Akiko Aoyagi (born January 24, 1950), who also uses the nameAkiko Aoyagi Shurtleff,^[2] is a Japanese-American food writer and artist. She is best known as the recipe developer, illustrator, and co-author (with her former husband,William Shurtleff) of the soy-based cookbook seriesThe Book of Tofu (1975),The Book of Miso (1976), andThe Book of Tempeh (1979), that had a strong impact on thenatural foods andvegetarian movements within theAmerican counterculture. She is the co-founder, with William Shurtleff, of the New Age Foods Study Center (in Tokyo and California), SoyInfo Center, and Soycrafters Association of North America.

Akiko Aoyagi was born inTokyo, Japan, on January 24, 1950.^[3] She attended the QuakerFriends School and then the Women's College of the Arts, where she studied Fashion Design.^{[1]: 174–175} Her thesis project explored "designing clothing for children with physical and mental deficits."^[4]: 145

After graduation, she worked as a fashion designer in Tokyo,^[5] where she lightened her hair and wore "tie-dye maxi-skirts."^[4]: 145 She was frustrated, however, as she found herself in "a pressure-packed, highspeed job and I did not like it. It was a superficial, very exhausting life which I wanted to change. I wanted to go to Africa with the Peace Corps."^[5] She also thought of becoming a Catholic nun.^[4]: 145

In 1971,^{[1]: 174–175 [6]} her sister set Aoyagi up on a blind date withWilliam Shurtleff (an American who was a student ofSuzuki Roshi at theTassajara Zen Mountain Center, and was in Japan in order to help Roshi set up a center). Shurtleff was her sister's classmate in a Japanese class at a university in Tokyo.^[4][5] They discovered that they shared interests inZen meditation.^{[1]: 174–175} Ultimately, Shurtleff did not return to Tassajara, and Aoyagi "sold all her clothes, quit the fashion company, and moved in with him."^[4] They began to hitchhike together throughout Japan, and talked abouttraveling to India to visit ashrams.^[4]: 145

During that same time period in 1971, Shurtleff read the (then) recently releasedDiet for a Small Planet byFrances Moore Lappé, which argued thatsoybeans were a superior source of protein.^{[4]: 145–146} Using Lappe's book as a reference, Shurtleff wanted to learn more aboutTofu.^[4]: 146 Aoyagi later noted that although she had grown up with Tofu, ("just like you grow up with bread in this country"),^[5] Shurtleff's interest in it gave her a new appreciation for the art ofTofu production.^{[1]: 174–175} Aoyagi introduced Shurtleff to "Kyoto'sHaute cuisine Tofu restaurants" where a 12-course meal was about three dollars. It was during one of these meals that they decided to create "a tofu cookbook that that would show Westerners how to prepare tofu."^{[1]: 174–175 [5][6]} Aoyogi began to experiment with cooking tofu, "dredging up memories of dishes that she had grown up eating or had read about."^[4]: 146 Over the next few years they conducted research, traveling, visiting tofu factories, ashrams, and "grandmothers who still remember the old ways," learning the various elements of tofu production.^{[1]: 174–175 [4]: 148 [5]}

In 1972, they signed a book contract with Nahum and Beverly Stiskin, who ran the small independent publishing company Autumn Press (which published books onmacrobiotics and theShinto religion).^[4]: 146 Shurtleff apprenticed with "tofu master," Toshio Arai, to learn traditional approaches to tofu production, and was sometimes joined by Aoyagi.^[4]: 147 Aoyagi began to test methods of reproducing the process at home, taking "more than one hundred times to get a reliable, reproducible method that [Shurtleff] could describe in words and she could illustrate with in-brush sketches."^[4]: 147 She began by "re-creating the recipes she would see in tofu shops, finding uses for soybeans at all points during the process."^[4]: 148 She would then "document each recipe in a mix of English and Japanese."^[4]: 148 She also began to research western cookbooks such asThe Joy of Cooking, "and picked out dishes she thought she could remake with tofu."^[4]: 148 In addition, she was creating illustrations for the recipes.^[4]: 148

The Book of Tofu, which contained all of Aoyagi's crafted recipes and related illustrations, was published by Autumn Press in 1975.^{[1]: 174–175 [4]: 161} According toThe New York Times, it was "received so enthusiastically," that it was picked up byBallantine Books for a mass market edition the following year.^[6] Barry adds that the original 5,000 copies sold out within the first month, and that 10,000 copies were printed in 1976.^{[1]: 174–175} In response, Aoyagi and Shurtleff next producedThe Book of Miso (1976).^{[1]: 174–175 [4]: 161 [6]}

Next, they came to the United States and traveled around the country in aDodge Ram van to publicize both books. They gave interviews, met countercultural communities, and visited Zen centers. Aoyagi later remembered the experience of sixty-four stops in four months as "grueling." They also visited the vegan-based intentional community,The Farm, as Shurtleff had previously been in communication with them about Tempeh production, and had a chance to study it while there. The successful tour led to high book sales.^{[4]: 162–164} In addition, in 1979, they publishedThe Book of Tempeh (1979).^{[1]: 174–175 [6]}

