AUTUMN APPETITE
If you have been living in Japan for a while, or maybe if you have been interested in the Japanese culture, you may have heard of the saying “SHOKUYOKU NO AKI”, which literally translates to “Appetite of Autumn / Autumn appetite”. This might or might not be the first time you heard of it, but today we will share with you more about the meaning behind it.
In Japan, Autumn is time of harvest for many crops. “Harvest season”, as they call it—it is also the time where we can enjoy an abundant selection of food, and ingredients at their peak; sweet potatoes, pears, grapes, persimmons, chestnuts, pumpkins, saury, matsutake, and ginnan, to name a few. In addition, the real pleasure of autumn is that you can enjoy not only eating, but also getting to experience digging potatoes, picking fruits and enjoy the actual harvest first-hand.
Furthermore, it is also said that physical factors may also have a connection with it.
It is said that some people lose their appetite in the summer because of the scorching heat and humidity. However, as temperature drops for fall and the hot season comes to an end, the arrival of autumn is something to be celebrated hence, people getting their appetite back in cooler months.
Another factor is, when it changes from summer to autumn, the hours of daylight becomes shorter. The body would ask for more nutrients to increase hormones that have decreased due to less sunlight exposure.
Some people would compare it with being in the same situation when animals prepare for hibernation. Animals eat a lot of food before hibernation to store fat. Humans do not hibernate, but it is considered natural to have an increase in appetite as the colder weather approaches.
Knowing more about it now, it makes sense that all these factors may contribute to increased hunger especially during autumn season but having bountiful amounts of good food may play a big factor as well. While everyone is cautious about not eating too much, please enjoy the “taste of autumn” to the fullest.
In Japan, Autumn is time of harvest for many crops. “Harvest season”, as they call it—it is also the time where we can enjoy an abundant selection of food, and ingredients at their peak; sweet potatoes, pears, grapes, persimmons, chestnuts, pumpkins, saury, matsutake, and ginnan, to name a few. In addition, the real pleasure of autumn is that you can enjoy not only eating, but also getting to experience digging potatoes, picking fruits and enjoy the actual harvest first-hand.
Furthermore, it is also said that physical factors may also have a connection with it.
It is said that some people lose their appetite in the summer because of the scorching heat and humidity. However, as temperature drops for fall and the hot season comes to an end, the arrival of autumn is something to be celebrated hence, people getting their appetite back in cooler months.
Another factor is, when it changes from summer to autumn, the hours of daylight becomes shorter. The body would ask for more nutrients to increase hormones that have decreased due to less sunlight exposure.
Some people would compare it with being in the same situation when animals prepare for hibernation. Animals eat a lot of food before hibernation to store fat. Humans do not hibernate, but it is considered natural to have an increase in appetite as the colder weather approaches.
Knowing more about it now, it makes sense that all these factors may contribute to increased hunger especially during autumn season but having bountiful amounts of good food may play a big factor as well. While everyone is cautious about not eating too much, please enjoy the “taste of autumn” to the fullest.
