Hiroko's Hitokoto

When I was 5 years old, I loved a TV show which featured 5 super heroes dressed in different colored capes. The show is still running today even though it looks somewhat cheap compared to today's super computer graphics -- but it has certainly has captured some hearts. The super heroes are cute and warm-hearted. When the kids sit down to watch the show on TV, naturally their mothers sit down with them. And now we hear in the news that some of them have actually fallen in love with the super heroes(?!). Apparently mothers have been going to live shows, such as those at amusement parks, just to meet their heroes from TV. They write love letters, take photos, and generally behave like idol-crazy fans. I think it's pretty interesting that mothers and kids both have the same enthusiasm to catch their super heros in action on TV -- even if it's for different reasons. So, what, I wonder, are the fathers doing that their wives fall for this level of substitute?

I've been working late these days, and had dinner with the other people in the office every night. It's said that to eat together ties the connection of the group. Talking about eating, it reminds me of the Greek myth about Virgo. Persephone (in Latin Proserpina), a daughter of the Goddess of the Harvest, Demeter, was abducted by the God of the Underworld, Hades (Pluto to the Romans). This shocked Demeter, and she locked herself up in a cave. Once Demeter went underground, all the green plants of the earth shriveled up. The other Gods begged Hades to release Persephone so as to recover the harvest. Hades was a tricky type, and in releasing Persephone, he offered her 4 pieces of pomegranate/Zakuro, and said "Have these to eat before you go." Being a novice to Godly ways, she ate the pomegranate, but didn't know that when you eat something harvested in the underworld, you are forever locked into the place. In the end Demeter successfully begged Hades to release her ...

February is the season of Fugu (blowfish). In some places, this fish is also called a "gun": if you are unfortunate, and get some of its poison, you die almost as quickly as if you were shot. In Chiba, the nickname is "luck", in that you can never tell when your lucky day will be. Some areas also nickname the fish the "coffin": i.e., prepare a coffin before you eat it. The Fugu has poison in its liver and ovaries, which if you eat those parts will attack your nervous system, and can kill you (death by Fugu is caused by "dyspnea"). Now, it's risky to eat Fugu, but it tastes so good, it's worth it. Apparently bones found in archeological digs show that people have been eating Fugu since before christ. Like the rose, the Fugu holds a nasty sting, but somehow it has an irresistable power to draw people to it.

This week we had Setsubun Day, the eve of the beginning of spring. Many of you are familiar with Mamemaki, where you scatter soy beans in the house, to drive demons away. But, did you also know it was Norimaki (sushi roll) day, too? I guess some of you may remember a Sushi chain restaurant TV commercial, which offered a seasonal Norimaki set a couple years ago? I didn't believe there was a Norimaki Day, but apparently it really does exist, in Kansai. On the night of Setsubun, you face toward the source of the god of fortune, and eat a whole Norimaki without cutting it or talking. The practice started in the Edo era, and I'm sure that even then there was a Nori-sea weed committee conspiring how to get consumers to eat more Nori! Kind of like Valentines day in Japan, which is now the largest chocolate sales day of the year.