In 1975, Aoyagi and Shurtleff co-founded the New Age Foods Study Center (in Tokyo and California), where they tested recipes and distributed information on soy.^[6] The next year in 1976, Aoyagi and Shurtleff co-founded the SoyInfo Center, which they intended to be the "world's leading source of information on soy, especially soyfoods, new industrial uses, and history, in electronic database, online and printed book formats."^[7] Barry states that via the Center, Aoyagi and Shurtleff were able to act as "consultants to the growing international soyfoods industry."^{[1]: 174–175} Finally, in 1978, Aoyagi and Shurtleff co-founded the Soycrafters Association of North America that held conferences attended by countercultural food companies.^{[4]: 164 [6]}

Aoyagi and Shurtleff were married,^[1]: 171 but later divorced in the early 1990s.^[8] They have a son.^[8]

Food writerJonathan Kauffman states inHippie Food: How Back-To-The-Landers, Longhairs, and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat (2018), thatTofurky developed due to the influence ofFrances Moore Lappé, Aoyagi and Shurtleff, andThe Farm.^[4]: 166 He also credits the rise of tofu shops, tofu cookbooks, and vegetarian cookbooks that use tofu in the West to Aoyagi and Shurtleff.^[4]: 164 Discussing Kauffman's book,Steve Silberman refers to Aoyagi and Shurtleff as "pioneers" who "placed tofu at the center of millions of vegetarian tables in the West after falling in love with the snowy pressed soy curds as Zen students in Kyoto."^[9]

American author and professorRynn Berry interviewed Aoyagi and Shurtleff for a chapter in the "Visionaries" section of his 1995 bookFamous Vegetarians and Their Favorite Recipes: Lives and Lore from Buddha to the Beatles. Additional "Visionaries" includeBronson Alcott,Sylvester Graham,John Harvey Kellogg,Henry Stephens Salt, andFrances Moore Lappe.^{[1]: x–xii} Barry begins the chapter on Aoyagi and Shurtleff by asserting that in 1975, "few Americans had even the vaguest idea of what it [Tofu] was. Now [in 1995] it is sold in countless supermarkets and health food stores, and its name as well as its substance is on everyone's lips. Credit for this extraordinary surge in popularity must go to William Shurtleff and his Tokyo-born wife, Akiko Aoyagi. They are the co-authors ofThe Book of Tofu which has become the bible for tofu enthusiasts."^[1]: 171 "The Rynn Berry Jr. Papers" inNorth Carolina State University Libraries' Special Collections and Research Center, contains his research journal with "the transcript of an interview by Berry with soy food specialists William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi" and the original illustration of the couple used inFamous Vegetarians.^[10]

Aoyagi and Shurtleff have 66 books in print.^[11]

• Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (1975).The Book of Tofu. Autumn Press.ISBN 978-0-914398-05-9.
• Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (1976).The Book of Miso. Autumn Press.ISBN 978-0-394-73432-3.
• Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (1977).The Book of Kudzu: A Culinary & Healing Guide. Autumn Press.ISBN 978-0-394-42068-4.
• Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (1979).The Book of Tempeh.HarperCollins.ISBN 978-0-06-090710-5.
• Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (1982).Using Tofu, Tempeh & Other Soyfoods in Restaurants, Delis & Cafeterias. Lafayette, CA: Soyfoods Center.ISBN 978-0-933332-07-2.
• Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (2009).Mildred Lager - History of Her Work With Soyfoods and Natural Foods in Los Angeles (1900-1960)(PDF). Lafayette, CA: Soyinfo Center.ISBN 978-1-928914-26-6.
• Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (2012).History of Natto and Its Relatives (1405-2012)(PDF). Lafayette, CA: Soyinfo Center.ISBN 978-1-928914-42-6.
• Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (2012).History of Roasted Whole Soy Flour (Kinako), Soy Coffee, and Soy Chocolate (1540-2012)(PDF). Lafayette, CA: Soyinfo Center.
• Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (2016).History of Soybean Crushing: Soy Oil and Soybean Meal (980-2016)(PDF). Lafayette, CA: Soyinfo Center.
• Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (2021).History of Soybeans and Soyfoods in the Caribbean/West Indies (1767-2022)(PDF). Lafayette, CA: Soyinfo Center.

• Kauffman, Jonathan (2018).Hippie Food: How Back-To-The-Landers, Longhair, and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat.William Morrow.ISBN 978-0-06-243730-3.
• Berry, Rynn (1995).Famous Vegetarians and Their Favorite Recipes: Lives and Lore from Buddha to the Beatles. Pythagorean Publishers.ISBN 978-0-9626169-1-4.

• Official website
• Books by Akiko Aoyagi
• Articles by William Shurtleff And Akiko Aoyagi -Mother Earth News, May 1976 – March 1979.
• How 'hippie food' went mainstream,KCRW (podcast), May 24, 2024 (offers context forThe Book of Tofu)

• 1950 births
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