Grandma’s Stories and Recipes

Grandmas are part of Japan's intangible heritage who have wisdom to pass down countless stories and recipes to the next generation. Watch the documentary series of Japanese grandmas making Osechi, dishes eaten on new year's day.

Grandma’s Stories and Recipes

PUBLISHED


AUTHORTina Koyama


 Published January 15th 2018 on the former blog

When I was younger I didn’t listen too closely to my grandfathers stories which I regret deeply. He used to be held prisoner in Russia during the second world war. I only remember pieces of his stories that he would repeat often the older he got but we never thought of recording them. He passed away almost a decade ago. My grandmother on the other hand is still alive and turning 97 this year. She is a lot like the woman in the documentary below which I stumbled upon recently and fell in love with.

There are so many amazing stories those people could tell. They experienced a time of war, a time when parents gave away their kids to relatives because they themselves couldn’t take care of them, a time when getting by was the best there was.

The documentary series below tells the stories of some grandmothers in context of them cooking “osechi” which is a series of dishes cooked for Japanese New Year. Enjoy and if you’d like to see more check out their YouTube channel.


PUBLISHED


AUTHORTina Koyama