Chanko-nabe

I brough my students to a Chanko
-nabe restaurant before they
leave Japan.



Chanko nabe is a kind of stew
that is known as sumo food.
It is an ideal meal for sumo
wrestlers since it is simple
to prepare and require one pot
to cook large quantites of
nutritionally-balanced food.



Eating is regarded as a part
of their training to put on
their weight. Chanko-nabe is
originally made of chicken and
vegetables, seasoned with soy
sauce. Eating chicken which
an animal that walks only on
two legs was believed to help
sumo wrestlers stay on their
feet. As you may already know,
a wrestler loses the bout when
any part of his body except
the soles of his feet touch
the ground.



Sitting around Chanko-nabe is
also an opportunity to strengthen
the bond among sumo wrestlers.
We have the proverb "onaji kama
no meshi o kuu". It literally
means that people eat out of the
same pot, and it's similar to the
origin of the word "company".
This word is the combination of
"con (together)"and "pany(bread)"
in Latin.



I am glad to see that my students
had enjoyed food and cultural
aspects hidden behind the meal.