Vegetarian Research Vol. 16, 1－12 (2015)[Review]

Creating a New Vegan Diet Culture through the Restoration of
Washoku (Japanese Cuisine): a Proposal for“The Balance Sheet of Food and Life”
Based on Yin-Yang Theory
Yumiko Otani (Yumiko Tubu-Tubu)*
Fu Future Living Laboratory, Inc., Tokyo, Japan

Abstract. A traditional grain based diet (Tubu-Tubu Future Food) suggests a new approach to vegan andvegetarian cuisine. Based on the wisdom and techniques of Washoku (Japanese cuisine), which has
survived for over twenty centuries, this diet was creatively constructed without destroying the system of
Washoku. It enables not only a physiologically but also a psychologically balanced, healthy, and morallyrich vegan life by correcting unbalanced dietary practices and reexamining the adverse effects offocusing on modern dietetics. “The Balance Sheet of Food and Life” is the reference guideline for healthy
food and a healthy body and it shows the yin-yang and acid-alkali balance.
Keywords: Balance sheet of food and life, Yin-yang theory, Vegan, Vegetarian, Traditional grain based
diet (Tubu-Tubu Future Food)

1. Introduction
In Japan the Sannai-Maruyama site (Aomori
Prefecture/1500 to 4000 years ago) is known as asettlement where people lived a warless, peacefuland sedentary lifestyle for over 1500 years during
the Jomon period (16500 to 3000 years ago).
Carbonized grains were detected from earthen
ware, which has been excavated from Jomon
period archeological sites around Japan. It isestimated that the origin of Washoku (Japanesecuisine) is based on a peaceful grain based dietary
life [1,2].
* Fu Future Living Laboratory, Inc. CEO,Benten-cho 143-5, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
TEL：(81)(3)3203-2090 FAX：(81)(3)3203-2091
E-mail: yumiko@tubu-tubu.net
Received 22 October 2015；Accepted 4 November 2015
C 2015 The Japanese Society for Vegetarian Research○

According to a document provided by the Japan
Millet Association, zakkoku is a general term inJapanese for gramineous crops such as Japanesebarnyard millet, foxtail millet, and proso millet,
which bear small caryopsis (a fruit seen ongramineous plants). These are the grainstranslated as millet in English. Pulse crops arereferred to as beans, and pseudocereals arereferred to as buckwheat, amaranth, and quinoa.
However, as historical backgrounds and staple
foods changed, how zakkoku is identified has also
been changing. It is noted that the staple ofmodern Japanese is white rice yet zakkoku
includes all of the following, gramineous crops
such as Japanese barnyard millet, foxtail millet,
proso millet, sorghum, Job’s tears, and barley,
plants besides gramineous crops such as
buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, and sesame, andalso beans such as soy and adzuki beans as wellas brown rice including germinated brown rice,1

Vegetarian Research Vol. 16 (2015)
both of which are not commonly eaten. The
remains found from the Jomon periodarcheological sites were gramineous crops such as
Japanese barnyard millet, foxtail millet, andproso millet [3].
Since ancient time in Japan, there was a senseof value, which regards death as kegare(impurity). When worshipping gods and ancestors,
it was viewed as important to maintain the minds
and bodies of those who performed theworshipping rites as well as maintaining thepurity of places for worshipping by avoiding
eating dead flesh. This practice still remains inshojin ryori (vegetarian cuisine originally derived
from the Buddhist diet) at temples and for Shinto
rituals.
It has been over 1200 years since the firstprohibition of meat-eating was issued in Japan in
675. This period continued until the revocation of
the prohibition in 1871. It was during this timethat the culture in which a meat diet was avoided
for impurity was fostered. Hence, people did notrear livestock for meat production although they
had horses and cows for labor. The history ofpeople not owning domestic animals for producing
meat is a major characteristic of Japanesecultural history, which considerably differs fromother Asian countries.
After the Meiji Restoration a trend of
proactively adopting Western wear andno-topknot bobbed hair as well as adopting ameat diet was regarded as advanced appeared.
However, it took many years for a meat diet togrow in acceptance among common people. In"Unbeaten Tracks in Japan" written by English
explorer Isabella Lucy Bird who travelled in
Tohoku, which is the northeastern portion of
Honshu (the main island of Japan) during 1899,
there is a description of an encounter in which she
asked farmers to sell chicken to her for a meal. In
reply they cried that they were unwilling, while
saying they could not do such a cruel thing andthis was the only problem that she faced [1]. They
considered chickens as their pets and not for food.
In mountain villages in Tohoku people stillpracticed self-sufficient lifestyles eating a
traditional grain based diet until around 1970.
They did not have the custom of eating meat even
if they made their living by raising cattle. These2

