"Never fight a war with Chinese people, because we would lose," Yoshiko Tatsumi sternly warned, "with absolute certainty," a 40-strong group of mostly middle-aged women gathered recently in her spacious three-story residence set in gardens in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture.
"What we eat today is no match for what they eat. Nobody (in Japan) has vitality in a true sense. We used to get energy from everyday food; we've forgotten how to."
And so continued Tatsumi's sobering lecture at her monthly soup-cooking class that draws attendees from across the nation, all united in their eagerness to feast on the 87-year-old cookery expert's tips, knowledge and all-round wisdom.