group Kokoriko. As a father who is very involved in raising his two sons, Tanaka always walks his kids to kindergarten when he can. The two Naokis visit NPO Kamome (Seagull) Nursery School in Otaru City. The biggest feature of the nursery school is its unique dietary education, which aims to nurture the pupils both physically and emotionally. What do the pupils there have for lunch, or for snacks? And how are kids raised on this dietary education different from those who are not? At this nursery school, sardines that have been cut up and fried in the school kitchen are served, and they come with the bones too! Nowadays in Japan, many food products are advertised as being delicious on the grounds that they are "very soft", but at this nursery school, "softness" is anything but the priority! The motto here is to chew hard foods thoroughly, for chewing well is not only important for the development of the jaw and the body in general, but is also of the utmost importance for a child to develop a sound mind. There are experts who say that kids who chew well do not "lose control". Right after arriving, the two Naokis tag along the kids to go pick Yomogi buds, for on this day, the snack is Yomogi rice cake, which features the rich aroma of spring! Meanwhile, at the nursery school kitchen, fried fish using herrings—which are in season—is being prepared. Chopped up Fuki leaves are mixed in the breading that is used for the fried fish. Also on the menu is a stew of Shiitake mushrooms—which the kids grew themselves—with some pickled radish. Seagull Nursery School emphasizes the importance of being local and eating local food. In summer, the kids heap up mulberry jam on home-made bread; during fall, the season of harvest, the class of five-year-olds makes Soba noodles, tofu, curry with rice, and even pickled herring, all from scratch! By cooking for the younger kids, the class learns the true value of words like "it is delicious!" and "thank you!" During summer, the kids leave their usual school grounds to spend two summer months at their school building by the beach (called "Seagull by the Sea"). There, the kids spend all day swimming in the sea and running on the sandy beach. Come winter, the nursery school borrows a hut on a mountain from a university mountaineering club. There, the kids sled and play in the snow all day long. The kids sew their own dust cloth; they braid their own jump rope. The education offered here is one that develops the kids' strength to live vigorously. "I ate something I had thought I didn't like, but when I did, it tasted so good!" "I chewed some hard food really well, and then its taste spread in my mouth!" "I did it!" "There's nothing you can't do if you work hard for it!" The pupils infinitely broaden their possibilities through the dietary education offered here. What is dietary education? You might discover that the answer to that question has more to it than you think! Watch this program and find out!

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