people continuously had a traditional grain andvegetable based diet as the center of their lifestyle[4].
While the concept and practice of “Shokuyo”(Literally, food for health: prevention and cure ofdisease through diet) for improving health withfood had been passed down as common knowledge
in Japan, Sagen Ishizuka who was a military
doctor and pharmacist in the early Meiji period
indicated that the western diet has aphysiological defect. He considered that mental
and physical diseases are attributed to diet andhe healed many by Shokuyo. He claimed thatblood needs to be purified in order to cleanse
people’s minds and bodies and that food needs tobe pure in order to clean the blood. He advocated“a theory that humankind is a grain-eating being”
and “that there is a yin-yang balance of food,”
both of which received support from Emperor
Meiji [5,6]. However, the Nutrition Institute (thecurrent National Institute of Health andNutrition) started and has continued since thenfocusing on studying and promoting western
dietetics. Kenzo Futaki succeeded to the thoughtof Shokuyo by Sagen Ishizuka and established theJapan Association of Holistic Medicine. Yukikazu
Sakurazawa (known internationally as George
Ohsawa) developed Sagen’s Shokuyo theory as
the theory and methodology for Macrobiotics andpromoted international public awareness.
Nevertheless, the history of Shokuyo had been
led by scholars and activists. They were not basedon the suggestions from the viewpoint of women
who were responsible for everyday family meals
or common people. Moreover, as illnesses such as
lifestyle related disease have increased, the roleof dietary cures for disease has received more
attention; however the study and promotion ofdaily diet as well as the development ofsystemized food preparation to coincide withmodern lifestyles and people’s intuitive needs
have been left behind.

2. The Balance Sheet of Food and Life (I)The author published “The Balance Sheet ofFood and Life” (Figure 1) in “Mirai shoku” in 1995
as a reference guideline for a diet that follows thehuman’s life system in order to solve the common

Otani: A New Vegan Diet Culture through the Restoration of Washoku
3. The foundation of Washoku isa vegan diet without sugar

Figure 1. The Balance Sheet of Food and Life (1)misunderstanding about modern dietetics. Basedon the original form, which was proposed byHerman Aihara (who worked teaching andpromoting macrobiotics on the West Coast of theUnited States over a period of fifty years), I
created the current Balance Sheet of Food andLife through a collaboration with and detailed
examination of Aihara’s work [7,8] (Figure 1).
In modern Japan there are some backgroundissues in the field of diet. Today we are still
carrying on the knowledge of the initial dietetics,
which is immature regarding the understandingof the life system of mankind. Moreover, thewestern style diet, which was promoted without
considering the natural features of Japan as wellas the physical constitution of Japanese and thedependence on processed foods including artificial
additives have been adversely affecting thehealthy function that our body is innately
endowed with. Furthermore, today both valuable
and invaluable information about natural food is
jumbled together and spreading. There arenumbers of people who are emotionally andsensibly practicing a natural food or vegetarian
diet and as result are becoming unhealthy eventhough what they are seeking is better health [9].
The author advocates there is an urgent need tosolve “the many health-threatening misunderstandings about health and food,” which not
only ordinary people but also many of those who
seek natural food and who aim to be vegetarian
believe in.

