At Japan's Curry College, They Turn Curry into Curriculum

Curry made the trip from India to Japan during the Meiji era (1868-1912) via the British Royal Navy, and in the past century it has become a staple of everyday Japanese diets. Surveys show that in Japan, Japanese curry is more commonly eaten than Japanese food icons like sushi or tempura. And now, for those who love curry so much they want to devote their studies to the dish, there's Tokyo's Curry College (カレー大学, Curry Daigaku).

The Curry College curriculum covers a variety of topics, starting with history and sociology, and going on to topics like actual curry merchandising and information on how to run a specialty curry shop. From curry theory, to the nitty-gritty of actual Japanese curry rice recipes, applicants have been matriculating in hopes of studying the A to Z of curry.

Due to COVID-19, classes are currently offered both remote and in-person, with three courses available. Curry novices will want to start with the standard Curry College undergraduate course, but those with a little more Japanese curry knowledge might be interested in the curry graduate school, or even their "doctorate intern" program.

Students who complete their courses and graduate from Curry College are rewarded with a diploma declaring them a "curry evangelist" (カレー伝道師). Yes, unfortunately, as you might have guessed Curry College is not an accredited educational institution. Graduating from Curry College with a curry evangelist degree is not likely to land you a high-paying office job. But you might walk away from your courses knowing quite a lot about curry history, recipes, industry, and merchandising, so if your dreams look less like working in a Tokyo high-rise office building and more like running the popular curry shop on the ground floor, well, this could be for you.

While the courses are only available in Japanese, the next semester begins in November, so if you're interested in starting down a new curry-scented path in life, you might want to think about devoting a few hours to this unique new "education."


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