With a reputation for being healthy and tasty, washoku (traditional Japanese food) has already become renowned throughout the world. The other day I had the opportunity to have lunch with Michael, a student who had come to Japan for the first time. He is the son of one of my British friends. He told me that sushi is also popular in Britain, and that he wanted to try authentic sushi. So, we dropped in at a traditional sushi shop and ordered a deluxe sushi set. Seeing the sushi, he had this to say. How wonderful! Washoku is like an art form; such care is taken over the arrangement of the food, the colors of the toppings and the tableware. Michael began to eat, commenting that it was “delicious,” but halfway through stopped using his chopsticks and had the following to say. “Authentic Japanese sushi tastes different from sushi served in Britain.” In my country there is also delicious sushi available that incorporates meat, fruit, cheese or mayonnaise.” It is said that there are now 55,000 Japanese restaurants overseas. Some restaurants serve up washoku that Japanese would describe as being substandard; that could hardly be described as washoku. In response to this situation the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is planning to establish a washoku certification system for overseas Japanese restaurants, but it seems this will not be easy. Michael gradually slowed his chopsticks, leaving a little bit behind. Not wanting to hurt my feelings, he said, “It was delicious. However, I’ve lost my appetite because of my jetlag.” It seemed that the authentic fish only sushi was not to his taste. Who knows, I thought, before long, people around the world may be eating substandard sushi as authentic sushi and traditional sushi may come to be called “Japanese sushi.” On returning home, I told this story to my wife. “The ramen that you love originally evolved from a Chinese noodle dish. (From January issue, 2014 / 2014年1月号より）