Originally published at https://holatomorrow.com/face-mask/ on May 21, 2020.

I vividly remember my first time in Tokyo: the scramble of black and white masks dotting the Shibuya Crossing in the warm rain. As an American, I had not grown up in a culture where wearing masks in public was common practice, and this scene made a strong impression.

In a sense, the ubiquity of face masks in Japan and Asia was a mysterious quirk. After asking Japanese friends, I’ve since learned of the various reasons masks are worn from protecting against illness, pollution, and allergies, to providing additional warmth, or to put on in place of lipstick.

Fast forward, pause

Fast forward three years to today — the age of COVID-19 and “The Great Pause.”

In the face of a global public health crisis, people all over the world from Asia to America are wearing face masks. The primary purpose is clear: to prevent the spread of this novel coronavirus that has no cure or vaccine (yet), and which is still causing thousands of deaths a day. Masks are no longer the mystery; the virus is.

Interestingly, some experts say that the social habit of wearing face masks and other Japanese customs, such as and bowing instead of shaking hands, might hinder transmission of the virus, but the extent of this is still unknown.

The struggle with shortages

As many have seen, soaring demand for surgical masks has caused major shortages worldwide, even in hospitals where masks are most urgently required. in Tokyo, lines of people have queued outside pharmacies at dawn with the hopes of purchasing their ration (only one mask can be sold per person to prevent hoarding).

According to an article in The Mainichi, “the Japanese government is still struggling to combat supply shortages of face masks…more than three months after the items began to vanish from store shelves in the country. Fierce global competition to secure sufficient mask supplies is also driving up their prices.”

A survey conducted on April 18 and 19 by the newspaper found that 28% of respondents were using their masks only once and then throwing them away, while 45% said they were reusing masks by washing or disinfecting them. Another 15% said they were handcrafting masks.

Single-use masks: good for public health, bad for the environment

The commercial single-use mask sold in plastic, while helpful in slowing the spread of disease, is not good for the environment, especially our oceans.

I’ve spotted a few masks washed up on the beach in Okinawa, and I was especially struck by the sighting of some 100 masks washed up on a beach near Hong Kong. To echo the words of the conservationist Gary Stokes:

“In the future, we need to make sure we’re ready for pandemics like this and that we’re ready to deal with them in an environmental way; it doesn’t have to be one at the expense of the other.”

Reusable cloth masks: the more sustainable solution

The silver lining to this mask shortage is the sudden need to make an easy, more sustainable alternative. The solution spans beyond Asia with waves of people worldwide finding creative ways to make cloth masks from home. These are more sustainable than most store-bought masks (if you can find any) as they can be reused after washing.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the use of cloth face coverings, though not as effective as N-95 respirators, can help slow the spread of COVID-19. Creating cloth masks also helps reserve critical supplies like surgical masks and N-95 respirators for healthcare workers.

Tenugui: the original gangster of cloth

The CDC gives easy no-sew instructions for making a mask with a bandana, which I have adapted to the Japanese warrior way of using a “tenugui.” Tenugui is a traditional light cotton towel once worn by ninjas, kendo warriors, samurai, and still used to this day.

The vintage wood print from the Edo-period illustrates the various ways tenugui was used during the classic era: towels, table cloths, handkerchiefs, flags, scarves, baskets, gift wrapping, and various neck, head and face coverings. This ancient handicraft of tenugui has no limits.

Let’s make a mask!

If you can get your hands on an authentic tenugui (or any light cotton cloth 35cm x 90cm), try the tutorial below and let me know how it feels in the comments! You can also refer to the original CDC instructions and make your mask with a square cloth (like a furoshiki or bandana), if that’s what you have at home. According to the WHO, when used as a protection against Covid-19, the tenugui should always be washed with hot water (at least 56 degrees Celsius / 133 Fahrenheit).

Have fun and stay safe my dear warriors!

Materials:

1. Tenugui (or other cloth like a furoshiki, bandana or scarf). I used our bicycle-themed tenugui I bought while on a bike trip in Okayama prefecture.
2. Hair ties or rubber bands
3. Coffee filter or or paper towel (for extra protection)

Directions:

1. Fold the cloth in half, bringing the top edge of the cloth to meet the bottom edge of the cloth.
2. Fold the cloth in half again, bringing one side of the cloth to meet the other side
3. Insert a coffee filter or paper towel inside the fold for extra protection and comfort.
4. Put the folded cloth through the center of two hair ties (or rubber bands). Place hair ties about 15–16 cm (or 6 inches) apart.
5. Take the left side and the right side of the cloth and fold each side toward the middle and tuck the sides into each other.
6. The cloth should now be a continuous loop since the left and right sides have been tucked into each other.
7. To wear the mask, secure the hair ties around your ears.
8. You want it to fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face. Make sure you can breathe without restriction
9. After wearing, wash with hot water and laundry detergent. Hang dry to preserve the beauty of the fabric.

