Osaka Brand Center

Basically, we eat what nature provides us. It is natural that nature’s products vary in taste and nutrients, depending on the conditions of weather, soil, or water current. However, to keep the products’ quality at a certain desired level, the producers have introduced various machines and data technologies. We may appreciate today’s constant supply of almost any food products throughout the year. However, we cannot immediately conclude that our diet has been enriched because of this convenience. Some people have pointed out that our food has actually become less nutritious. We may have forgotten how to live on food in a way which nature has intended.
While globalization continues to progress, new and diverse ideas about our food and lives, such as “chisan-chisho (locally produced, locally consumed),” have emerged. The Honjo Market is known for its unlimited selection of products, as it is often described as “there is nothing that is not sold (at Honjo).” At the Tobu Market (Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka), on the other hand, traditional Naniwa vegetables and other local specialties are traded and have become a symbol of the market. Senshu mizunasu (eggplant), Kema kyuri (cucumber), and other vegetable varieties that have been long grown in the area are expected to become a new “brand” to promote the recognition of Osaka City.  Food is essential for our lives and developed food culture enriches our living. Osaka has established a unique tradition that involves food, but how can it be saved and be inherited by the generations to come? People today do not have much time to spend on choosing ingredients and cooking them in an authentic manner. It has also become so easy to buy prepared food. It is often hard for us to imagine realistically how those ingredients are produced and how much labor has gone into their production before they eventually arrive to us consumers. We may be facing the unprecedented time when we are surrounded by excessively abundant food and at the same time are allowing our cherished food culture to disappear. Our tour of the market made us determined to preserve Osaka’s invaluable tradition as a gastronomic city.