Asian women living in Japan find solidarity through cooking their native cuisines

This is my translation of a story that originally appeared in The Big Issue Japan Issue 425.

I translated it as a volunteer so that it could be published in other International Network of Street Papers publications.

The original Japanese is on the left, and my translation is on the right.

Here’s a documentary on Kuroda Naoko, the owner of SALA.

Here’s her TED talk.

An update to the story: the cloud kitchen is open now.

“どうぞたくさん食べてね” シェフは在日アジア女性。出身国の料理に腕を振るう	"Go ahead, eat plenty": Asian women living in Japan find solidarity through cooking their native cuisines
在日アジア女性たちが働くことを通じて自信を取り戻せる場をつくろうと「神戸アジアン食堂バルＳＡＬＡ」を開いた黒田尚子さん。日替わりシェフが出身国の手料理を出すお店は、コンセプトに関係なく人気店となった。オープンから５年が経つ今、黒田さんが目指すものは？	Kuroda Naoko started Kobe Asian Restaurant Bar SALA so that Asian women living in Japan could step out of social isolation and regain their confidence through work. The restaurant, where a different chef makes home cooking from their native country every day, became popular independently of its concept. The Big Issue Japan spoke to Kuroda about her goals now that it has been open for five years.
神戸・元町商店街から細い路地に入ってすぐ、カラフルな店構えが目を引く料理店「神戸アジアン食堂バルＳＡＬＡ」がある。この日の日替わりランチメニューは「台湾本格焼きビーフン」。台湾出身の游さんが腕を振るう、濃厚オイスターソースがきいた家庭料理だ。	When you slip into a thin alleyway off the Motomachi Shopping Street in Kobe, you will find Kobe Asian Restaurant Bar SALA, a colorful restaurant that stands out. Today's daily lunch set is "Authentic Taiwanese Fried Rice Noodles”. Yu from Taiwan made this home cooked meal, smelling of rich oyster sauce.
「ボリュームが多めなのは、〝どうぞたくさん食べてね〟という気持ちがお皿の上で表現されているんだと思います。シェフは日替わり制で、タイ、台湾、インドネシアなど、その人の出身国のお料理をお出ししています」と店主の黒田尚子さんは話す。	The shop owner Kuroda Naoko says: "I think that the reason behind the large portions is to express a feeling of 'go ahead, eat plenty' on the plate. The chefs change daily, and they make food from their native countries such as Thailand, Taiwan, and Indonesia."
シェフは、おもに結婚を機に日本で暮らすことになった在日アジア女性たちで、黒田さんは彼女らを〝お母さん〟と呼ぶ。現在は40～60代の６人が交代でキッチンに立つほか、ホール業務を担うモルドバ出身の女性もいる。「お母さんたちからはお料理のアイディアがたくさん出され、評判がよければ定番メニューになります。基本的には現地の味、本人が作りたい味で作ってもらい、日本人の味覚に合わせてもらうということもありません。それぞれの国の調味料を教え合ったり、調理のコツを聞き合ったり、料理の話でいつもみんな楽しく盛り上がっています」	Most of the chefs are Asians resident in Japan that came to live there by way of marriage. Kuroda calls them "the mothers". At present, six chefs between 40 and 60 years old take turns in the kitchen. "The mothers have a lot of ideas for dishes, and if they're popular we make them regular menu items. Fundamentally we want to have the local flavour, so the chef makes it taste how they want, and we don't adjust for a Japanese palate. They teach each other about how to use the seasonings from each of their countries, they share tips on cooking, and everyone has a lot of fun talking about food."
黒田さんは社会起業学を専攻していた大学生時代に、授業の一環で数多くの社会問題の現場へ出かけた。「ホームレスの方々の状況を知るために大阪・釜ヶ崎へ行ったり、在日アジア女性の生活相談をしているＮＧＯを訪れたりしました。そのＮＧＯへ何度か足を運ぶうちに、徐々に女性たちと距離が縮まり、いろいろな話をしてもらえるようになりました。