The Dried Bonito Industry in the Past, Present, and the Future

Present Status and Perspective: A Case Study of Makurazaki

Abstract

The social and economic environments surrounding the marine product processing industry in Japan have changed enormously. In a climate of conditioned change of management, what is the current state of the marine product processing industry in Japan? How will this industry develop in the future? There is a growing need for processed foods in the present day as shown by the trend of outsourced cooking and the overall simplification of food. Processed foods are becoming increasingly important to the national economy at the present time. The objective of this symposium is to clarify the correspondence of the marine product processing industry and present changes of the social and economic environments.

A representative situation of the marine product processing industry and how it is affected by current changes of the environment is the dried bonito industry. Dried bonito is a traditional marine product which has supported the Japanese diet for a long time as an essential soup stock in the Japanese cuisine. It will remain important for us as long as Japan has a Japanese-style food culture in the future.

First, various aspects of the present situation of the dried bonito industry and an approach to meeting the above described objectives will be clarified. Second, a view of the direction and possibility of the dried bonito industry is presented. Third, a grasp of the dried bonito food system from production to consumption is provided. Then, a further clarification, with the intent of making producers and consumers of dried bonito further understand each other, is attempted. The case study is Makurazaki, whose production area of dried bonito is the largest in Japan.