<p>As someone who is from Tamil Nadu, I'd say it's very evident that he really is from South India. Was extremely surprised to see Kozhi Varutha Curry as one of his dishes because it's a purely Tamil-based dish. 
Even in one of the pages in the manga where they show him living in the slums, I could see a board at the edge of the panel that had Tamil writing, I think it's enough proof.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-24T06:51:07.780Z
If you could include when this board is really shown, this could make for a good answer.
Dimitri mx
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-24T05:29:33.747Z
2017-08-24T06:50:01.087Z
2017-08-24T06:50:01.087Z
Yami
<p>He cooks quite a few south Indian dishes, specifically dishes native to the states of Tamil Nadu (kozhi varutha curry) and Kerala, and I haven't noticed any of these dishes being very popular or even well known outside of India, so..... I'd say he's Indian, probably from South Indian.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-09T20:44:48.700Z
Welcome to the site. Your answer while reasonable and insightful, is still speculation.  That isn't how answers on this site are supposed to work. We are supposed to only provide/accept answers from authoritative sources (aka canon).  Making indian dishes, for instance, does not make him indian anymore than making him brown does.  I'm only saying this as you are a new user and you popped in my review queue.
kaine
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-09T12:22:00.647Z
2017-05-09T12:22:00.647Z
LightningScarecrow77
<p>But during the autumn election where they were fighting using their types of food, they called his sword an "Arabian Sword" and he was dressed like an Arabian prince. He also made common Arabic street food such as the Turkish Kabob and the Arabic Kebab Sandwich. They also never specified where the slums he is from is and Arabic are known for many types of spices, even many of the ones he uses.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-07T20:33:46.343Z
2018-05-07T20:33:46.343Z
rami2021
<p>Obviously from SOUTH INDIA he was in south Indian slum since I have seen women in salwar kameez in background additionally akira is master of spices and India is known as the land of spices and his background music was influenced by Bollywood music which is an Indian film industry additionally cooked many south Indian dishes,  have tulsi patta in his hand always now some may say then y he is mastered in kebab it's because in India also kebab is extremely common since it was exported to India during Mogul empire who had some Persian, Turkish influence additionally Arabian prince dress is similar to medieval Indian prince dress...therefore from all the above proves it's extremely clear that he is from INDIA, SOUTH INDIA MAY BE PARTICULARLY FROM TAMIL NADU... </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-10T09:41:58.283Z
2019-11-10T09:41:58.283Z
I'm yo
<p>I feel as though he may be Arabic. The music that always plays when he cooks is influenced from Arabic music and the Middle East where many Arabic people reside was also quite famous for spices. Just speculation though. There are other anime that have similarly designed characters which are speculated to be Arabic as well such as Sphintus Carmen from Magi.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-01T02:55:40.610Z
2019-01-01T02:55:40.610Z
Dorothy An
<p>Looking at the ethic side of things, I do agree that he must be of a South Asian origin. Doing thorough research into the main spices and dishes he specialises in are from Sri Lanka. So another option for his Ethnicity is Sri Lankan (Sinhalese). Judging by the amount of detail I gathered up about the character clearly states that Yūto Tsukuda did his research. His skin tone is faily light brown which suggests that Sri Lanka may be more of a valid option than Tamils (Indian). Some of his dishes are Indian based however being one of the highest ranks in the school, it is likely he is fluent in a multitude of dishes world wide. So my bet is on Sri Lankan. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-27T23:48:01.693Z
2017-11-27T23:48:01.693Z
Anime Lord
<p>Judging from the flashback in episode 23, where Shiomi Jun meets a young Hayama in a spice market somewhere, I get the sense that Hayama was probably not born in Japan.</p>

<p>And given that Hayama is </p>

<ol>
<li>Brown</li>
<li>A master of curries</li>
<li>Apparently a fan of tulsi</li>
</ol>

<p>I have a sneaking suspicion that he's supposed to be some kind of South Asian. </p>

<p>Am I right? What's his ethnicity supposed to be?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-28T06:31:21.210Z
She was in India, so Akira is probably Indian. Since he was in a Indian slump.
Astral Sea
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-28T19:55:49.690Z
@AstralSea that is definitely what I thought but the wiki says "unnamed country" and I don't remember if it is explicitly stated.
kaine
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-28T23:26:21.077Z
@AstralSea Does the manga say that he was an Indian slum? It certainly looked that way to me, but there wasn't an explicit mention of that in the anime.
senshin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-29T00:42:49.740Z
True, I am just concluding based on case evidence, it was not mentioned at all in both mediums. However, it would be highly unlikely to find any evidence that he originated from any country other than Japan, suggested by his name. Therefore, we can only guess that he was from India through his skin colour, his origin from a spice selling country that has slums. This is due to the authors wishing to reduce connections references to the real world.
Astral Sea
<shokugeki-no-soma>
What is Hayama Akira's ethnicity supposed to be?
# What is Hayama Akira's ethnicity supposed to be?
Posted by: username_0 on 2015-10-28
Judging from the flashback in episode 23, where Shiomi Jun meets a young Hayama in a spice market somewhere, I get the sense that Hayama was probably not born in Japan.

