There are two traditional soups in Japan, misoshiru, and sumashijiru, a soy sauce-seasoned clear soup. At many Japanese restaurants, misoshiru is often served for breakfast, and sumashijiru for dinner.



What is misoshiru?
It is a miso-seasoned thick soup, s considered a fundamental part of Japanese home cuisine. Miso soup is made by cooking ingredients such as negi (green onion), tofu (soybean curd), wakame seaweed vegetables, in a fish broth made from katsuobishi (dried bonito flakes) and then mixing miso (fermented soybean paste) into the broth.

History of miso soup
Miso was imported into Japan from China in the Asuka era (from the end of the 6^th century to the 7^th century). At that time, people ate miso in its pure state because they could not dissolve it in water.In the Kamakura era (from the end of the 12^th century to the mid-14^th century), a common Japanese meal called ichiju-issai (a bowl of boiled rice with a meat or fish dish and soup) was established among the samurai class. Samurai ate miso soup for every meal.

From the end of Muromachi era through Sengoku era (the 16^th century), which was the age of wars, warriors ate miso soup in the battle fields. They used the stems of taro which were stewed in miso as ropes in the battle fields. When food ran out, they chopped up the taro stems and put them into a bowl and poured hot water onto them. This was probably the first instant miso soup in history!

In the Edo era (from the 17^th century to the mid-19^th century), both the samurai class and common people ate miso soup. Since then, miso soup has become a fundamental part of Japanese home cuisine.

Health effects of miso soup
●It helps lower cholesterol
  The main ingredient of miso is soybean. According to medical reports, saponin, an ingredient found in soybeans, acts to lower lymph cholesterol value, which helps to prevent stroke, heart attack  and thrombosis.
●It helps to prevent cancer 
According to medical reports, the death rate by stomach cancer of people who often eat miso soup is lower than that of people who seldom eat miso soup. According to one medical report, women consuming a lot of soybean products have a lower incidence of breast cancer in comparison with women who consume very few soybean products
●It helps to prevent aging
Miso helps to prevent the oxidation of human internal lipids. Increased oxidation results in the aging of the blood vessels and cells.
●It helps to prevent osteoporosis
It is necessary to consume a lot of calcium in order to prevent osteoporosis. Miso soup is a perfect source of calcium as it is found in both the miso and the fish broth.