How Are Their Dishes So Clean?

I want to talk to you about lunch time at my schools. It's nothing like lunch in most American schools. Students don't sit in a lunch cafeteria with attendants to serve and later clean up after them. Instead lunch is served and cleaned up by the students themselves within their homerooms.

Lunch here is called kyuushoku and I wouldn't doubt if nearly all Japanese elementary and middle schools adhere to the same format and process (it's certainly the same at each school I have eaten at here in Goto). At the appointed time giant carts containing that afternoon's provisions or food are made available to students. Students don their caps, face masks, and coats which prevent potential contamination of the food (or spilling food on their clothes). Trays and chopsticks are handed out and students receive the same portion sizes; at Midori Elementary at least the meals average around 600 calories. The meal includes the staples: a carton of milk, a bowl of white rice, vegetable mix of some kind, a soup with more vegetables and meat, and usually fish or meat of some kind. Students serve other students automatically; the teacher plays a very aloof role in the process unless the students are messing around (which they rarely do before lunch time).

When everyone is served and seated, a student reads a statement announcing the foods and where they come from. During this time the food is never touched; no one ever sneaks a bite: it is as if their is a force field around the tray. The announcer then instructs everyone to clasp their hands in a prayer-like fashion and say "Itadakimasu", which everyone does simultaneously. "Itadakimasu" is one of those Japanese words that doesn't have a direct translation in English. It loosely translates as "I will receive" and is a humble expression of gratitude for not simply the meal itself but also the work that went into preparing the food for consumption.

After lunch everyone mutters "Gochisoo sama deshita"--again an expression of gratitude--and begins quickly cleaning up. Like everything else in Japan lunch time is on a schedule. Students typically have about twenty minutes to eat lunch after which they must clean up and brush their teeth before enjoying recess for about thirty five minutes. I am always impressed by how quickly students prepare and clean up lunch; their Borg-like efficiency constantly astonishes me.

Fun Facts!

1. No scrap left behind: students are required to eat all the food on their plates regardless of whether they like or not (they may give food to other students). Any extras are eaten too as second-helpings by hungry students (and me too if there is enough). I heard once that the Japanese gods/spirits or kami inhabit everything including the food: it would be disrespectful to waste that food and blessing. Thus their post-meal dishes are always immaculate.

The students don't realize it but I compete with them every meal to make my dishes as clean as theirs. I don't know how they do it honestly. I do my best to eat every scrap and particle of food but I still can't seem to meet their standards. And it's not that I am a messy eater either. I am just not as dialed in as they are apparently. Damn!

2. The Aloof Kocho Sensei: two of my schools are small enough that teachers and students all eat together. However the principal does not eat with us. In some sense that reinforces the principal's aloof image: he is too busy or at least must seem busy to eat lunch with everyone else. It could also be that as head of the school he enjoys the privilege of being served before everyone else too.

Or perhaps the privilege AND the responsibility. I asked a teacher once why the principal didn't eat with the students. She explained the principal had to taste test the food to ensure that it was ok for everyone else to eat. As head of the school, the principal is responsible for the health and welfare of the school including testing the lunch before anyone else touches it. However surprising this idea seems in line with Japanese tradition and custom.

3. A Laboratory of Democracy: In my elementary schools, at some point during the meal 2-3 students--elected officials?--stand up and organize a vote as to what game the kids will play during recess. When I eat with them, I am sometimes honored with the privilege of choosing an activity (I usually bend to the wishes of the majority). But I always smile at how serious the students are. The vote goes something like this:

Officials: "Our choices today are freeze tag or dodge ball. All in favor of freeze tag please raise your hands."

(Pause)

Officials resume: "All in favor of dodge ball please raise your hands."

(Pause)

Officials continue: "Dodge ball carries the vote. We will play dodge ball."

Occasionally students may disagree but as Japanese society is built on consensus, the rebels are prodded into accepting the rule of the majority (or enjoy the liberty of doing their own activity during lunch).

Needless to say I always look forward to lunch time.

Not my students but an image I am borrowing from Google. Looks like a typical lunch scene at an elementary school though!