1980 Volume 31 Issue 3 Pages 145-153
In an attempt to assess the actual condition of everyday food taken by the people in Okinawa during the period covering from the late Meiji through the early Taisho eras, the following two approaches were taken; (1) A survey of existing old literatures, (2) Fact-finding interviews with 72 persons of old ages. The main findings of our studies are as follows :
1) From the survey of literatures, it was judged that the food intakes of the ordinary people during the late Meiji era were very poor and meager.
2) The physical measurement of school children were below the national norms and the difference became larger as the age progressed, and the children as a group showed a body type with a relatively bigger chest measurement compared with the height.
3) The production of the sweet-potatoes being predominant, the typical meal regardless of the time of meals during the day consisted of a simple combination of boild sweet-potatoes and soup. Sweet potatoes, which were suited as supplementary diet, were also taken as between-meal snack. Production of soy-bean was relatively high and the home-made Tofu was an important source of protein. Among the main vegetables were sweet-potato leaves, towel gourd, balsam pear, etc. and such wild vegetables as Yomogi, Nigana, Nobiru etc. They were used in soup, cooked, fried or dressed food.
4) The main preserved foods included black sugar-pickles, dried bean leaves, salted pork, salted fishes, etc. Tofuyo was cited as an unusual food characteristic to this part of Japan.
