The origin of Hiroshima Okonomiyaki

In Japan we have eaten a snack called issen yōshoku for a long time. This is a thin pancake made from a batter of flour and water, and topped with green onions or dried fish flakes.

In August 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and Hiroshima instantly became smoldering ruins. In the midst of the despair and hunger, iron plates from the burnt ruins met flour given as food aid from the USA, and issen yōshoku began to be cooked again. How its nostalgic taste must have helped heal the people’s hearts in Hiroshima.

Okonomiyaki the vitality of recovery

As reconstruction proceeded after the war, issen yōshoku gradually evolved, with people adding cabbage, eggs, pork, and soba noodles, until it became the “okonomiyaki” that we have now.
Food is the driving force for the body and the mind. It had been said that no plants would grow in Hiroshima until 70 years after the war. But like the plants, the people of Hiroshima thrived, and it was okonomiyaki, born in the ruins of Hiroshima, that gave people this vitality. Okonomiyaki is the “soul food” of the post-war reconstruction.