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[Ken Domon Museum of Photography]

Ken Domon is one of the most famous photographers of the Showa era. Ken Domon's style was consistently focused on realism, and his news photographs, temples, Buddhist statues, and other works depicting traditional Japanese culture from his unique perspective led the postwar world of photography as “absolute snapshots with absolute non-staging.”

The Ken Domon Museum of Photography, which houses approximately 135,000 works by Ken Domon, is located in his hometown of Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture. Starting with “Pilgrimage to Old Temples,” which was Domon's lifework, his works such as “Muroji Temple,” “Hiroshima,” “Children of Chikuho,” “Bunraku,” and “Fubo,” are being preserved and shown to the public in succession. The museum opened in October 1983 as an art museum specializing in photography, a rarity in the world, and focusing on the theme of a single artist.

The Ken Domon Museum of Photography is located in Iimoriyama Park, not far from downtown Sakata City, with a beautiful natural forest and hills in the background, facing Mount Chokai. The pond in front of the building is surrounded by a variety of hydrangeas, and visitors can see rare varieties that cannot be seen anywhere else. The memorial hall was designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi, who also designed the new building of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the D.T. Suzuki Museum in Kanazawa. The design, in which half of the building is buried underground, is intended to achieve a beautiful fusion of the building and the surrounding natural environment, while fulfilling the purpose of preserving the photographs, and to further mature Ken Domon's spatial art.

Ken Domon said, “Photography is more than the naked eye.” We invite you to view his works, which capture the Showa period, the souls of the people who lived there, and Japan as it really was.

Ken Domon Museum of Photography
http://www.domonken-kinenkan.jp/english/

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[Banana Bread Made in a Toaster]

I love steamed bread and pancakes using bananas, and one of them in particular that I wish I could make more easily is “banana bread.” Even though all I had to do was put the mixed ingredients in the oven, the “morning time x oven” and the use of a large oven for banana bread for two people seemed somehow too much of a chore, and my favorite banana bread had been away from my breakfast for a while.

In order to break the deadlock, I tried baking banana bread using a toaster that bakes bread and Hasami's Toy Gratin S, which fits in the toaster. The gratin dish had been mainly used for gratins and doria, but when I tried it, I found it was just the right size for two people. When I cut the baked product, the inside was moist and fluffy, and the aroma of sweet bananas wafted through the air. I was supposed to let the dough settle for a bit before eating it, but because it had been a long time since I had waited for banana bread, I quickly finished it off while it was still hot.

Using a small Toy Gratin and a toaster, banana bread is a great breakfast or even a snack. Please try making it.

Ingredients:
1 banana
70 g flour
15 g sugar (or sugar)
4 g baking powder
3 tablespoons soy milk (or milk)
1 egg

Preparation:
1. Preheat toaster in advance. Line a gratin dish with a cookie sheet.
2. Mash the banana with a fork, break the egg into a bowl and mix it with the egg, then add the sugar and soymilk.
3. Add the sifted flour and baking powder to the mixture and mix roughly with a rubber spatula.
4. Pour the batter into a gratin dish, place in a toaster, cover lightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Hasami's Toy Gratin S *This product has been discontinued and is sold while supplies last, so we recommend ordering as soon as possible.
https://www.shokunin.com/en/hasami/toygratin.html

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[Cough Drops Made from Astringent Persimmons]

I heard that astringent persimmon soaked in shochu (Japanese distilled spirit) makes a very effective cough medicine, so I decided to make some for the winter.

The process is the same as making pickled plum wine. First, wash the astringent persimmon, dry it thoroughly, and remove the flabby part of the gunk. The persimmon is ready in two to three months, and a teaspoonful a day is recommended as a cough suppressant. We don't get sick that often, so this year I pickled only three persimmons to try it out. I was told that it is best to make it while the persimmons are still hard, when they are just starting to turn a little color, but since I learned how to make it too late, the persimmons I bought were already well colored. I would like to wait and see how it turns out, and wait until I can drink it.

I have taken persimmons for granted since I was a child, but the more I learn about them, the more I am amazed at their benefits. For example, persimmon tannin, made from astringent persimmons, has the powerful ability to inactivate a variety of viruses, and is even effective against norovirus, which ethanol is ineffective against. It can also be used to disinfect cooking utensils because, despite its strong disinfectant properties, it is not harmful to the mouth. In addition, chopped and dried green persimmon leaves can be made into persimmon leaf tea, which is rich in vitamin C. The stems of the persimmon fruit can be infused and drunk as an anti-hiccup medicine. The peel is full of ingredients effective in whitening the skin and preventing osteoporosis. The seeds can be blackened to make high-quality mineral pills by hand. It is well known that “when a persimmon turns red, the doctor turns blue,” but who knew it had so many benefits? Just having a persimmon tree in your garden is like having a powerful ally! I naturally feel humbled by the power of plants and the wisdom of our ancestors.

The rest of the astringent persimmons I bought for making cough drops were made into dried persimmons and hung up. This is another small winter pleasure. Little by little, I would like to increase the number of things I can make by myself.

Kurikawa Shoten's Shibu Uchiwa
https://www.shokunin.com/en/kurikawa/

Reference
『柿ライフ』（農文協 編、一般社団法人 農山漁村文化協会、2024年）