The Land of Itadakimasu

The little rabbit Pyonta was very, very hungry. On the table, warm rice and side dishes were lined up. But Pyonta tried to take a bite without saying “itadakimasu.” Just then, sparkle, sparkle, sparkle… Pyonta wandered into the mysterious “Land of Itadakimasu.”

🤔 What words do we usually say before eating a meal?

In the Land of Itadakimasu, Pyonta arrived at a big field. There, a person from the farm was watering the vegetables. “Grow tasty, grow big.” Vegetables grow big with sunlight, the power of the soil, water, and the care of the people who grow them. Pyonta thought, “Someone carefully grew the vegetables in my side dish for me.”

🤔 How do you think carrots and tomatoes grow big? Water and the sun help them too.

Next, Pyonta went to the kitchen. There, the person cooking was serving rice, cutting vegetables, and simmering food in a pot. “I hope the person who eats this becomes healthy.” With that feeling, they made the meal with care. Pyonta thought, “Meals don’t appear all by themselves. There is someone who makes them for us.”

🤔 Who makes meals for you at home or at kindergarten?

Pyonta came back to the dining table. Rice, vegetables, fish, and eggs all come from things that were once alive or that grew. And many people worked together: people who grew them, people who carried them, and people who cooked them. Pyonta put his hands together and said with all his heart, “Itadakimasu!” Those are words that mean, “Thank you, food, and thank you to the people who made this.”

🤔 Shall we put our hands together and say “itadakimasu” with a feeling of thank you?