There is a Japanese restaurant in the vicinity of my training field.
I love to talk with the owner of the restaurant.
One day, I asked him why there are always two pieces of “Takuan” when it is served to a customer (“Takuan” is a kind of Japanese pickle). I found there are two slices of “Takuan” in the lunch boxes sold in convenience stores, too. The owner said he had heard that one reason is because if it is 3 pieces or 1 piece, the numbers sound bad (in Japanese). [Specifically, ‘three’ is ‘mi’ in Japanese, but so is ‘body’, so it brings to mind, “Mi wo kiru (Cut your body).” Likewise, ‘one’ is ‘hito’, but so is ‘person’, bringing to mind, “Hito wo kiru” (Cut a person).”] But he said the main reason comes from Buddhist monk vegetarian traditions.

The first piece of takuan is eaten with the meal, but the other one is saved for later. When your rice bowl becomes nearly empty, pour some tea or water into it and then put in the remaining piece of takuan. Manipulating the takuan with your chopsticks, wipe your bowl and drink the soup. In this way, no food is wasted. I wonder if in former times, since there were no dishwashing detergents, after having a meal people just rinsed their bowls and put them away? The European people eat soup or sauce using bread in a similar way. It could be from a similar idea.

Far away from Japan here in San Jose of America I ate the Takuan that way. It filled my stomach and I felt it filled one more thing. The cooks and dishwashers also appreciated my actions. Have I touched on the heart of something deep?