And given that Hayama is

1. Brown
2. A master of curries
3. Apparently a fan of tulsi

I have a sneaking suspicion that he's supposed to be some kind of South Asian.

Am I right? What's his ethnicity supposed to be?
**Tags:** shokugeki-no-soma
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: She was in India, so Akira is probably Indian. Since he was in a Indian slump.  
> **username_2**: @AstralSea that is definitely what I thought but the wiki says "unnamed country" and I don't remember if it is explicitly stated.  
> **username_0**: @AstralSea Does the manga say that he was an Indian slum? It certainly looked that way to me, but there wasn't an explicit mention of that in the anime.  
> **username_1**: True, I am just concluding based on case evidence, it was not mentioned at all in both mediums. However, it would be highly unlikely to find any evidence that he originated from any country other than Japan, suggested by his name. Therefore, we can only guess that he was from India through his skin colour, his origin from a spice selling country that has slums. This is due to the authors wishing to reduce connections references to the real world.  
---
## 6 answers
### Answer by username_3 on 2017-08-24. Score: 3
As someone who is from Tamil Nadu, I'd say it's very evident that he really is from South India. Was extremely surprised to see Kozhi Varutha Curry as one of his dishes because it's a purely Tamil-based dish.
Even in one of the pages in the manga where they show him living in the slums, I could see a board at the edge of the panel that had Tamil writing, I think it's enough proof.
> **Comments:**
> **username_4** (2017-08-24): If you could include when this board is really shown, this could make for a good answer.  
---
### Answer by username_5 on 2017-05-09. Score: 2
He cooks quite a few south Indian dishes, specifically dishes native to the states of Tamil Nadu (kozhi varutha curry) and Kerala, and I haven't noticed any of these dishes being very popular or even well known outside of India, so..... I'd say he's Indian, probably from South Indian.
> **Comments:**
> **username_2** (2017-05-09): Welcome to the site. Your answer while reasonable and insightful, is still speculation.  That isn't how answers on this site are supposed to work. We are supposed to only provide/accept answers from authoritative sources (aka canon).  Making indian dishes, for instance, does not make him indian anymore than making him brown does.  I'm only saying this as you are a new user and you popped in my review queue.  
---
### Answer by username_6 on 2018-05-07. Score: 0
But during the autumn election where they were fighting using their types of food, they called his sword an "Arabian Sword" and he was dressed like an Arabian prince. He also made common Arabic street food such as the Turkish Kabob and the Arabic Kebab Sandwich. They also never specified where the slums he is from is and Arabic are known for many types of spices, even many of the ones he uses.
---
### Answer by username_7 on 2019-11-10. Score: 0
Obviously from SOUTH INDIA he was in south Indian slum since I have seen women in salwar kameez in background additionally akira is master of spices and India is known as the land of spices and his background music was influenced by Bollywood music which is an Indian film industry additionally cooked many south Indian dishes, have tulsi patta in his hand always now some may say then y he is mastered in kebab it's because in India also kebab is extremely common since it was exported to India during Mogul empire who had some Persian, Turkish influence additionally Arabian prince dress is similar to medieval Indian prince dress...therefore from all the above proves it's extremely clear that he is from INDIA, SOUTH INDIA MAY BE PARTICULARLY FROM TAMIL NADU...
---
### Answer by username_8 on 2019-01-01. Score: 0
I feel as though he may be Arabic. The music that always plays when he cooks is influenced from Arabic music and the Middle East where many Arabic people reside was also quite famous for spices. Just speculation though. There are other anime that have similarly designed characters which are speculated to be Arabic as well such as Sphintus Carmen from Magi.
---
### Answer by username_9 on 2017-11-27. Score: 0
Looking at the ethic side of things, I do agree that he must be of a South Asian origin. Doing thorough research into the main spices and dishes he specialises in are from Sri Lanka. So another option for his Ethnicity is Sri Lankan (Sinhalese). Judging by the amount of detail I gathered up about the character clearly states that Yūto Tsukuda did his research. His skin tone is faily light brown which suggests that Sri Lanka may be more of a valid option than Tamils (Indian). Some of his dishes are Indian based however being one of the highest ranks in the school, it is likely he is fluent in a multitude of dishes world wide. So my bet is on Sri Lankan.
---
