The Tsuruoka Institute for Gastronomic Innovation is a research
organization established to drive advanced R&D under the
Cabinet Office-certified "Tsuruoka Gastronomic Innovation (TGI) Project."
We explore the world’s first interdisciplinary field of
"Integrative Gastronomy"—merging food science with food culture—to
redefine the possibilities of what we eat.

Director’s Message

所長 冨田 勝
Director, Tsuruoka Institute for Gastronomic Innovation

Masaru Tomita, Ph.D.

Director Profile: Masaru Tomita, PhD
Born in Tokyo in 1957, after graduating from the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology, Tomita studied at Carnegie Mellon University (USA), where he earned his Master’s (1983) and Ph.D. (1985) in Artificial Intelligence. He served as an instructor, Assistant Professor, and Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon, and held the position of Associate Director of the university’s Center for Machine Translation.
In 1990, he returned to Japan for the opening of Keio University’s Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC), serving as Associate Professor, Professor, and Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Information. He expanded his research into the life sciences and established the Keio University Institute for Advanced Biosciences (IAB) in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, in 2001, serving as Director for 22 years.
During that time, he founded Human Metabolome Technologies, Inc. (listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers in 2013). He has since supported the launch of eight Keio-Tsuruoka startups, including Spiber, SalivaTech, and Metagen. He currently serves as the Representative Director of the Tsuruoka Science Park.

Connecting Food and Soul: A New Frontier of Research

"Deliciousness" is not something perceived by taste and smell alone. It is based on all five senses: the visual beauty of a plate, the sound of a crisp bite, and the tactile sensation of texture. Even more vital are the things science alone cannot fully explain: Who made the food and how? What about the personal memories the food triggers? Did a mother make it for a child? What about the spiritual essence captured in phrases like "pouring one's heart into a dish" or "gratitude for the earth’s bounty." Deliciousness is a high-level cognitive experience that physics and chemistry cannot ever fully capture.
While science and culture are often viewed as opposites, truly understanding food requires a new framework that integrates them. Japan has long cherished the spirituality of food. The word "Itadakimasu" carries deep gratitude not just for the producers, but for nature itself. Humans are fundamentally powerless before the cycles of sun, water, and soil; acknowledging this with humility and thanks is the origin of Japanese food culture.
These values are universal. By sharing "food science" and "food culture" as a single, unified identity, we can elevate the brand value of Japanese food and strengthen its international competitiveness. We will leverage our UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy designation to shape the future of Japan’s food culture. In doing so, we envision a future where Tsuruoka is beloved by all of Japan, and Japan is respected by the entire world.

Deputy director Philip Blitz McKibbin
Deputy Director

Philip Britz-McKibbin

Profile
Professor, McMaster University (Canada)
Specially Appointed Professor, Keio University Institute for Advanced Biosciences (IAB)
World-renowned authority on metabolomic analysis and applied research.

Deputy director Hideki Murayama
Deputy Director

Hideki Murayama

Profile
Vice President, Yamagata University
Former Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture (until 2023), driving the "10th Industrialization of Food" at the Yamagata University Center for Advanced Agri-Food Systems (YAAS).

Integrative Gastronomy

Science & Technology

  • ・The pursuit of the unknown through discovery and innovation.
  • ・Quantitative analysis, objectivity, efficiency, reproducibility, optimization and so on.
  • 1Natural Sciences
    (The Pursuit of Truth)

    Scientific understanding of ingredients and the human body.

  • 2Engineering & Technology
    (Application and Creation)

    Practical application of food technologies, products, and processes.

Culture (The Humanities)

  • ・The inheritance of values, traditions, customs, and narratives.
  • ・The stories that numbers cannot capture.
  • 3Social Sciences
    (Institutions and Structures)

    Economic systems, distribution, and social behavior surrounding food.

  • 4Humanities
    (meaning and value)

    The cultural, spiritual, and philosophical significance of food.

Researchers

Yamagata University

  • Professor Toru Watanabe
    Professor

    Toru Watanabe

    Field: Water Environmental Engineering, Environmental Risk Assessment
    Research: Evaluating the impacts of utilizing wastewater-derived fertilizers and feed on animal/plant metabolism, food components, and intestinal drug resistance.

  • Associate Professor Takako Aboshi
    Associate Professor

    Takako Aboshi

    Field: Bioorganic Chemistry
    Research: Developing advanced measurement techniques for characterizing food aroma components.

  • Associate Professor Kazuo Ikeda
    Associate Professor

    Kazuo Ikeda

    Field: Horticulture (Fruit Trees)
    Research: Functional component evaluation, processing variation analysis, and breeding efficiency for fruit trees (particularly Chinese cherries and pears); research on the preservation and promotion of indigenous crops.

  • Associate Professor Naomi Kanoh
    Associate Professor

    Naomi Kanoh

    Field: Food Functional Science
    Research: Functional component analysis of regional ingredients and evaluation of their health-promoting properties.

  • Assistant Professor uri Kimura
    Assistant Professor

    Yuri Kimura

    Field: Plant Biochemistry
    Research: Analysis of plant cell wall characteristics and related metabolites in response to varying environmental conditions.

