Just Having Natto Makes Summer Meals Easier | Natto Day | July 10, 2026 | Anniversary Excellence
After passing fifty, a pack of natto becomes reliable | Natto Day | July 10, 2026 | Anniversary Excellence
During the long, hot season, there are days when just thinking about what to eat feels like a chore.
I don't have the energy to cook a proper meal, but I can't just go without eating. At times like that, if there is natto in the fridge, the destination for a bowl of rice is decided.
In my case, it's the sticky trio.
July 10th is "Natto Day." It is an anniversary born from a pun where "na" is read as seven and "tou" as ten. It was originally established in 1981 with the goal of increasing natto consumption in the Kansai region, and it is said that it later spread as a nationwide anniversary in 1992.
It is sometimes said that natto is not very familiar in Kansai, but the flow of the anniversary spreading from there to the rest of the country feels somewhat like natto itself. It doesn't take the lead in a flashy way from the start, but before you know it, it gradually establishes its presence from the edge of the dining table.
Natto is made by fermenting soybeans with natto bacteria. By adding the bacteria to steamed soybeans and fermenting them while managing temperature and humidity, that unique stickiness and aroma are born.
It is a food that easily divides opinion, but that is part of natto's personality. It doesn't try to be liked by everyone, yet it has remained on the dining table for a long time. Therein lies its strength as an everyday food.
When I was young, natto might have been something I just thought of in terms of "like or dislike" or "whether it suits breakfast or not." But after passing fifty, the way I see food changes.
Protein is the foundation for moving the body, and dietary fiber supports the condition of the stomach. Vitamin K is also related to bone health. Thinking about it that way, natto is not just a companion for rice, but a reassuring presence just by being in the fridge.
Calling it a superfood might sound a bit exaggerated, but there is enough reason to want to use that word for natto. Natto bacteria, dietary fiber, and components created through fermentation. Furthermore, an enzyme called nattokinase is also well known.
It is a component whose name comes up when talking about blood flow and health, but I feel it is more like natto to see it as something that helps regulate the body in daily meals rather than stating its efficacy like a medicine.
After passing fifty, there are days when physical strength and recovery cannot be pushed through by willpower alone. At such times, if you try to make a perfect meal every day, you won't be able to keep it up.
That is precisely why the convenience of a pack of natto is appreciated. You can put it on rice, or add eggs or green onions. If you add shiso leaves or myoga ginger, it becomes easier to eat even on hot days. If you pair it with cold soba or somen noodles, it works perfectly as a summer dish.
One pack a day is probably realistic. People taking blood-thinning medication like warfarin are sometimes told to avoid natto. Knowing even these points of caution makes natto a more familiar and more proper food.
The fact that Mito's natto is famous is not just because it is a local specialty. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' traditional food encyclopedia introduces how the Mito Domain focused on natto as a processed product to utilize small, early-maturing soybeans, and the flow of how it became eaten in households after the Edo period.
The characteristic that small beans are easy to mix with rice also has persuasiveness as a food. It is not a grand feast, but the ingenuity to accompany daily white rice remains as a proper flavor.
Looking at Natto Day, I feel that it is fine to have both "days to put in effort" and "days to be helped" at the dining table. Even if you don't prepare a proper menu every day, if you have natto, you have the form of a meal for the time being. There are days when miso soup is enough, and if you combine it with leftovers in the fridge, it works out reasonably well.
As a person who values margins, I am drawn more to that "it will manage somehow" feeling than to the stickiness of natto. It doesn't assert itself exaggeratedly in the fridge, but it pops out when needed and keeps the rice company.
After passing fifty, natto goes a little beyond the issue of preference and approaches an essential slot in life. If there is natto on the table today, that alone makes summer meals a little lighter.
{Let's cherish today. Gratitude!}
Natto goes with everything.
But I thought natto in curry was a bad idea, yet when I tried it, it was actually good.
It's been a while, but I feel like having CoCo Ichibanya's natto curry again.
{I would be happy if you see this again next time.}
[My future alone time]
Taking Natto Day as an opportunity, today I will rethink natto not just as something to mix, but as a food to adjust according to my physical condition and age.
For a body past fifty, a single pack that is easy to continue is more realistic than forcing myself to add elaborate health habits.
Natto goes with everything.
It would be interesting to come up with my own surprising natto recipe. But, the fact that it goes with everything is, conversely, a rather difficult challenge.
That was what I was thinking about this morning.
[Other anniversaries today]
Ultraman Day
Whistling Day
Lubricant Day
Bunapi Day
Dot Wan Dog Natto Day
[Blank Space Fortune]
"Anniversary Excellence" aims to be an article supplement for living each day with care.
Things you might overlook if you didn't know them become "aha!" moments once you do. I would be happy if anniversaries could spark new discoveries or small actions in your everyday life.
Perhaps the people who embrace 'yohaku' (space/margin) are the ones enjoying life the most.
I would be happy if one more bit of breathing room was added to your daily life.
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