Japanese experienced a major transformationin their sense of value and lifestyle twice; after
the Meiji Restoration 150 years ago and afterWorld War Ⅱ seventy years ago, and especiallyafter the war regarding diet. As a result serious
mental and physical health problems began toappear clearly about thirty years ago. The
severity of these issues has been increasing
rapidly every year since [10].
The author’s exploration of food began in 1982.
The first step was to carefully read through“Nihon no shokuseikatsu zenshuu” (The complete
collection of dietary life in Japan), which was
written based on the nationwide personal
interview survey by prefecture and region. The
survey focused on the diet of ordinary people in
the prewar time, most of whom had a traditional
dietary life, which suited for the life system ofnature and humans [11].
It depicts the dietary life specific to Japan,
which was linked to the cycle of fields and nature.
It is full of specific wisdom and skills for cooking,which utilize sun, salt, fine yeast, and bacteria tohelp digestion and heighten nutritional value. For
example, various kinds of “preservation cooking
skills” utilized to avoid spoiling food ingredientsand to help maintain taste for long periods of time
without refrigeration in a mild and humid climatezone as well as the methods for increasing thenutritional value while preserving the food.
Through further research of various documents,
the facts were brought to light that the basic
structure of the ordinary Japanese diet was “avegan diet without sugar” including “rice cookedwith traditional grains called zakkoku,” plus “salt,miso,” and “pickles” as the core.
With this knowledge, the author began to cookgrains and vegetables grown out of the land ofJapan with traditional seasonings and techniquesand discovered that it is possible to prepare
delicious meals with simple processes without
taking too much time. The practitioners of thisdiet have proven the maintenance of their mental
and physical health. Simultaneously the author
continued her quest into the forefront of quantum
science, life science, cell biology, and study of3

Vegetarian Research Vol. 16 (2015)
various natural food and vegetarian diets as wellas the history of diet in Japan and the world.
Consequently, it became clear that the traditional
Japanese dietary life is the technique that follows
the natural life system of both nature and people.

4. The Balance Sheet of Food and Life (II)4.1. The basics of the diet shown in “The Balance
Sheet of Food and Life”

The Balance Sheet of Food and Life is shownwith both a vertical axis and horizontal axis. The
vertical axis is the scale based on the yin-yang
theory of food, which Sagen Ishizuka proposedwith the understanding that diseases are caused
when the yang sodium and yin potassium are outof balance based on the Eastern traditional
concept of “Shokuyo” (food for nutrition). The
higher a food is in the chart, the more yin it is.
Water and yin (potassium natured) food functions
as a cooler to cool our bodies and inactivate themwhile having the effect of relaxing our bodies
when appropriately consumed. On the contrary,
the lower a food is in the chart, the more yangthey are. This kind of fire (sun) and yang (sodium)
natured food functions as a heater to heat ourbodies and activate them (Figure 1).
Then, what kind of diet can be regarded as
preferable based on the yin-yang theory? The
human body is a mass of sixty trillion cells and itis the role of blood to nurture the cells. Bloodflows throughout the body to convey oxygen andnutrients necessary for the cells to survive andeven form new cells if needed. It is also the role ofblood to maintain body temperature and remove
unwanted substances such as produced carbon
dioxide, wastes, and dead cells. It is considerednecessary to always maintain blood slightly yangin order to maintain proper body temperature aswell as to sufficiently dissolve yin oxygen into theblood [7].
In the case where blood inclines to yin, the yin
blood and yin oxygen repel each other. It becomesdifficult to dissolve oxygen into the blood and it isunable to supply necessary oxygen to cells.
Consequently the ability to cool down physicalfunctions such as body metabolism declines and it
becomes impossible to maintain optimal bodytemperature.

4

Hence, according to the yin-yang theory above,a slightly yang meal in total is essential in orderto balance bodily functions and maintain proper
body temperature.
On the other hand, the horizontal axis of thebalance sheet; the other essential indicator for
dietary health is acidity and alkalinity of food.
Human body cells maintain a slightly alkaline pH
level (pH7.2~pH7.4). The human body functions
well when a balance is maintained in which theblood is slightly alkaline (pH7.4) on average andthe surface of the skin and inside of intestines aremoderately acidic (pH5 approximately) [12].
Acidity and alkalinity are two of the importantcharacteristics of blood. From the viewpoint of
medical physiology, the acidity of blood rises when
the intake of the acidic food increases or theexcretion of it decreases and consequently theconcentration of acidic substance in the body goesup. At the same time, the acidity of blood also
rises when the intake of the acidic food decreases
or the excretion of it increases and theconcentration of basic substance in the body goes
down. Alkalinity of blood rises by a contrary
process.
The balance of acidity and alkalinity in our
body is called acid-base equilibrium. Blood isconstantly performing equilibration to neutralize
the acidic substance occurring in the body. The
acid-base equilibrium of blood is strictly regulated
and that is because even if it slightly strays off
the normal value, it markedly influences manyorgans. The human body adjusts acid-alkalinebalance in blood by various mechanisms [13].
Blood can maintain an overall slightly alkalinebalance by wholesome breathing, alkaline waterhigh in minerals, and by consuming a slightly
alkaline meal composed of neutral to alkaline
food.
There are two kinds of food, acidic and alkaline.
Acidic food inclines blood to acid and alkaline foodinclines blood to alkalinity. This indicates thedegree of acidity and alkalinity not of the fooditself but after the food is digested and absorbed.
It is shown by the horizontal axis in the balance
sheet. The more right the food is, the morealkaline it is and the more left, the more acidic.