たとえば、 子どもが小学校からもらってきた手紙を読めない、路線図がわからなくて電車に乗れない、出かけるのは徒歩圏のスーパーだけ、友達ができないなど、日常の小さな困りごとが積み重なると、自信を失い、閉じこもってしまうということを知りました」	When Kuroda was a college student majoring in social entrepreneurship, as part of her class work she went into the field and saw many social problems. "To understand homeless people's situation, I went to Kamagasaki in Osaka, and I went to an NGO providing consultations on daily life for Asian women resident in Japan. As I kept going back to that NGO, little by little I got closer to the women and they started telling me about various things. For example, they couldn't read a letter they got from their child's elementary school, or they couldn't understand the route map so they couldn't ride the train, or the only time they went out was to the supermarket around the corner, or they couldn't make friends. I learned that when these little everyday frustrations build up, people lose their confidence and shut themselves away."
当時、そういった状況が一般にあまり知られておらず、黒田さんはそれをもどかしく感じたという。「何か一緒にできたら……と考えていた時に気が付いたのが料理。お母さんたちが作る料理はとてもおいしく、料理の話をするとみんなの表情が明るくなるんです。これは彼女たちの強みかな、と思いました」	At that time, their situation wasn't really widely known, and Kuroda felt frustrated about it. "I thought, 'isn't there something we can do about it...?' and that's when I noticed the cooking. The mothers’ cooking is really delicious, and they look so happy when they talk about it. I thought, this may be the women's strong point."
当時大学１年生だった黒田さんは、学校の敷地を借りて学生十数人と４人のお母さんたちとイベントを開催。５台並べたエスニック料理の屋台は盛況で、みるみるうちに完売した。「目の前でおいしいと言ってもらえ、お金ももらえ、私たち学生もお母さんたちも喜びました。お母さんたちは料理を作り、私たち学生はお客さんを呼ぶために広報をして集客をした。これは、一方がもう一方を助けるというのではなく、お互いがお互いを補いあって成功したという体験でした。社会全体がこうであったらと感じて、これを継続的に行い、こういう場を増やしたいという夢が生まれた時でもありました」	Kuroda, who was a freshman in college at the time, used a site at the college for an event with a dozen or so students and four of the mothers. Their five ethnic food stalls were a big hit, and before they knew it, they were sold out. "Right in front of our eyes people were saying how good the food was, and they were paying us money for it. Us students and the mothers were really pleased. The mothers made the food, and the students made advertisements and attracted customers. This was hands-on experience in success not by having one side help another, but working together, complimenting one another. I felt that it would be nice if all of society were like this, and it sparked within me a dream to continue this work and increase these kinds of spaces."
しかし大学の４年間、学内や近隣カフェなどで出店を続けてみて気づいたのは、「来てくれるお客さんというのは、もともとコンセプトに共感してくれている人」だったこと。そうでない人たちに来てもらうためには、繁盛店になることが必須だと感じたという。「繁盛店だから不特定多数の人が来てくれて、自分たちの思いも伝わっていく。その力がほしくて卒業後は飲食関連の広告制作会社に勤めて勉強することにしました」	But during her four years of school, she noticed that at the food stalls she set up in the school and nearby cafes, "the customers that came were already sympathetic to the concept." To attract customers outside of that group she felt that the restaurant needed to thrive. "Due to it being a busy restaurant, a large number of people would come, and we could share our thoughts. I wanted to have that capability so after graduation I went to work for an advertising agency focused on the food industry and learned some skills."
その後、２０１６年７月にいよいよＳＡＬＡをオープン。当初３年ほどは経営的に苦しい時期だったというが、徐々に口コミで評判が広まり、お客さんも増えてきた。	After that, at long last she opened SALA in July 2016. For the first three years or so, it was really tough to run the business, but over time it grew in popularity with reviews, and more customers started coming.
「働く場と収入を得られることで、お母さんたちに自信が生まれました。人とのかかわりも増え、困りごとを相談し合ったり、一緒に遊びに出かけたり。そんなふうに自分で行動範囲を広げていくのを見るのが一番うれしいんです」と黒田さん。	"Since they could have a workplace and income, the mothers gained confidence in themselves. They gained connections to different folks, and they talked with each other about their troubles and hung out together. I'm happiest seeing them expand their range by themselves like that," Kuroda says.
