Photo/Illutration Cans of bluefin tuna boiled in soy sauce on sale in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, in December 2019 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

When I open a can, I somehow feel nostalgic. Instead of pulling the ring to pop open the can with my fingers, I prefer to turn the can opener, creaking it open slowly.

The reason for my inexplicable nostalgia may be that the can becomes a time machine and the time inside starts moving. Or perhaps, it revives my fond memories of the past era when canned food was considered a little treat.

This thought came to me after seeing a unique exhibition event at the Aomori Prefectural Library titled “Canned food kingdom Aomori: History of canned food and food culture.”

The exhibition offers an opportunity to see numerous reproduced labels of canned products made locally during the period from the Meiji Era (1868-1912) to the Showa Era (1926-1989).

“I’m more interested in the small histories than the big ones,” said Kimiyasu Masuda, 52, the organizer from the Aomori Prefectural Museum, with a smile. “Since my elementary school years, I’ve found it hard to throw away wrappers of candies and other products.”

Aomori’s canned food exports peaked in the early Showa Era. Most of these exports were marine products bound for Europe, Masuda said. Since the contents were not visible, elaborate designs were used for their labels and they are intriguing just to look at.

The highlight of the exhibit was a brightly colored label from a canned boiled sea squirt, circa 1898.

Because of their historical relationship with canned food, people in the region developed a custom of giving food canned at home as gifts. Locals collect bamboo shoots in the spring and mushrooms in the autumn from the mountains and can them at local processing plants to make personal canned food products.

However, in this convenient era where anything can be bought, this practice has significantly declined.

As I was curious to know what it was like, Masuda shared home-canned sprouts of “nemagaridake” (sasa kurilensis)--a type of bamboo--with me that he received from an acquaintance.

Imagining the maker, I ate it with miso soup. It had a faintly sweet scent and taste.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 6

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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