The telephone rang, and food-culture historian Hisao Nagayama, an advocate of the Japanese soy bean diet, excused himself from the interview and left his seat to take the call.
"Pardon me for the interruption, but it was one of my publishers," said the smiling 71-year-old when he returned a few minutes later to the table at his home in Tokyo's Nerima Ward. "He said my latest tofu book was selling well so now he wants me to write one on natto. Wow."
A regular newspaper columnist on Japanese people's diet and longevity, the cheerful, easy-going and notably energetic septuagenarian confessed he wasn't this busy until a few years ago. Now, though, in addition to his regular schedule at home, and lecture and research tours both in Japan and abroad, he is faced with an upsurge in requests for him to write or give talks about soy bean products in particular.