The present study aims to reveal changes in the dietary culture of the farmers in Koida Ueda-shi, Nagano, since the early Showa era (1926–1988). Eleven women who married into the area more than thirty years ago were interviewed in 2001. In Koida, rice cultivation and sericulture used to be the main occupations. As sericulture gradually declined, the mulberry fields were transformed into orchards, taking advantage of the readjustment of arable land, and the cultivation of fruits such as apples and grapes increased. In addition, in the first half of the 1960s, the number of part-time farmers had begun to rise and the cash income from agriculture increased. The locals, who were previously self-sufficient in their eating habits, became more consumerist; they began eating purchased rather than homegrown foods. The main reason for this change is thought to be a labor shortage in fruit cultivation and other jobs and the increased opportunities of purchasing cheap food easily. However, the production of vegetables for private use was continued because it was considered "a pleasure.
