Space Tarako

To kick off this series here’s a classic TV ad for Kyūpii Tarako Pasta Sauce.

The Product: According to Wikipedia tarako is salted Alaska Pollock roe. I’m not sure, but since the word tara means ‘cod’ in Japanese it may be used to refer to the eggs of a number of different white fish. Whichever fish they come from, tarako are basically red fish-egg sacs that are something akin to the fish version of oviducts (fallopian tubes). Not the most appetising of foods when you think about it! (more…)

Japan’s national emblem and the Hirakata Doll Show

In addition to a national flag, which all officially-recognised countries have, most nations also have at least one national emblem. These adorn things like money, government information and documents, and are also sometimes incorporated into nations’ flag designs. Typically a species of flora or fauna that is native to the country, examples of national emblems include England’s rose, the US’s bald eagle, Australia’s kangaroo, New Zealand’s kiwi and Canada’s maple leaf.

In Japan’s case, the national emblem is a chrysanthemum, a rare example of a country having a non-indigenous species as its emblem. It may come as a surprise to most Japanese people that their national emblem is not actually Japanese, but the cultivation of chrysanthemums is believed to have begun in China around 17,000 years ago.

Although Japan does have its own native species of chrysanthemum, these have much smaller petals than the shiragiku (white chrysanthemum), which was brought to Japan in the 8th Century AD and adopted as the Imperial crest a few centuries later (hence the term Chrysanthemum Throne being used for the Japanese Imperial dynasty). As with so many of Japan’s cultural imports from China (festivals, writing, food etc), the chrysanthemum was embraced with such affection and enthusiasm that it is considered an archetypal Japanese icon today.
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