The World of Food Through Manga

Regardless of whether the food is Japanese or Western, or the standpoint of the protagonist, Japan has an enormous number of food-themed mangas. There should probably be many who have laughed and cried together with the characters of food manga which not only is limited to heart-warming stories, but also comics that depict a variety of topics related to food, such as culture, tradition, environmental and social issues. We are going to introduce 8 mangas that cover everything from Japanese cuisine to sake, and from Ainu food culture to home taste; it’ll surely make you feel hungry!

Aji Ichi Monme: the monumental work of restaurant manga

This manga is a popular work which is also loved as a TV drama. It depicts the real life of a cook.
He doesn’t like losing to others, but is honest and light hearted. Along with the growth of such apprentice chef Ihashi, drama of people around him is not to be missed. Every day at restaurant “Fujimura”, where Ihashi works, and other restaurants that appear in the manga, a lesson on what is important as a cook and what is important as a human can be learned. In one episode, a girl accompanying a regular customer had no manners. When the girl made her surrounding uncomfortable, words from another regular customer, Master Enzaku, were as follows: “What she needs is not manners of using chopsticks. It is something more important as a human being ...She lacks considerateness”. These stories are quite delightful and have unexpected endings.  

Cooking Papa loves his family and his cooking is loved by all

He has a large body and an exceptionally large heart. Set in Fukuoka, this story is about dad Kazumi Araiwa, who cooks hard along with the help from others, for “the smile of his family who loves delicious food”. He loves his family more than anything else. The manga has about 150 volumes (as of August 2019) and has been around for a very long time. When it was first presented in 1985, it was still rare for men to enter the kitchen in Japan. Kazumi’s wife Nijiko is a career woman, and it is Kazumi’s role to support her. He initially hides his superb housekeeping skills, but now, like a fish taking to water, he happily shares his homemade food with his colleagues. Make sure to see the recipe given at the end of each volume.

Natsuko no Sake: A woman who dreamed of producing sake from organic farming


Natsuko, the protagonist of this manga is a heroine loved by izakayas even today. As a small brewery girl from the prominent rice-producing region, Niigata, she struggles hard to fulfil her deceased brother's dream. The dream is to make the best sake in Japan from the imaginary rice "Ryunishiki". This rice is grown only by organic farming, without using chemical fertilizers. When the series began in 1988, it was the golden period of mass production farming. It is also known as a work that sounded a warning concerning the future of Japanese food. You also cannot miss the back side of sake brewing. The word "Wajo Ryoshu" in the work symbolizes the sake brewing performed in large groups in the sense that "Group harmony produces good sake and good sake produces group harmony." We’ll be able to relate to the feelings of brewers that go into the sake with a soft scent of rice.

Sushi Ichi! The vibrant Edo period that produced sushi


Sushi can be said to be a universal language. Although there are many fancy Sushi restaurants today, its roots are in the so-called fast food snacks that came into existence in Edo period. Making such a sushi restaurant popular in Edo was the royal chef at Edo Castle. This genius sushi chef was believed to “seize people’s hearts”. His name was Taisuke. The highlight of this manga is the drama unfolding around this Sushi chef. It is fast paced, but full of charm about the life of Edo kids, and people who have eaten Taisuke’s sushi and are captivated by its deliciousness. Flashy expressions that are unique to manga are extremely delightful. If you want to know more about sushi and fish, we also recommend “Shota no Sushi” and “Edo-mae no Shun”.

Fukuyadou Honpo: The sweet and bittersweet world of Kyoto confectionery run by three sisters


It is a story of tradition and awakening of love of 3 sisters born in a family of confectioners. The family has been running a confectionery store “Fukuyado” for generations, having a history of 450 years in Kyoto. Their Japanese sweets are soft and elegant, and like an authentic long-established store, they are not mentioned on any guidebooks. “If lined up with this candy, a flashy confection will look simply rubbish” are the words of the second daughter Arare, to a young woman who said that sweets of Fukuya-do are “too simple”. In an old city that has overcome civil wars, famines, and wars, it takes a lot of spirit to do a business for generations. Even bitter sarcasms can be heard comfortably in the soft dialect of Kyoto. The magic of this Kyoto dialect is also worth noticing.

Golden Kamuy: “Hinna”, says the Ainu people to worship Mother Nature

It is bitter cold Hokkaido, where chaos continues at the end of Meiji era. Rather than being a food manga, the main focus is on the battle for the hidden gold bullion. What is also interesting is the food culture of Ainu people as told by an Ainu girl Asirpa, who partners with the lead character Sugimoto. For Ainu people, rabbit’s eyeballs are a treat which can be eaten only by a person who has shot down the rabbit. Many things can be learnt from Ainu people. They believe that God lives in everything, and continue to hold the ancient Japanese views on nature, consuming animals with respect by eating all its organs. The Ainu word “Hinna” that Asirpa utters smilingly while eating, is a word for showing gratitude for food. For them, they are "able to live by eating God." We should have a similar attitude when eating every meal.

Kodoku No Gurume: enjoying the act of eating

“Oh what's that, I'm just starting to eat and it seems like I'm getting hungrier” are phrases from this unique and aspirational manga about a gluttonous middle-aged salaried worker, eating at local restaurants and canteens by himself, or in other words, alone, in spare moments from his work. The food he eats is always described in detail as “Omakase set meal in XX restaurant in XX city in XX prefecture”, so many people visit the featured restaurants. Even though the book has just two volumes, it has been serialized into a TV-show and is translated in many foreign languages. He follows his own small rules such as eating more than two kinds of food every bite and enjoying it slowly. Such way of enjoying food is not bad either.

What did you eat yesterday?


Even if you hate something at work, or fight with someone, if you can eat a heartful (and economical) handmade meal) at the end of the day, you will end up feeling, “Well, it’s okay”. This is probably, what is called the ideal everyday life. “Isn’t it yummy? The sweetness and sourness is well balanced, and each dish is tasty!” This is Shiro, a 41-year-old lawyer, a role model for home cooking. He is gay and lives with his partner Kenji. The manga depicts a heart-warming life colored with the steam of freshly cooked rice. About half of the story revolves around depictions of cooking. Quite simply, the real roots of Japanese food such as ohitashi (vegetable side dish), takikomi gohan (boiled rice with fish and vegetables mixed in advance), nimono (boiled dishes) are illustrated beautifully.