With health-related issues drawing significant attention, “Zakkoku-mai,” rice mixed with cereals, has been rediscovered by health conscious people. Rice has long been a staple food in Japan, but a hint of change appears to be setting in.

Except for a recent deviation, rice had in fact been cooked together with various cereals in Japan. Japanese people ate this sort of mixture as their main food. Descriptions about rice mixed with cereals are found in “Kojiki,” Japan’s oldest history book compiled in 712 A.D. Thus, it is easily discerned that the mixture holds a longstanding position in the Japanese diet.

As used here, the word cereals includes millet, barnyard grass seeds, wheat, etc, all of which belong to the same family as rice, as well as legumes. Commencement of rice growing in Japan goes as far back as in the Yayoi era, which began roughly in 200 B.C. However, consumption of white, refined rice at ordinary family tables started only 50 or 60 years ago. Up until then, Japanese people had been eating the mixture of rice and cereals so that they could cut down on the amount of precious rice used in each meal by mixing it with other cereals.

As suggested above, rice output was not sufficient to fill the stomachs of all of Japan’s people until half a century ago. Unlike today, rice required select locations and conditions to grow in, and farmers living in mountainous areas had to choose other cereals that could be grown in a dry and cold climate. As different areas had different conditions, the types of cereals grown were diverse. This means that there have been various area-based “Zakkoku-mai.” Strictly and historically speaking, we should say that the main food of Japanese people had been rice mixed with cereals rather than rice by itself.

While cereals had been an integral part of the Japanese diet, mixing rice with cereals was seen as a symbol of poverty after the World War II. Subsequently, in conjunction with improvement in rice-growing methods, the production of rice improved and stabilized, and with this the production of cereals quickly tapered off. Eating rice mixed with cereals, a staple of Japan, faded away together with local dishes that had been eaten together with “Zakkoku-mai.”

As the diets of Japanese people changed and western foods became more prominent, previously unseen illness began to appear. This included atopic skin rash. In addition, disorders that had typically been seen among relatively higher age groups, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, have become much less unusual among young people. Considering the circumstances, people have begun to pay more attention to traditional Japanese food. In this regard, rice mixed with cereals is one item that is gaining more popularity again.

Compared to refined rice, cereals have a more favorable nutritional balance. Along with protein, cereals contain various minerals, including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, copper, potassium, etc. Restaurants have started offering “Zakkoku-mai” in their menus, and cereals have become readily available for everyday consumption in ordinary households. 　People in higher age brackets buy “Zakkoku-mai” for nostalgia, while young people regard it as fashionable to eat. To let “Zakkoku-mai” popularity peter out as a short-lived “retro” fad would be a pity given the nutritional and health benefits that “Zakkoku-mai” provides. Maybe it is time that Japanese people should go back to the good old eating style in which healthy staple food is regarded as highly favorable.