Otani: A New Vegan Diet Culture through the Restoration of Washoku

Figure 2. The Balance Sheet of Food and Life (2)The mineral balance of blood may be allowed tohave a little deviation from optimal. However, if itsurpasses the limits, then life may be in danger;
hence, it tries to achieve balance by dissolving theneeded minerals from bones.
Additionally, some research presented in recent
years shows that positive thinking and feelinglead blood to the alkalinity side and negative
thinking and feeling lead blood to the acidic side.

It should be understood that having a meal withpositive thinking and feelings such as joy,gratitude, happiness, and deep impression of thetaste are other essential factors for health [7,8](Figure 1).
The following shows what kind of food is locatedwhere in The Balance Sheet of Food and Life.
What is located in the center of The Balance
Sheet of Food and Life is grain (Figure 2),
especially traditional grains and unpolishedgrains such as brown rice. As the nutritional
component displays, grain is the food that
includes various necessary nutrients for thehuman body. It can be described as a food inwhich the energy for operating the body andalmost all the essential nutrients for regenerating
healthy cells are united (Table 1). In addition, theyin-yang degree is neutral and acid-alkali degreein blood is also adequate; hence a large intake ofgrains does not disrupt the physical balance ofeither indicator. It can be regarded as aconsequential choice that mankind has had
grains as their staple food.
Some of the yang foods that operate as heaters5Vegetarian Research Vol. 16 (2015)

Figure 3. The Balance Sheet of Food and Life (3)natural salt, and seasonings such as miso andsoy sauce has the effect of elevating bodytemperature. This adjusts the yin-yang balance
and maintains a preferable condition.
Meanwhile, the first category of the food thathas the effect of keeping blood alkaline is naturalsalt, fermented seasonings containing salt, andplant food such as vegetables and seaweed.
(Figure 3)
Vegetables are rich not only in vitamins that
adjust physical conditions but also in medicinal
properties that offer resistance to viruses andbacteria as well as adjustability to thetemperature and humidity from changes ofweather and season. Seaweeds are excellent inpurifying qualities. Both foods have the effect ofconstantly purifying the body through healthy
intestinal function and building the body while
not promoting the accumulation of toxic
components. Yet, both are yin and need to becooked with yang salt and fire to be balanced.
4.2. “The Balance Sheet of Food and Life” and the
traditional grain based diet

Figure 4. The Balance Sheet of Food and Life (4)are sea salt; majorly composed of sodium and its
congeners: miso, soy sauce, and ume plum
vinegar. Another is animal food. The energy offire is also and recognized as yang.
The food that functions as a cooler is yin plantfood, which contains a large amount of potassium.
The energy of water is also regarded as yin.
Chemical substances and purified sweeteners
such as sugar are highly yin. Among yin foods
such as tropical foods, spice, and drinks are too
yin to be balanced. A life based on meals full ofchemical additives or only lightly seasoned
vegetables with fruits and sugary desserts as wellas meals with only fresh vegetables can lower the
body temperature and this is the major pitfall of
the vegetarian lifestyle (Figure 3). However, it ispossible to make the yin type of food yang throughcooking and this essentially requires cooking
skills for yin-yang balance. Cooking with heat,