また、ＳＡＬＡの定休日を活用し、「お店をやりたい」という人に店舗を貸し出している。「自分の責任でお店を開く経験を積むことで、その結果がよくても悪くても、得られるものがある。コストや空き時間の使い方を考えるようになったり、その後の働き方も変わっていきます」	Also, putting SALA's day off to practical use, she lends it to people who "want to try having a restaurant." She says: "In gaining experience opening a restaurant you're responsible for, you will gain something whether the result is good or bad. You become able to think about the cost and how you use free time, and it changes how you work afterwards."
今、３人のお母さんたちが独立してお店を開く夢を持っているという。「彼女たちがいつかお店を持った時、日本に来たばかりで友達がいなかった、かつての自分のような人たちとともに働きたいと考えてくれたらいいなと思っています」	At the moment, three of the mothers have dreams of opening their own restaurants. "When they have their own restaurants sometime in the future, I want them to want to work together with people that just came to Japan, with no friends; people like their past selves."
お料理のおいしさや店内の雰囲気など、飲食店としての魅力を高めることによって〝繁盛店〟に近づいたことで、お客さんが来てくれるようになった。しかし今も、お店側から積極的にＳＡＬＡのコンセプトなどを説明することはないという。	Due to how good the food is, the atmosphere, and other points that increased its appeal as an eatery, it became a busy restaurant, and customers came. But even now there is no proactive effort by SALA to explain their concept to customers.
「アジアン雑貨を並べたり、メニューにお料理の説明を掲載したりと、スタッフとの会話が生まれやすい工夫をしていますが、まずお客さん側が興味をもってくれて質問をしてくれてから……ということを大切にしています」	"We put out various Asian goods in the restaurant, and include descriptions of the food in the menu to make conversation with the staff easier, but we place importance on the customer being interested and asking us about things."
この２年、コロナ禍による打撃も大きかった。「本来はビジネスが軸にあって、利益を出してからやりたいことをするという順番なのかもしれませんが、このお店はコンセプト先行だったので飲食業としては非効率なお店と言えます。コロナだけでなく、今後どんな危機的状況があってもこの場を守れるようにと、今、新たに場所を借りて、宅配や通販用の商品を作るクラウドキッチン（客席のない店舗）の取り組みも進めています」	In the past two years, the coronavirus pandemic has had a large impact. "Normally the order of things is, have the business as the focal point, and do what you want after making a profit, but our restaurant's priority is the concept, so you could say it's inefficient from a restaurant industry perspective. Not just during the coronavirus, but during any crisis situation in the future, so that we can keep the business going, we are now renting a new space and are making a ‘cloud kitchen’ (a restaurant with no seating area) for delivery and online shopping."
クラウドキッチンができれば、さらに雇用を増やせるほか、日本語を話せない人でも働ける作業工程が生まれる。「もちろん慣れてステップアップすれば、ＳＡＬＡのホールに立つこともできます。多様な仕事を作ることで、一人ひとりの個性に合わせて働ける場がつくれたらと思っています」	If they can make a cloud kitchen, they can hire more people, and people who can't speak Japanese can be a part of the process. "Of course, if they get used to it and make progress, they can be staff at SALA as well. In diversifying work, I hope to make it a place that fits with each and every personality."
黒田さんが目指すのは、"Empowerment of all people" の社会。	Kuroda's goal is a society with "empowerment of all people."
「一方が一方を助けるのではなくて、お互いに価値を認め合って、いきいきと暮らせる社会をつくっていくこと。ＳＡＬＡを知った人が誰かと何かを始めたり、ほかの事業主の方が同じような形態で雇用を増やしたり、そんな意識が連鎖的に広がって、いつかすべての人にたどりつくことが目標なんです」	She says: "I want to make a society, not where one side helps another, but one with mutual recognition of value, and everyone lives an active life. My goal is for people that learn about SALA to start something with someone, other business owners expand their employment similarly, and that these ideas spread in a chain reaction, and someday reach all people."
神戸アジアン食堂バルSALA https://kobe-sala.asia	Kobe Asian Restaurant Bar SALA https://kobe-sala.asia