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28 March 2008
Japan for the uninvited
Japanese culture from a bemused foreign perspective
Issei Sagawa, the celebrity cannibal
“The public has made me the godfather of cannibalism, and I am quite happy about that.”
In 1981, at the age of 32, Issei Sagawa leapt to infamy for a cannibal murder the Japanese call Pari jinniku jiken (The Paris Human Flesh Incident). When captured, he was found mentally unfit to stand trial, and sent home amidst suggestions that his wealthy family were able to secure special treatment for him. After a year in a mental hospital, Japan’s most gruesome celebrity was free.
Shikaku Suika (Square watermelons)
Mmm… delicious watermelon. The only problem with watermelons is that they’re much too impractical. Personally, I’d
eat nothing but watermelon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, if only they weren’t so darned round and ungainly. Once again, the Japanese have the solution.
In the 1980s, a farm in Shikoku started doing things differently. By growing watermelons in specially-made glass boxes, they forced the melons into a cubic shape. Leaping to worldwide attention, the square watermelon became a potent symbol of Japan’s appetite for novelty and innovation. The foreign media were captivated with Japan’s latest technological oddity, so much so that they greatly exaggerated the popularity of the square melons. In fact, the market for the succulent cubes is very small indeed, partly because they are prohibitively expensive, costing at least 10,000 yen (around £50 or $100).
(via)
“The public has made me the godfather of cannibalism, and I am quite happy about that.”In 1981, at the age of 32, Issei Sagawa leapt to infamy for a cannibal murder the Japanese call Pari jinniku jiken (The Paris Human Flesh Incident). When captured, he was found mentally unfit to stand trial, and sent home amidst suggestions that his wealthy family were able to secure special treatment for him. After a year in a mental hospital, Japan’s most gruesome celebrity was free.
Shikaku Suika (Square watermelons)
Mmm… delicious watermelon. The only problem with watermelons is that they’re much too impractical. Personally, I’d
eat nothing but watermelon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, if only they weren’t so darned round and ungainly. Once again, the Japanese have the solution.In the 1980s, a farm in Shikoku started doing things differently. By growing watermelons in specially-made glass boxes, they forced the melons into a cubic shape. Leaping to worldwide attention, the square watermelon became a potent symbol of Japan’s appetite for novelty and innovation. The foreign media were captivated with Japan’s latest technological oddity, so much so that they greatly exaggerated the popularity of the square melons. In fact, the market for the succulent cubes is very small indeed, partly because they are prohibitively expensive, costing at least 10,000 yen (around £50 or $100).
(via)
05:00 Posted in Culture, Japan | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Japan, culture, oddities, cannibal, watermelons, smells, drinks
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