Regular readers of The Japan Times will recognize Makiko Itoh, who has contributed monthly recipes to this publication since 2010. Along with easy-to-follow meal instructions, her columns often feature brief historical and cultural insights into a dish or ingredient.

Itoh brings that same approach to her new cookbook, ¡°.¡± With more than 600 recipes, it is her third release after ¡°Just Bento Cookbook¡± in 2010 and ¡°The Just Bento Cookbook 2¡± in 2018.

The idea for ¡°Real Japanese Cooking¡± has been long in the making.