Reflection on Japan 2: Itadakimasu = “I humbly receive”

Itadakimasu.

What I love about this word is, while it’s roots are Buddhist, it’s meaning does not exclude any specific religion nor turn off the non-religious.  While those who believe in God may automatically interpret this as a nod toward God, as I did, its intended meaning does not necessarily assume that God is in the picture at all. 

Reflecting the Buddhist principle of respect for all living things, itadakimasu is a recognition of all the living beings that contributed to my ability to consume a meal—from the plants and animals that may have been used to make it, to the farmer or hunter or grocer or factory worker or cook or all of the above who were crucial to the process of this food being placed upon my table.

To integrate this phrase into my own world of understand, I ask, what are the dominant attitudes that I have experienced regarding the same act of consuming food?

A bowl of strawberries I was given from a friend I made in
Nagaoka--they were grown in Nagaoka, she proudly told me
in broken English.

One that comes to mind quickly is the idea of "blessings." I think many of us were taught to recognize food and other material possessions as blessings.  Without criticizing our use of the word, I simply question what it makes me think and feel. 

Yes, it brings God into the picture, which for me as a Christian is good.  However, it also leaves me feeling that somehow this food or material item dropped directly from heaven and into my hands.  It does not bring to my mind the expansive community that I belong to, the people I am now intimately connected to, because of my consumption of this product.

Then there’s the attitude that many of us were directly or indirectly taught, that of entitlement: I am able to eat this food because I worked for it and I deserve it.  This is especially true when we indulge in some luxury—I can eat this chocolate because I deserve it! 

Not that we shouldn’t reward good behavior, but this attitude again cuts me off from the rest of society.  Not only did I work hard to earn this, but somebody else, or perhaps many people, have worked just as hard so that I could be rewarded.  And, unfortunately in many cases with our food today, the people involved in the processes of food production have not been rewarded in proportion to their labor.

As a Christian it becomes easy to just shrug sympathetically and say that their sacrifice will be rewarded in heaven, but this kind of lets us off the hook.  Though we are not of the world, we are in the world, which requires us to be stewards of creation and promoters of the peace and justice and hope and love characteristic of the Kingdom of God.

Setting aside my predisposition toward blessings and entitlement, I can begin to appreciate the deeper meaning that, “Itadakimasu/I humbly receive,” evokes in me, and let it transform the way I think and live.

Now, I haven’t spent enough time in Japan to see if words translate to action.  But I have been touched by the humble gratitude expressed in such a simple word. 

For me it reaches beyond just a feeling of abstract gratitude and calls us to greater consciousness.  It helps us to remember that we are not an island, but an intricately connected community.  It brings to mind issues of justice and respect for life that we rarely prompt ourselves to think about, all before the first delicious bite of food enters our mouths.

A young boy paying respects to the temple of Buddha.

Scott and I enjoying
Japanese cuisine.... french
fries with chopsticks :)

And this is not even to mention the cultural, if not explicit, presence of this beautiful word in other aspects of Japanese life that I have been blessed to witness humbly given--the simple but profound acknowledgment of another person in bowing, the kindness of complete strangers in helping me find my way, the celebration of life and community in the midst of a tragic history, the deep appreciation and honor shown toward historic temples and shrines, the pride and delight shown in restaurants and hotels to be able to share something of themselves, the unashamed expressions of fashion and self-identity.  No culture is without flaw, but each has much to offer.

Recognizing my limitations in expressing my full gratitude, I humbly receive.