6

The excellence of Washoku (Japanese cuisine)
may be recognized visually by applying The
Balance Sheet of Food and Life. The main food of
Washoku is traditional grain, which is a neutral
food that includes perfect nutrients. The
accompanying dishes are commonly alkaline
foods; vegetables, salt, and fermented food suchas miso and pickles, which control intestinal
functions. Washoku in total draws a circle asslightly alkaline and slightly yang in the balance
sheet (Figure 4). This clearly indicates that theJapanese traditional diet lifestyle, which mostly
did not include daily animal food or sugar
maintainedasoundhealthybalance.
Unfortunately, the food viewed as Washoku bymost of Japanese as well as the world is thedescendant of special nobility meals or luxurious
restaurant meals far from the primary Washoku.
This type of food is based on a large amount ofchicken, seafood, katsuobushi (dried bonito), andsugar. Contrarily, a traditional grain based diet
(Tubu-Tubu Future Food) is a new diet systemcreated to suit modern lifestyles and mind
making use of the “fundamental rule” of wisdom
and techniques of original Washoku.

Otani: A New Vegan Diet Culture through the Restoration of Washoku

Figure 5. The Balance Sheet of Food and Life (5)Acid-base equilibrium is continuously ongoingin the body of animals including humans in orderto balance the acidity/alkalinity degree in the
blood and body fluid. However, refined intense
sweetness such as sugar is not only excessively
yin but also lacks nutrients such as vitamins anddietary fiber, which foster digestion andmetabolism, therefore it exhausts minerals in the
body and inclines blood to the acidic side.
Excessively yin or acid substances as well as
chemical additives and medicines hinder the bodylife system (Figure 5). If the diet, which
predominately includes animal food such as meatand eggs, intense condensed sweeteners likesugar, and acidic food such as processed food withchemical additives is constantly practiced, thenthe human body reacts to maintain life. For
example, the minerals in bones dissolve and thebones become weak and fragile. This condition
deteriorates over time and it is partially causing
osteoporosis as well as the decrease of female
hormones and menopause.

5. Common knowledge about diets filled withmisunderstandings — protein
intake, cooking with heat, typesof sugar, reducing salt —The fact that most of the commonly acceptedknowledge about health does not match with thelife system has been successively becoming
apparent through the progress of life science
including cell biology and quantum physics,

which explores the root of substance. The author
has been continuing the attempt to construct the
new common knowledge about diet throughresearching the latest information [14].
The following observation regards fourcommonly accepted understandings that urgently
need to be solved: “protein intake, cooking withheat, types of sugar, and reducing salt.”
Information contrary to the fact has spreadsuch as “You can become healthy if you eat a lotof protein. Cooked rice is a mass of starch, high incalories and the food lacks nutrition. The mostimportant nutrition is protein and you can only
intake this from animal foods” and many people
end up believing this wrong but commonly
accepted knowledge.
The latest research of cell biology has alreadyrevealed that cells have a system for recycling
amino acids and the necessary intake is less than
the nutritional requirement. Moreover, thebacteria in the intestine synthetizes protein from
nitrogen in the swallowed air and also reproduces
the food residue absorbed in the small intestine
into a profitable substance. In addition, the bodyof dead bacteria is absorbed as “bacteria protein;”hence, fermented food can be noted as a protein
providing food [15-17].
Nutrition facts clearly show that rice, wheat,and various traditional grains contain protein
and other essential nutrients in appropriatebalance, and that Japanese traditional processed
food, miso, soy sauce, amazake (sweet fermented
rice drink), fu (bread-like food made of wheat
gluten), kori-dofu (freeze-dried bean curd), andseaweed such as nori (laver) include protein inappropriate balance.
Furthermore, various historical documents
testify to the great physical strength of Japanesepeople who lived embracing a traditional dietary
life.
Contrary to these facts a large number ofpeople share as common knowledge that a dietwithout meat causes a shortage of protein andthis in turn harms health. Additionally, it isrecognized as a common understanding among
vegetarians that it is necessary to sufficiently
intake protein from soybeans to make up formeat; however, soybean is actually anindigestible food. Processing soybeans into