  • Associate Professor Sho Kobayashi
    Associate Professor

    Sho Kobayashi

    Field: Food Nutrition Science
    Research: Identification of active components in food extracts that inhibit ferroptosis (cell death).

  • Associate Professor Satoru Sato
    Associate Professor

    Satoru Sato

    Field: Black Soldier Fly Studies, Applied Ecology
    Research: Establishing regional circular models for food, livestock, and tourism centered on the use of Black Soldier Flies (fertilizer, feed, poultry, pharmaceuticals, aged rice, etc.).

  • Professor Yoshihito Shiono
    Professor

    Yoshihito Shiono

    Field: Natural Products Organic Chemistry
    Research: Elucidating changes in root secretions and symbiotic metabolic mechanisms caused by rhizosphere microorganisms; metabolome analysis of active ingredients (including neem cake).

  • Associate Professor Tomoyuki Nabeshima
    Associate Professor

    Tomoyuki Nabeshima

    Field: Vegetable Horticulture
    Research: Elucidating the effects of variations in cuticle properties on metabolites (lipids, phenols, etc.) and analyzing the chemical components of fruit surface gloss.

  • Professor Tomonori Hoshino
    Professor

    Tomonori Hoshino

    Field: Crop Breeding
    Research: Multi-omics analysis and breeding applications for Dadacha-mame soybeans using aroma as a primary indicator.

  • Professor Kenichi Horiguchi
    Professor

    Kenichi Horiguchi

    Field: Animal Management
    Research: Searching for natto bacteria cultivation substrates using underutilized resources and advancing livestock management through AI.

  • Associate Professor Atsuko Miyagi
    Associate Professor

    Atsuko Miyagi

    Field: Plant Physiology, Metabolic Biochemistry
    Research: Visualizing how differences in extraction methods and mass spectrometry equipment impact metabolome analysis results.

Keio University (IAB)

  • Professor Kazuharu Arakawa
    Professor

    Kazuharu Arakawa

    Field: Bioinformatics, Systems Biology
    Research: Developing an automated sake tasting note generation system through the integration of aroma components and metabolome analysis.

  • Specially Appointed Associate Professor Tatsuki Ogura
    Specially Appointed Associate Professor

    Tatsuki Ogura

    Field: Analytical Chemistry, Metabolomics, Food Science
    Research: Developing high-precision analysis methods for soil and plant-derived organic matter using NMR.

  • Associate Professor Nobuaki Kono
    Associate Professor

    Nobuaki Kono

    Field: Bioinformatics, Systems Biology, Synthetic Biology
    Research: Constructing genomic design foundations for microbial-based production of food and materials.

  • Professor Masahiro Sugimoto
    Professor

    Masahiro Sugimoto

    Field: Metabolomics, Bioinformatics
    Research: Constructing a data platform to integrate and manage crop sample metadata and metabolomes.

  • Associate Professor Akiyoshi Hirayama
    Associate Professor

    Akiyoshi Hirayama

    Field: Metabolomics, Analytical Chemistry
    Research: Discovering functional metabolites and establishing quantification technologies through high-sensitivity metabolome analysis.

  • Specially Appointed Professor Shinji Fukuda
    Specially Appointed Professor

    Shinji Fukuda

    Field: Gut Design, Integrated Omics Science
    Research: Integrated research on the health effects of food via the gut environment and the microbial upcycling of organic waste.

  • Specially Appointed Professor Atsushi Nagano
    Specially Appointed Professor

    Atsushi Nagano

    Field: Plant Physiology, Field Omics
    Research: Developing transcriptome analysis and genome editing technologies to control plant environmental responses.

  • Specially Appointed Lecturer Harunori Yoshikawa
    Specially Appointed Lecturer

    Harunori Yoshikawa

    Field: Proteomics, Molecular Biology
    Research: Establishing proteome quantification techniques for enzymes that determine the flavor and quality of food products.

  • Specially Appointed Lecturer Satoshi Yuzawa
    Specially Appointed Lecturer

    Satoshi Yuzawa

    Field: Synthetic Biology, Biochemistry, Chemical Biology
    Research: Isolation of indigenous wild yeasts from grapes and their application in white wine brewing.

The Tsuruoka Gastronomic Innovation Consortium

The Tsuruoka Gastronomic Innovation Consortium is a collaborative platform designed to drive the future of food alongside the Institute.
We promote joint research with private-sector companies nationwide,
serving as a dynamic hub where the innovators shaping the future of food connect and create together.

Participating Corporations

(as of September 2025)

  • ITO EN, LTD.
  • SHODA SHOYU CO.,LTD.
  • Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd.
  • NISSIN FOODS HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
  • NH Foods Ltd.
  • KAMEDA SEIKA CO., LTD.
  • House Foods Group Inc.
  • Calbee, Inc.
  • Hanamaruki Foods Inc.
  • Kiku-Masamune Sake Brewing Co., Ltd.
  • FUJICCO CO., LTD.
  • Kikkoman Corporation
  • Bourbon Corporation
  • Kewpie Corporation
  • Mizkan Holdings Co., Ltd.
  • Morinaga&Co., Ltd.
  • Pasco Shikishima Corporation
  • Yamaki Co., Ltd.
  • (and two other companies)