Dr. Nishimura lectured at 90th Anniversary Event of Kagawa Nutrition Univ. Publishing Division
March 2025
On March 8 2025, Dr. Toshihide Nishimura, Chairperson of the Umami Information Center and Professor at Kagawa Nutrition University, was invited to give a lecture at the “Nutrition and Cooking Day＊” event held at the University's Komagome Campus in Tokyo. Dr. Nishimura has published many books from the publishing division of the university.
＊Organized by Kagawa Nutrition University Publishing Division
In his lecture titled “Now You can be a Food Reporter ! - The Scientifically Correct Usage of Tastiness Expressions,” Dr. Nishimura introduced some of the incorrect expressions used in daily life regarding deliciousness, such as “umami and tastiness,” “taste and flavor,” and “koku and tastiness” and explained the differences between them in a scientific and easy-to-understand manner.
The word “umami” is often confused in Japanese, as it is a homonym in Japanese, having two meanings: “umami” for basic taste and “tastiness” for deliciousness. He also defined and explained the science behind the “koku” of foods.
About 220 people attended the lecture, including readers, authors and publisher’s staff, dietitians, and people in the food industry. They listened intently to Dr. Nishimura, who has been studying the taste of food for nearly 50 years.
After the lecture, participants smiled and said, “I could understand it very well.
Please click here to view a YouTube video in which Dr. Nishimura explains about Japanese expressions related to the deliciousness of food , which are often confused. (Japanese only)
※1 Two kinds of “umami” as homonyms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihMg_u6wHwA
※2 Taste and Ajiwai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wP8OPuyCME
※３ Koku and Tastiness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ4LjZCb0V0