7

Vegetarian Research Vol. 16 (2015)
fermented seasonings such as miso or soy sauce
helps easier digestion and prevents burdens on
the body and this is also clearly shows thesuperiority of Washoku.
Since the research data in which cooking withheat destroys vitamins was announced, it has
becomegenerally
acceptedknowledge.
Additionally, the information that can be called
raw food worship has been spreading in someparts of natural food world and the vegetarian
world. Some people believe cooking with fire is adangerous act that destroys nutrients and thatdoing so not only destroys vitamins but also kill
enzymes. However, facts which do not match wellfor the life system of humans have been foundwithin this information. As one example, there isa diet known as the raw vegan diet, but it isindicated that it is difficult to digest and noteffective for nutritional intake.[18] Additionally,
there is also research informing us that the act ofa vitamin C-decomposing enzyme in many
vegetables can be stopped by boiling, frying, or
adding a small amount of vinegar and therefore is
improved by the cooking method.
The information that eating too much ricecauses obesity and diabetes has spread and thenumber of people who do not eat the staple rice inorder to enhance or maintain their health has
been increasing.
However, the carbohydrate in rice ispolysaccharide: an appropriate sugar which isdecomposed at the right speed for the bodysystem and completely combusted by thecollaborative work of dietary fiber and othercomponents and this provides continuous energy.
What causes obesity and diabetes is theexcessive intake of monosaccharides andoligosaccharides in fruit, sugar, honey, and milk
as these are inappropriate sugars. Both of thesebegan to be called “sugar” usually and that is
causing misunderstandings and confusion.
Without rice in the diet, wholesome energy is
not provided and the body struggles through thesituation by different schemes. This may cause
many unbalanced conditions in the human body.
The human body may begin to continuously wantfood containing sugar (monosaccharide andoligosaccharide) that include sweetness: the taste

8

implying the request of fuel. As a result, it iscausing over eating of ice cream and cake andforming a vicious cycle of not being able to stopovereating sweets.
The misunderstanding that salt is a bad
influence on health has spread and establishedalthough salt is essential for maintaining life.
Diet guidance and food supply based on thismisconception have been promoted by medical
industries and food marketers under theleadership of the government. Howeverexcessively reducing salt is the act of un-tuning
the function of the human body.
The reason is because optimal physical healthis realized by maintaining the salinity
concentration of blood and body fluids in a certainbalance (the salinity of the ancient ocean water:
the salinity of physiological saline). On a daily
basis the salinity keeps decreasing from the bodyand constant supply supporting the salinity thatthe body requires is the foundation to maintainhealth. Salty flavor is regarded as an instinctively
sought taste. The human body is endowed withthe sensor for saltiness as we think salty dishes
are delicious when our body needs more saltiness.
Moreover, somatic cells have a physiologicalmechanism to preserve salinity concentration.
For instance, if only water is supplied whensweating and decreasing salinity, then the humanbody tries to prevent the further lowering ofsalinity concentration and lets out water content,
which causes dehydration through sweat andurine. Adjusting the pH of the body is also thework of minerals including salinity. The shortageof salinity influences body fluid causing
weakening enzymes and leukocytes anddecreasing immunocompetence.
In addition, the human appetite continues until
satiating salinity needs are met; hence, a low salt
diet causes compulsive appetites and bulimia andcontributes to obesity.
In fact, the salinity problem for nutrition andhealth among current Japanese is an over-intake
of salt with 99% purity sodium chloride salt
(refined processed salt). Also animal food is richin sodium therefore the need for sodium intake
decreases as in the case of the animal food diet[19].

Otani: A New Vegan Diet Culture through the Restoration of Washoku

Figure 6. Tubu-Tubu Future Food.
The factor in salt (sodium chloride) related tohigh blood pressure is sodium. Sodium contracts
blood vessels and increases the moisture content
in blood. As in the phenomenon of sending a large
amount of water into a skinny hose, the pressure
in blood vessels increases. Continuing such a dietheightens the risk of high blood pressure.
However, recent medical research clarified thatpotassium works against the sodium in our body.
Potassium connects with excessive sodium in thehuman body and exhausts out of the body andthis prevents blood pressure from rising.
The amount (milligram) of sodium (Na) andpotassium (K) in 100g of traditional grains inStandard Tables of Food Composition in Japan(2010) by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology is as follows: Amaranth(Na:1,K:600), sorghum (Na:2,K:590), foxtail millet(Na:1,K:280), proso millet (Na2,K:410), andJapanese barnyard millet (Na:3,K:240). The
numbers in parenthesis are the milligram of
sodium and potassium. A traditional grain based
diet exhausts excessive salinity and prevents

blood pressure increasing and also does not easily
cause excessive intake of sodium because thesodium originated from animal products is notingested [20].