Make a washable face mask, the Japanese way was originally published in HolaTomorrow on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Originally published at https://holatomorrow.com/ on April 9, 2020.

One of the first friends my husband Julien and I made after moving to Tokyo was the caring and creative Miica Fran. After meeting her at our co-working space, she invited us to her first pop-up restaurant called “Eat Provence” — an intimate series inspired by the slow food and cozy lifestyle of her experience in the southeast region of France.

That was almost three years ago. Miica has since traveled throughout Europe to research how to have a zero-waste kitchen and she now hosts her own experimental zero-waste kitchen “Bio Labo House” at the charming bar aVin in Meguro-ku.

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Miica for a story in The Japan Times and sharing the steps she and her community are taking to reduce kitchen waste, such as harvesting “imperfect produce” directly from local farms, using reusable boxes and bags instead of plastic, trying to use as much of a plant or animal as possible, composting, upcycling with Swell Plastic, and saving onion skins to make natural plant dyes with the local artist Emiko Hasegawa.

A large source of food waste is also, of course, the food left on our plates, but this has never been a problem when Miica cooks because her food is so flavorsome!

As was the case this past winter when Miica and I hosted our second installment of We are Wabi-sabi — a series of gatherings where we explore the meaning of the Japanese concept of “wabi-sabi” — the beauty of things imperfect, transient, and incomplete — while enjoying a gorgeous meal made with beautifully imperfect produce, or what we lovingly call “wabi-sabi veggies.”

Miica’s menu was a medley of healthy and hearty French-inspired cuisine with organic Japanese ingredients: kale, walnut and golden raisin salad; steamed radish and radish leaves; carrots with soy milk dip; soy milk cream pasta with hemp seeds; a Lyonnais cassoulet made with tomatoes, beans and bacon, and a perfectly baked tart amandine for dessert.

As we know, this was before the coronavirus crisis and our city’s shutdowns. We might miss these social gatherings — food brings us all together after all — but staying at home doesn’t mean we can’t eat well. One silver-lining to this lockdown is how it can make home feel more like a laboratory for deeply experimenting with tasty recipes, as well as tricks for reducing waste.

As such, I asked Miica if I could share with all of you her recipes for the famous Lyonnais cassoulet and the almond tart that she prepared at “We are Wabi-Sabi.” We chose these dishes because they’re adaptable and easy to rustle up with common pantry staples, such as beans, canned tomatoes, herbs, flour and nuts. Traditionally, cassoulet is prepared with pork, but meat can easily be left out to be vegetarian while still flowing with umami flavor. So, next time you feel like experimenting in your home kitchen laboratory, get cozy with Miica’s cassoulet and almond tart!

So, next time you feel like experimenting in your home kitchen laboratory, try getting cozy with Miica’s cassoulet!

Miica’s Recipe for Cassoulet

Ingredients (for 4 people):
Organic dry white lupini beans 150g
(or any beans you happen to have at home)
200g Pork shoulder loin (or boneless pork rib)
250g bacon
(you can leave out meat for a vegetarian version)
1 organic onion
1 carrot
2 tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
4 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
1 bay leaf
extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste
black or white pepper to taste
red pepper to taste
1/3 cup bread crumbs (without additives)

Method:
1. Soak the white beans overnight.
2. Boil the beans for about 30 minutes on low heat until beans get soft.
3. Season pork with salt and pepper and cut into 3cm-wide pieces.
4. Cut the bacon into bite-size pieces.
5. Mince the onions and garlic.
6. Cut the carrots into large pieces.
7. Cut the tomato.
8. Stir fry garlic, onion, tomato and carrot.
9. Add bacon and meat and cook until brown.
10. Mix in boiled beans, broth, stir-fried vegetables, herbs, salt, pepper and red pepper.
11. Put all ingredients in a baking dish and sprinkle bread crumbs on top.
12. Bake it for 20 minutes in an oven at 180 degrees Celsius.

Miica’s Recipe for Almond Tart

Ingredients

For the pastry
150g flour
40g butter
60g cane sugar
1 egg

For the filling
100g almond flour
slivered almonds (adequate amount)
100g butter
2 eggs
100g cane sugar

Method

For the pastry
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Mix the butter put in room temperature until it gets creamy.
3. Add sugar in the above and mix it until it looks white.
4. Gradually add the beaten egg and mix well.
5. Mix in the flour and knead it until it becomes dough.
6. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
7. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin.
8. Place the dough in a 22cm tart tin and lightly prick the pastry all over with a fork.
9. Bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees C.

For the filling
10. Mix the butter with a whisk until smooth.
11. Add sugar and mix well.
12. Add in half of the beaten egg and mix well, then add the other half and mix well.
13. Add almond powder and mix well.

14. Pour the mixture into the tart shape.
15. Sprinkle slivered almonds so it covers the top.
16. Bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees C.
17. Serve warm or cold and enjoy!

Lockdown lessons and recipes from Miica’s “Bio Labo House” was originally published in HolaTomorrow on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.