Hamish keeps serving the best News Sushi!
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Editor Note:It is Friday and that means it is time for the World Famous, soon to be Intergalactic Famous, News Sushi from our very own, Hamish Downie. Hamish brings us a decidedly different slant on Pop Culture as viewed through the lens of a non-native living in Japan.
Thank you (ありがとうございました) Hamish, for your insights.
こんにちは！Which means “Hello”!
This week we celebrated Setsubun, the day before the traditional first day of Spring on the old Japanese calendar. I was going to explain the holiday, but the Japanese Embassy of Kenya did such a great job I’m sharing it now:
Setsubun is celebrated in many variations throughout Japan, but a common practice is the throwing of beans around one’s house, at temples and also shrines.
This date has traditionally been the day set aside for ritually chasing away evil spirits, pic.twitter.com/uG86LoHDdM
— The Embassy of Japan in Kenya (@JapaninKenya) February 2, 2021
and may fall on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th of February. This year Setsubun is being marked today- a day earlier than expected. The last time Setsubun was marked on Februray 2nd, was back in 1897!
Read more about Setsubun here:https://t.co/mPMavHnKHG
— The Embassy of Japan in Kenya (@JapaninKenya) February 2, 2021
I hope you are ready for a weir column this week, because there’s been some funny things going down here this week.
A 120-year old condom was found in Ishikawa prefecture this week. I’m somewhat proud that it was produced by an Osaka-based company.
１２０年前のコンドーム発見 森下仁丹が販売、展示を検討：中日新聞Web
見つかったのは、フランスから輸入販売していたコンドームの草分けとされる「やまと衣」。石川県志賀町で古民家宿泊施設を営む経営者が蔵の中で発見した。https://t.co/ChqRbbZ5Hd
— 中日新聞 (@chunichi_denhen) January 21, 2021
More information: https://soranews24.com/2021/01/25/120-year-old-condom-found-in-japan/
From condoms to deep sea creatures… we have:
A giant squid.
It's that magic combination of over-sized marine life, blue sheets, and member of staff lying down next to it, for scale. pic.twitter.com/LUTY4n5XxO
— Mulboyne (@Mulboyne) January 28, 2021
Plus this one-metre long deep sea fish named “Yokodunaiwashi” (a new species), found in Suruga Bay by the research team of Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology:
1-metre long deep sea fishhttps://t.co/3d50GYHfk8
— Hamish Downie (@hamishdownie) February 3, 2021
Watch the video here: https://video.mainichi.jp/detail/videos/%E6%96%B0%E7%9D%80/video/6225896005001?autoStart=true&inb=ys
If all this seafood is making you hungry, then you might want to go to a buffet or smorgasbord style restaurant (if this wasn’t a pandemic). If you were in Japan, that kind of restaurant or service is called “Viking”, which I always assumed was because us barbarians eat so much compared to the locals. But in fact, it’s not that reason at all. It traces back to 1957, when the restaurant manager of the Imperial Hotel travelled to Sweden and discovered the smorgasbord, and wanted to introduce it at the hotel. However, he felt that smorgasbord was too difficult to pronounce, so he changed it to “Viking” and a new way of eating in Japan was born (thanks to how influential the hotel was).
For more information: https://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/strange-story-of-Japanese-vikings
Now for some more “Hiroki & Jason”
And some cats crowding around a heater:
And finally, my little haux lego calico cat, with a roll cake for Setsubun:
Hope you all have a wonderful week!
If you’d like to support me… please check out some of the links here: https://linktr.ee/hamishdownie
Editor Note: Please support Hamish, if you can. He is truly a wonderful person and fantastic creative.
「またきんようびね！」
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