According to broadcaster NHK, Guinness World Records has recognized a 65-year-old cooking show in Japan as the longest-running culinary program.
About 46,600 dishes have been featured on NHK’s “Kyo no Ryori,” or “Today’s Cooking,” since the program’s debut in 1957. These foods frequently reflect the zeitgeist of the times, from the economic crisis to women’s empowerment.
“‘What should I cook for dinner tonight?’ is, I think, the perpetual question for everyone,” chief producer Mayumi Yanai told reporters Friday as a Guinness certificate was presented at a Tokyo ceremony.
The show aims to “answer that question sincerely and align itself closely to our family audience,” she said.
The cooking competition reflected contemporary trends, such as Japan’s declining population and family size.
It first had dishes for five people, but as time went on, a family of four became the norm, followed by dinners for two.
When it initially aired in 1957, one in four Japanese people were reportedly malnourished, and its first show included Western-style curry with oysters.
The show was also impacted by the global oil crisis of the 1970s; in response, it developed a variety of low-cost recipes for its viewers who were in a tight financial situation.
In the 80s, when more women began joining the workforce, the show shifted focus to meals that can be whipped up quickly, while also highlighting themes such as “men’s dishes”.
