George Ohsawa

George Ohsawa, born Nyoichi Sakurazawa (櫻澤 如一, ,But later he called himself Sakurazawa Yukikazu, .October 18, 1893 – April 23, 1966), was the founder of the Macrobiotic diet and philosophy. When living in Europe he went by the pen names of Musagendo Sakurazawa, Nyoiti Sakurazawa, and Yukikazu Sakurazawa. He also used the French first name Georges while living in France, and his name is sometimes also given this spelling. George Ohsawa introduced the oriental concept of health to Westerners in the mid-20th century, writing about 300 books in Japanese and 20 in French during a 40-year period. He defined health with seven criteria: lack of tiredness or fatigue; good appetite; good sleep; good memory; good humour; precision of thought and action; gratitude.

Life

Ohsawa was born into a poor samurai family during the Meiji Restoration in Shingu City Wakayama pref Japan. He had no money for higher education. Around this time, his spiritual path started. Around 1913, Ohsawa joined the Shoku-yo Kaimovement, studying with Manabu Nishibata (a direct disciple of the late Sagen Ishizuka) in Tokyo. William Dufty described the circumstances of Nyoiti’s family: