“Mottainai … eat all your gohan!” “Mumma, the rice is stuck there.”
This view of not being wasteful was ingrained in me in many other ways
My mother poured a little bit of green tea into my bowl to wash down every grain of rice. I finished off the meal with a “Gochisou sama deshita,” or thank-you, for the delicious meal. No grain of rice left … no leftovers on my plate. If we did, it was mottainai! Similarly, western kids would be reminded of starving children around the world. Mottainai also meant that we were to be grateful for the food provided and to those who prepared the meal and grew the food.
My parents were Buddhists, but they caved to Western diets and served beef, pork and chicken. As a child, it was rare to have red meat, and when we did it was usually a round steak or a beef pot roast or, my least favourite, beef liver, to which we were served a small portion.
One of the first times I went out for a steak dinner with my then boyfriend (now my husband), he ordered a 10-ounce steak that covered over half the plate. In my family household, that would have served three or four of us. I was a bit overwhelmed by the size of the serving. Since then I’ve managed to convince him to also consider the vegetable portion of the dinner plate.
A huge vegetable garden filled half the back yard in our Regina home. The vegetables and berries produced were dried, frozen, canned, and pickled for winter consumption. My parents grew eggplant, daikon, green peppers, cucumbers, asparagus, parsley, garlic and shiso (a Japanese herb), before many other neighbours knew what they were or how to prepare them. The vegetables were a major staple in our diet. There were seven kids in our family, so my parents were very frugal and didn’t waste a thing. Food did not linger in the back of the fridge, growing mouldy. Any leftovers, if there were any, were repurposed the next day as fried rice or in soups or side dishes.
This view of not being wasteful was ingrained in me in many other ways. We have a family story about the “maroon wool jacket.” There are photos of each of us wearing the jacket at the age of four, which originated with my second-oldest sister. After she grew out of it, it got passed down to each of the siblings—boys and girls. The jacket was wool melton, with flowers embroidered down the front. The jacket appeared pristine when first worn by my sister in 1949, but by the time it got down to my youngest brother, 10 years later, the embroidery had rubbed off in some places and the cuffs were threadbare. At that point, the jacket was relegated to play wear. I’m not sure what happened to it after that, but it would not surprise me if my mother took it apart and used it for polishing furniture.
We received hand-me-down clothing from family friends, and my mother knit, altered and repaired our clothes and had her friend sew dresses for special occasions for the girls. All the kids in the family had strict instructions to change out of our school or special clothes and into play clothes when we were at home. We also didn’t change outfits daily unless they got dirty. I don’t recall feeling self-conscious about this or that I was deprived in any way. When we got to high school, this practice changed since we were able to sew our own outfits and earn money from our after-school jobs. I wish I had learned the art of sashiko, a traditional embroidery technique used for mending or strengthening clothing. It has recently become trendy and people have used it in creative ways to enhance and extend the life of jeans, jackets, cloth bags and other wearables.
Mottainai had relevance in Japanese history when the Emperor barred trade with the outside world during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. No imports or exports … trade barriers. Sound familiar? People had to rely upon the resources in Japan and on the skills of everyone. Communities took care of each other, and people bartered and traded. Rice was a staple not only for food products, but the stalks and husks were used for brooms, thatching, flooring, clothing, stuffing mattresses and pillows. When these were no longer useful, they were burned for fuel and the ash was used in the garden or for glazes on ceramics. Buildings that were no longer habitable were torn down and all the materials were reused or recycled. Nails or other metal fixtures were melted down and made into other materials. Skilled trades people, crafts people and artisans developed specialized skills useful for the whole community. The concept of a circular economy was practised.
Shinto and Buddhist philosophy suggests that animate and inanimate objects all have a spirit and that these objects are not isolated but are connected to the people who use them. It is important to show respect for all living and non-living things and to utilize them fully to their end of life, and not be wasteful.
Mottainai is a concept that has recently come into use in the world of environmentalists. The Kenyan environmental activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Muta Maathai, recognized that mottainai embodies the three R’s of the environmental movement: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, as well as Respect for our environment and gratitude for all that we receive.
Mottainai also applies to our relationships with family and community. It is an opportunity to think deeply about our use of time and the meaning of our lives. I reflect on this: What are my values and how do they shape who I am today and how I spend my time? How do they impact my actions and what do I truly need to maintain my balance with others and with my environment?
Deep thinking needed for our times.
This is one of the winners of the No Wasted Words Writing Contest sponsored by Raven ReCentre and Yukon Conservation Society, in April 2025, that highlighted the importance of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
