Research shows that in some areas of Iwate and Akita prefectures, local residents have used dragonflies not only as food but also as a valuable medicine.
A new discovery has revealed a unique but little-known culinary tradition in the Tohoku region of Japan.
Mr. Shuji Watanabe, a senior manager at the Iwate Prefectural Museum, compiled a field report indicating that eating dragonflies has long been a part of the local culinary culture in certain regions of Iwate and Akita prefectures.
Eating dragonflies has long been a part of the local culinary culture in Japan. (Illustrative image).
According to him, local residents often catch dragonflies, remove their wings, and eat the bodies. Some people even share that the experience of eating dragonflies is similar to eating chicken.
Professor Ryohei Sugahara, an expert in the study of human consumption of insects as food, finds Mr. Watanabe’s report truly fascinating.
He states that it is quite rare for local residents to use mature dragonflies as a regular food item.
Not only used as food, dragonflies have also been utilized as medicine in various regions of Japan since ancient times. In Iwate, there are records of people burning red dragonflies and grinding them into powder to create a cough remedy for children.
Mr. Watanabe notes that dragonfly larvae are rich in protein, while mature dragonflies contain many minerals such as calcium. This explains why local residents believe that dragonflies are beneficial for health.
Insect consumption is not unfamiliar in Japan. Residents in prefectures such as Nagano, Gunma, and Aichi also have the habit of eating grasshoppers or bee larvae. However, eating dragonflies remains a unique cultural aspect of the Tohoku region.
The use of insects as food is often seen as a potential solution to the global food shortage crisis caused by various factors, including population overgrowth.
According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, beetles and other insect species account for 31% of the insects consumed worldwide.