6. Creative restoration of Washoku, traditional
grain based diet
(Tubu-Tubu Future Food)
Environmental pollution and the trend of asocial system against life have been progressing
with tremendous momentum. These conditions
cannot be changed immediately however
distressed we are; yet, it is possible to stop thedestruction of the life system as well as
environmental pollution inside of our bodies
through the transformation of diet adjusting toand with the life system of the earth and people.
The traditional grain based diet “Tubu-Tubu
Future Food” is the new system reconstructed asa dietary method to draw out the human’s ability
to survive in modern times. It was created bystudying and practicing the common people’s

9Vegetarian Research Vol. 16 (2015)
Washoku, which had been constructed andexamined in the process of surviving the naturalfeatures of Japan and verified through the latest
research
information
andpractice[8].
“Tubu-Tubu” was originally the nickname fortraditional grains that the author gave but it is
now the nickname for grains and nuts. The
author has been educating and promoting thisdietary system since 1995, which is twelve years
after the author began the research and practice.
“Tubu-Tubu Future Food” is the software of
the new diet in which people can realize thefundamental
desirethat
everyonehas,“maintaining a healthy mind and body until the
moment of death.” This dietary system originatedin Japan and has the potential to achieve apeaceful coexistence with animals and society
where people can co-exist without future war.
Practicing “Tubu-Tubu Future Food” may become
the major power to turn the future of humankind
from destruction to creation.
However, there is a reality that modern
Japanese, who grew up separated from thetraditional diet, are not able to be satisfied
without exciting and topical dishes based oncommercialism. There is a reality the modern life
does not allow to spend much time for cooking.
There is a reality that many women are addicted
to sugar and are living with guilt. “Tubu-Tubu
Future Food” is the new vegan/vegetarian dietstyle of creative restoration of Washoku thatsolves all these problems. I am certain that it has
the role as a dietary system that can foster thefurther mental and physical progress of humans
as the most evolved form of animal [6].
Surrounded by an environment full of
temptation, modern people grew up thinking
meals with lots of dishes besides rice andsnack-like a-la-carte items are treats. For thisinfluence, they cannot be satisfied on their“tongue” and in their “hearts” with a simple mealconsisting of cooked rice as the core staple andcannot escape from the temptation of sweets inspite of the good nutritional balance. It is
indispensable to have cooking skills to help in
gaining a healthy lifestyle while enjoying exciting
meals instead of restraining ourselves. Based onthese needs the sophisticated traditional grain
based diet “Tubu-Tubu Future Food” was10developed [21-26]. If traditional grains are
utilized as food ingredients for nouvelle cooking,with their rich flavor and texture, we can cook
foods like ground meat, eggs, cheese, milk andfish without meat, eggs, or dairy products that in
actuality do not match the nature of the Japanese.
Any type or kind of modern people’s favorite foodcan be created.
Tubu-Tubu Future Food uses amazake (sweet
fermented rice drink) as a sweetener. Amazake isa Japanese-origin sweet drink, which is made to
be more easily digested and to have a higher
nutrition value by fermenting appropriately
nutrition balanced cooked rice with traditional
grains. Although “sake (or -zake)” which means
rice wine or alcohol is in its name, it has no
alcohol content. In Japanese sake originallymeans drink with heightened energy throughfermentation. With grains as main ingredientsand amazake as a sweetener, both Japanese andWestern confectionary as well as ice cream can bemade without any sugar or dairy products. The
effective sweets for developing healthy intestines
came into the world. The sweets of Tubu-Tubu
Future Food means we do not have to feel theguilt of taking in excessive sugar, which is typicalfor modern people and allows us to enjoy thedelicious sweetness shamelessly.
The cooking method of Washoku by ordinary
people who survived with a handmade life innature is very simple. Moreover, foods withlong-lasting delicious taste can be made. Whenpeople had a large family and there was no
refrigerator, heat-retaining system, or measuring
devices, they could not cook well without theinstinctual training transmitted from theirpredecessors. In addition, they had to cook a large
number of portions and it was a lot of work eventhough it was simple. However, today families are
smaller and the refrigerator and heat-retaining
system as well as measuring apparatus are easy
to use so that once people master the system andguidelines, it is much easier to prepare for thetable. It enables people to shorten the total
cooking time significantly by cooking a large
amount at one time and enhancing thepreservation cooking skill. It also enables an easyhome cooking lifestyle.

