Is ringing in the ears down to the Kidney? Yakuzen notes from the final episode of Shiawase wa Tabete Nete Mate

The yakuzen drama Shiawase wa Tabete Nete Mate has reached its final episode. Alongside a quietly warming story, it brought more yakuzen wisdom with it. What drew attention this time was the link between ringing in the ears and the Kidney. Here is the plot, plus the yakuzen notes it raised, explained plainly.

What happens in the final episode of Shiawase wa Tabete Nete Mate

The final episode aired at 10 in the morning on Tuesday 27 May. While Tsukasa (Hio Miyazawa) is away in the mountains for two weeks, a good deal changes for Satoko (Yuki Sakurai) and Suzu (Mariko Kaga).

Suzu finds it hard to keep the side business going alone and closes the sewing market. On the estate there are many older people who want to work, and Satoko, running into that reality, hits on the idea of a shared space anyone can use. The residents' committee is unenthusiastic and she is deflated, until her manager mentions the idea of using a local subsidy and hope comes back.

Tsukasa, meanwhile, meets an old man in the mountains who has slipped out of a care home, and faces his memories of his own grandmother. To Tsukasa, blaming himself, the old man says simply: don't mind it, it isn't your fault. Saved by that, Tsukasa comes home smiling with an "I'm back", met by Satoko and Suzu drying umeboshi. A warm ending.

Yakuzen notes from the drama: how ringing in the ears links to the Kidney

What the five zang organs do is the basis of yakuzen

In yakuzen, the balance of the five zang organs, Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lung and Kidney, is held to be the key to a healthy mind and body. Each one is closely tied to particular parts of the body, and they all act on one another.

Is ringing in the ears connected to the Kidney?

The yakuzen explanation came in the scene where Satoko takes a sound for rain and realises it is ringing in her ears.

Chinese medicine holds that the ears connect to the Kidney.
When the Kidney is working less well, the circulation of fluids slows, and ringing in the ears comes more easily as a result.

The Kidney is also closely tied to ageing, to the point that ageing is sometimes described as the Kidney weakening. That is why ringing in the ears and hearing loss in middle and later life are sometimes linked to Kidney deficiency.

Ingredients that settle the Kidney: black foods

A keyword that came up in the drama was black foods. Black ingredients have long been looked to as ones that support the Kidney.

Specifically:

• Black soybeans: good in rice, simmered dishes and soups, and they eat well. My own favourite is black soybean curry.
• Black sesame: easy to sprinkle over rice or work into a dressing.
• Walnuts and chestnuts: said to support the Kidney and warm the body. Nicely, you can pick them up as a snack at a convenience store.

Working these into everyday meals is a gentle way to look after yourself through the turn of the seasons and the years.

Yakuzen that is gentle on mind and body, in everyday life

The yakuzen drama Shiawase wa Tabete Nete Mate paired a gentle world, where food heals the heart, with plenty of knowledge worth having.

The final episode focused on the Kidney and ringing in the ears, and gave us a reason to look at caring for mind and body as the years go by.

In the season ahead, why not look after the Kidney with recipes using Black soybeans or black sesame?
Here is hoping for a second series.

See the Yasai Yakuzen materials page