Octopus Sasame, Semi Gyoza, Ageduke: A Look at Beloved Regional Side Dishes
The Mystery of “Semi Gyoza”
The inspiration for documenting this journey came when Sugawara encountered semi-gyoza (cicada gyoza) in supermarkets across the Kinki region, particularly in Kyoto. In 2010, these gyoza, priced at just 88 yen for a pack of 10, struck him as an incredibly cheap and curious product. What intrigued him further was the packaging, which featured a cicada illustration alongside the name semi gyoza. The mystery only deepened.
“When I asked my friends about it, no one could really explain it, so I decided to call the manufacturer. They gently responded, ‘During summer, cicadas cry ‘min-min’—we’re Minmin Foods,’ and that was the answer! For me, it was an eye-opening revelation. I realized that if I were to suddenly pass away, this fact about the food would never be known, and I felt a strong sense of duty to document local foods.”
In 2012, Sugawara published Japan’s Local Supermarkets: Hidden Treasures (Kodansha), and soon after appeared as an expert on the late-night show Matsuko’s Unknown World (TBS). On the show, he introduced “Agetuke,” a type of tofu skin dish from the local tofu shop Furukawa-ya in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture. When Matsuko Deluxe praised it, sales of Agetuke soared by 300 times, and the local supermarket Family Store Sato’s website crashed due to the influx of visitors.
“Agetuke is a very simple dish made by seasoning fluffy tofu skin with soy sauce-based broth. I didn’t expect it to have such an impact when I introduced it to Matsuko, but when she exclaimed, ‘This is the best fried tofu I’ve ever had. I’ll buy it all from the local supermarket!’ it was a huge surprise. For the people of Takayama, it was something ordinary, but for others from outside the region, it was a hidden gem.”
Sugawara’s life changed dramatically after this. He began writing columns about local supermarkets in newspapers and magazines, and started giving lectures. Amidst raising his children, he continued to travel around the country, visiting and exploring local supermarkets.