Otani: A New Vegan Diet Culture through the Restoration of Washoku
7. Paradigm shift from dietetics to fields ofquantum science
The progress of physics and life science hascompletely changed previous accepted theories ofour bodily functions.
First, there is a view that all the substances
including our bodies are made from light that isessentially particles as well as waves. Quantum
physics clarifies the fact that all the existence of
this world consists of light, which is the origin ofelementary particles known as photons. It is afact that cells are radiating. It is also known thatthe healthier cells are the more they radiate.
The second view is that there are foods thatswitch on good genes and foods that switch themoff or harm them [15].
Third, all of existence radiates at its own
frequency. According to this view, food andlifestyle create the patterns in our brain waves
and this influences the health of our bodies andthe quality of our lives.
Dietetics views the human body mainly fromthe physiological aspect. Once quantum theory
appeared, the ongoing study of it surpassed
Newtonian mechanics and it continues to expand
our awareness. The food system and related
cooking skills that regard the body as a crystal oflight and human beings as a spiritual existence isthe vegan/vegetarian system “Tubu-Tubu Future
Food” the author has created.
The time is upon us when people known as real
gourmets will be those who have the rightknowledge of a diet, which is consistent with “themechanism of the global ecosystem” and “theessential physiological mechanism of the healthy
mind and body.” True gourmets will be seen as
those who have mastered the wisdom and skills tomanage a peaceful and creative diet that does notcause environmental pollution or the destructionof the natural ecology.

8. Conclusion
Perhaps the fundamental desire that everyone
has from the bottom of his or her heart is “Wewant to make the most of the possibilities of ourlife and live every day lively and full of vigor!”“We wish to live a healthy life by our own will

until the moment we die!”Everything is connected in this world. It isapparent that the light of the sun, air, water, all
the lives on the earth coexist with people and all
the other lives. Nothing can exist independently.
Animals and people who live on the earth
absorb oxygen by breathing and are given theenergy, water, and ingredients in order to live
through eating and drinking. For humans, foodcan be regarded as something like an umbilicalcord to connect with the earth. Just like infants
get all they need to live from their mother’s bodysince the time when they are in her womb until
one year after they are born, animals and humans
are living given all they need to live by ourmother earth.
One of the ways to easily make thefundamental desire common among humanity
come true is to simply receive the food that thelife system of the universe and the earth has
prepared for humans.
The Balance Sheet of Food and Life created by
the author revises the deviation of dietary life,
reforms the abuse from totally committing tomodern dietetics, and makes it possible topractice a physiologically and psychologicallybalanced, healthy and morally rich vegan life.

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大谷ゆみこ（つぶつぶグランマ・ゆみこ）*：和食の復権と新しいヴィーガン食文化の創造 ‐陰陽理論による「食といのちのバランスシート」

Vegetarian Research Vol. 16, 1－12 (2015)
紀元前からの長年に渡って歴史を生き抜いてきた和食の知恵と技法を基にして、そのシステムは崩さずに創造的に構築した、新しいヴィーガン・ベジタリアン料
理の提案が雑穀菜食（未来食つぶつぶ）である。食と体の健康を推し量る指針の一つとされている、陰陽バ
ランスと酸アルカリバランスをシンプルに表す「食といのちのバランスシート」によって自らの食生活の偏りを修正し、近代栄養学一辺倒の弊害を見直し、生理的のみならず心理的にもバランスのとれた健康で心豊
かなヴィーガン生活の実践を目指す。
*フゥ未来生活研究所CEO、未来食セミナー主宰、つぶつぶ菜食創始者