The origin of miso soup dates back to the Kamakura period, which is called “the era of samurai.” Before the era, miso was not used for making soup because it was not a form of paste and it was eaten as a kind of preserved food. During the Kamakura period, the procedure to make miso into a paste was introduced, and samurai started to eat miso soup.Their diet is called “ichiju-issai,” which includes a bowl of rice, a cup of miso soup, a main dish and pickled vegetables.

These days, some unique miso soup recipes have appeared such as using canned fish, spices, soy milk, eggs or so on. We can make miso soup according to our mood or condition.

There are a lot of health benefits of miso soup. Firstly, it is good for gut health because miso is a fermented food. Secondly, it is expected that miso can help to prevent lifestyle-related diseases such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes or so on. Also, miso soup can prevent some types of cancers such as stomach cancer or breast cancer.

There is another good news, especially for women. It is said that soybeans, which are the main ingredient of miso, improve skin condition and hormonal balance.

Some people are worried about the amount of sodium in miso soup, but it is not a big issue when we compare the sodium in a cup of miso soup with other commonly eaten foods. Also, we can add some potassium-rich ingredients to miso soup to help our body to excrete sodium.

Miso Soup and A Long Life

Ieyasu Tokugawa is a really famous person in Japanes history. He established a basis of the Edo period, which lasted for about 260 years. During that time, the average lifespan was about 37 years, but he lived to be 75 years old, which is twice as long as the average lifespan at that time.

It has been said that he was a health conscious person and ate miso soup which contained various ingredients. We might be able to say that miso soup was a secret to his extraordinarily long and healthy life.

Image：Shogun “Ieyasu Tokunaga” (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Saitama Local Foods Made with Miso

Saitama is the largest producer of taro, which is a kind of starchy potato. It is also the second largest producer of Japanese mustard spinach, spinach, green onion and turnip. There are various kinds of miso soup and local foods that use these products, all of which are delicious, and we can be proud of having these cuisines as part of our food culture. In addition, there are some breweries in Saitama to make soy sauce or miso, which are traditional Japanese seasonings, and traditional technology is used there even today.

Source: maffchannel

Here are some Saitam’s traditional foods made with miso. For example, in the Chichibu region, there is a local food called kozyu-han. As one of the famous local foods, we can mention miso potato, which is a tempura-style potato covered with salty-sweet miso sauce. You can make these foods following recipes or you are welcome to come to Saitama to try them. We would like you to try Saitama’s local foods. If you click the pictures of local foods below, you can learn about the history or roots of these foods.

Saitama Volunteer: Haruka

Hello. I’m Haruka. I have lived in Saitama prefecture for more than 25 years. I would like to introduce Saitama focusing on food and culture. I hope my articles help you get some information about Saitama. Also, I’m happy to tell you about interesting aspects of Japan.