"Itadakimasu" - the signature pavilion of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, "EARTHMART", is a place where the uniquely Japanese food philosophy contained in this word is presented to the world. A signature pavilion is a special pavilion that divides the theme of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, "Designing a Future Society for Life", into eight sub-themes, each with a designated producer. EARTHMART is an exhibition on the theme of "Weaving Life", which is handled by Kundo Koyama.
Thatched roof architecture conveys the wisdom of Satoyama to the present day
The first thing that catches your eye is the unique exterior of the building, which is made up of multiple thatched roofs. This building, created by Kengo Kuma's office, was decided by combining several elements from nearly 50 ideas submitted by young architects belonging to the office. The thatched roofs were collected from five regions across Japan (Aso City, Kumamoto Prefecture; Gotemba City, Shizuoka Prefecture; Yodogawa Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture; Maruyama Town, Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture; and Hiruzen Plateau, Maniwa City, Okayama Prefecture) and finished with traditional craftsmanship.
The shape of the building, with its multiple roofs, expresses the bustle of a market. The choice of thatched roofing material also conveys the meaning of the cycle between human activities and nature in Satoyama life. After the Expo ends, the thatched roof will be reused, and the building itself embodies the idea of cycle.
The Expo site, which has sustainability as its theme, is dominated by pavilions made of wood, but the thatched roofs among them stand out in a special way.
A journey through an imaginary supermarket
The museum is divided into four areas: "Prologue," "Life Floor," "Future Floor," and "Epilogue." In the prologue area at the entrance, an animation with the theme of the cycle of life and food is shown. After getting your mind in order here, your journey to the imaginary supermarket "Earth Mart" will finally begin.
The first room in the building is the theater. After watching the opening video, a room called the "Floor of Life" appears.
Koyama explains, "Expos are often referred to as showcases of the future, or a showcase of future society. But as you can tell from the atmosphere, this place is not just about exhibiting things from the future. Rather, we started this project from thinking about what we need to do now in order to survive in the future, and whether there is anything we can learn from the past."
"You don't get a sense of the weight of life at ordinary supermarkets. I hope that here, by making people feel the weight of life inside the supermarket, they will be able to remember that when they go to another supermarket, or that this will serve as an opportunity for them to think of Earth Mart as a global market, a market that the entire Earth is shared by all."
Floor of Life: Making the invisible "life we receive" visible
The first room you enter into the pavilion is a theater, and after watching the video, an exhibition space called the "Floor of Life," modeled after a sales floor, appears.
A shopping cart made by volunteer students from Uryuyama Gakuen and Kyoto University of the Arts using Nebuta techniques, containing the volume (10 liters) of food that a Japanese person would eat for 810 years.
The first thing you see is a towering wall of vegetables - titled "The Life of Vegetables," it is an exhibition that shows the life cycle of vegetables. Koyama says, "I don't think many people think that vegetables have lives, but from the perspective of the vegetables we receive, they are not growing to be eaten by humans. They are storing up nutrients to continue their own species, which then become carrots and radishes."
The exhibit, "The Colours of Life," was inspired by the words of the ancient Roman gourmet Apicius, "We eat first with our eyes," and displays the colours contained in food in jars lit from behind.
The exhibition features 300 photographs of 816 types of major ingredients consumed by Japanese people, sealed in jars and displayed in a supermarket display window.
The fish counter-style exhibit, "The Most Edible Fish," focuses on sardines, which are at the very bottom of the food chain. "As you know, sardines are the lowest creatures in the food chain of marine fish... Apparently, one sardine lays about 1 eggs, which then hatch and turn into fish, and in the end, only 1 of them are caught by humans. Moreover, seven of those 10 are used as fertilizer or are used without ever being eaten by humans, so we usually eat only three out of 10 lives," Koyama explains.
On the other hand, the average Japanese person eats about 28,000 eggs in their lifetime, and so there is a chandelier-style exhibit called "A Lifetime's Worth of Eggs." Beneath it is a giant fried egg, which serves as a photo spot where visitors can take pictures with their mouths open.
According to Kundo Koyama, the "Lifetime Eggs" exhibit is the best photo spot in the pavilion. He posed as if he was eating a lifetime's worth of eggs from underneath.
Future Floor: The Future of Food Where Tradition and Innovation Come Together
As you proceed to the "Future Floor," the first thing that catches your eye is the "Sushi Restaurant Looking to the Future." On display is sushi made using farmed fish specially by Jiro Ono (who will turn 2025 in October 10), a representative of Edomae sushi culture. This is a symbolic exhibit that shows the fusion of traditional techniques and the latest farming technology.
Interestingly, although these exhibitions use Sony's latest technologies, they deliberately avoid displaying detailed technical explanations on the walls. Nagano believes that "like contemporary art pieces, those who want to know can ask the staff." When all information is presented, visitors tend to just read explanations. However, data shows that having less information naturally encourages dialogue between visitors and staff, leading to new discoveries and emotional connections.
