In recent years, more tourists are coming to Japan from Southeast Asia. It is predicted that from now on there will be an increase in the numbers of tourists from Islamic countries. In response, the Japanese tourism industry is preparing to receive them. The other day, I had a chat with a chef of a hotel, which is trying to increase its Islamic custom. He said, “I am nervous about their food, since Islamic tourists can’t consume pork or alcohol.” When I said, “It is difficult for Japanese to understand the logic that beef is ok, but pork, isn’t” he had this to say: “Many Hindu people steer clear of beef.” Chefs can get bewildered, since foreign tourists cannot have some foods due to their religion and food culture. That day, I discussed this with my wife while having sashimi for dinner. When I said, “Conversely, some people eat snails, snakes, or even dog; cuisine that Japanese would be loath to eat,” my wife said this: “Several decades ago foreigners called sushi or sashimi ‘raw fish,’ and viewed the Japanese who consumed it as barbarians.” “But “ikezukuri” – sashimi cut from the live body of a fish, with its head and tail left intact – is a traditional style of Japanese cooking that is cruel,” I said. Then my wife said, “I’m doing something even more cruel almost every day.” She continued: “I cut up the corpses of fish or animals, and boil or bake them.” I realized that human beings are crueler than carnivorous animals. My wife added, “You are eating them and saying that they’re delicious.” ( From September issue, 2014 / 2014年9月号より）