Fermentation Designer Highlights the Appeal of the Art

Ogura Hiraku became enthralled with the power of fermentation when he saw how quickly his physical strength improved once he got into the habit of eating fermented foods. He then began traveling to brewers and producers of fermented foods all over Japan.

“My work is about redesigning the large variety of fermented foods still produced around Japan to suit modern life and promoting them to younger people today,” he says.

Toward this end, he is involved in everything from designing product packaging to creating picture books and anime and organizing events. He recently opened Hakko Department (Fermentation Department) in Tokyo. The store touts the appeal of fermentation, offering traditional fermented foods, as well as original products to be enjoyed anywhere at any time, like Outdoor Natto, a slimy, sticky food made of fermented soybeans that is ordinarily quite messy to eat, but not in this package.

Ogura advocates what he calls “fermentation tourism,” a different sort of way to visit a special area. While touring production sites and sampling fermented foods, visitors can check out traditional storehouses, ports once used to transport goods, and other fermentation-related sights. Tourists begin with an exhibit introducing local fermentation culture and then experience the area as part of a tour that follows the content of the exhibit.

He points out, “There are amazing landscapes and culture in neighborhoods not visited as part of a typical trip to Japan. I want visitors to discover this still relatively unknown aspect of Japan.”

Lactobacilli Researcher Seeks Out Healthy Bacteria

In Japan, more and more attention is being paid to regulating gut health as people seek to improve their overall health by balancing bacteria in the intestines. Along with a well-balanced diet and moderate exercise, probiotic drinks that contain beneficial lactobacilli are another effective way to improve gut health. One of these drinks, Yakult, is made from the proprietary strain Lacticaseibacillus casei Shirota. This long-selling probiotic drink was first produced in 1935, and sales of the sweet, easy-to-drink beverage are still going strong. The recently launched Yakult 1000, containing a great deal of the Shirota strain, is said to relieve stress caused by temporary emotionally stressful situations and to help enhance sleep quality. The new product was so explosively popular that for a while it was hard to find on store shelves.

Kakiyama Sayaka is a researcher engaged in functional food development at the Yakult Central Institute. She spends her days referencing the library of bacteria that the institute has built over its long history, seeking out bacteria that are beneficial to health. She explains, “The effects of lactobacilli vary depending on the type and amount consumed.” Kakiyama was involved in developing a fruit drink made by fermenting fruit juice with lactic acid bacteria taken from pickles in the Tohoku region. The lactic acid bacteria in the drink reportedly reduce nasal irritation caused by pollen and other irritants.

“There is so much about the world of bacteria that we do not understand yet,” she says. “I believe there are still more lactobacilli beneficial to human health remaining for us to find.”