Ono Jiro is the chef of the famous restaurant "Sukiyabashi Jiro" that made its name known around the world through the movie "Jiro Dreams of Sushi." The chef appears with a realistic presence that makes you think for a moment that he is really there, projected in full size on a transparent display. He serves farmed fish, which is not used in his restaurant. At the time of filming, he said, "The ocean is changing rapidly. The seasons are shifting, so we need to serve delicious food at that time. It will be difficult for future chefs because they will have to think carefully and put in even more effort to perfect the taste. I think it is important for countries and people all over the world to protect marine resources."
Sony has developed a technology called "Record Food" that records and reproduces the cooking methods of chefs. Various information is recorded using sensors, such as temperature changes during cooking, the timing of adding ingredients, how ingredients are mixed and the amount of pressure used, and the amount of water that evaporates. Using a dedicated app that works in conjunction with an induction cooker, the system navigates you so that you can reproduce the same dish down to the second and gram. The recipe for Neapolitan pasta served at a Western restaurant in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, which was Koyama Kundo's favorite, was also recorded before the owner passed away, and is on display.
One interesting corner is the "EARTH FOODS" section. "This is a bit of an unusual exhibit, as it's on the future floor, but there's nothing new there. Japanese people may think it's commonplace and outdated, but when people in the food industry overseas see it, they can get hints about food, like, "I didn't know there was a clever way to use this technology, or how to cook this ingredient," says Koyama. 1 ingredients, including kanpyo (dried gourd), konnyaku (jellyfish), surimi (surimi), and pufferfish, are displayed with packaging made by creators that conveys the appeal of the ingredients, and new recipes are also proposed.
"EARTH GOODS" is a project to select foods unique to Japan and share their value and wisdom with the world to make the future of food on Earth a bright place. The 25 selected foods are displayed in a showcase in the center of the exhibition space.
In the "EARTH GOODS" section, each food item is given a slightly different package than usual, allowing Japanese people to look at food in a new light. The designs were submitted through a public competition from all over Japan.
Epilogue: The Big Table of the Earth
In the final epilogue, viewers watch the film around a giant round table. Koyama conveys the message, "When we sit around one dining table, it feels like we can all connect with each other, and if you think about it, the Earth itself is like a dining table, and we all live around it. Let's all be grateful to the Earth. Let's say "Itadakimasu" (thank you for the meal), with gratitude and thanks for life."
As a special gift for visitors, a voucher for pickled plums, in partnership with the Kishu Ume no Kai, will be prepared. "We will pick the plums harvested in June this year here, and we plan to open them in 6, 2050 years from now," says Koyama. The voucher, which bears the words "Opening the kimono shop for sale" from the chief priest of Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine, will become a medium that connects people across time.
The future woven by "Itadakimasu"
Regarding the meaning of "Itadakimasu," Koyama says, "If we assume that one human life lasts for an average of about 1 years, then how many lives are we taking in order to protect that one life? When you feel the weight and responsibility of that, it changes the way you live a little, and your gratitude for the food you eat every day deepens."
"In these chaotic times, when people are hurt and there is a lot of conflict, we need to be grateful for our existence and care for others. Gratitude leads us to try to understand others more deeply. I hope that food can be the catalyst for this."
Koyama himself said, over the five years he has been involved with the pavilion, "The biggest change I have seen is that I can now say itadakimasu (thank you for the meal) with more soul than anyone else. I say itadakimasu (thank you for the meal) two or three times a day at every meal, and in that moment, I feel a deep sense of gratitude toward the lives that we eat, the people who produce it, the people who transport it, the people who cook it, and the people who serve it - and I feel that this leads to richness in my daily life."
If we are to exhibit the cycle of "food," we cannot ignore the act of excretion. Kundo Koyama said that he really wanted to exhibit this at the end. He wanted to have Akihiro Maeda, a Living National Treasure of white porcelain, make a piece called "Unju" (Undukuro) with vegetable flowers, because he thought he would be scolded if he exhibited it normally.
Koyama hopes that EARTH MART will inspire the creation of food-themed museums all over Japan. "Currently, there are many libraries and art museums in Japan, but there are almost no food-themed museums. There are only a few. I believe that if EARTH MART can inspire the creation of food-themed museums all over Japan, it will become one of the weapons that Japan needs to convey to the world. I believe it will be beneficial for the people and children who live there."
EARTH MART asks not just what to eat, but the essential questions of how to eat, what to be grateful for when eating, and what kind of future we will weave through food.
Profile
Nobuyuki Hayashi
Began writing for domestic and international media as a tech journalist in 1990. Covered the latest trends and conducted interviews with influential figures who played key roles in shaping the IT industry. In the 2000s, came to believe that technology alone cannot enrich people's lives and shifted focus to promoting the importance of good design through design-related reporting and activities such as serving as a juror. Around 2005, foresaw the transformative impact AI would have on the world and expanded into exploring contemporary art and education that question the essence of human existence, as well as delving into Japan’s regional and traditional culture. Currently, with the belief that Japan’s traditional philosophies hold invaluable inspiration for the future of society, is dedicated to sharing these values with the world. Additionally, serves as an advisor or external board member for several companies and holds the title of Visiting Honorary Professor at Kanazawa College of Art. Fondly known as "Nobi."
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