Radix malorum?

As the holidays get underway and the year nears its end, some journalists suffer from a dearth of news which drives them to write up feeble stories of marginal news value. Not this blog.

Following on my revelations about remarkable events concerning the daikon, or Japanese giant radish, I bring more vegetable tidings, courtesy of the Mainichi Daily News.

LATEST RADISH DISCOVERY LOOKS LIKE A BABY

KOGA, Ibaraki -- A 68-year-old housewife was surprised to find that one of her garden radishes looks like a baby sitting up.

Sumiko Funahashi has grown vegetables near her home in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, for nearly 40 years. The radish was one of 20 she planted in September.

When she pulled the radish out of the soil at the end of November, Funahashi was astonished to find a peculiar-shaped radish for the first time in her farming career.

Nearby residents came to Funahashi's home to take a look at the radish in hope of good luck rubbing off. "I won't eat the radish for the moment and have put it on display in the alcove of my home," she said. (Mainichi)

December 18, 2005

I really don't want to spook anyone, but this follows on from another daikon simlacrum two weeks ago.

OSAKA LOCALS IN FLUTTER OVER IMAGE OF CRANE IN RADISH

OSAKA -- A radish managed to gain attention in Osaka recently after a restaurant operator cut it open to discover what appeared to be the image of a crane inside.

Noriko Sasaki, 61, the operator of a pork cutlet restaurant in Osaka's Sumiyoshi-ku, reportedly cut open a watermelon radish and found what appeared to be the image of a crane with its wings spread out inside.

She said the beak of the bird appeared clearly, and noted that there was a hole in the right place for its eye. One of Sasaki's friends reportedly bought some radishes and shared them with Sasaki, who decided to make a pickled dish with them.

The discovery caused a stir among local residents and guests at the restaurant. Some said the image probably would not have appeared if Sasaki had made the cut in a slightly different place --or perhaps a different image would have appeared! (Mainichi)

December 4, 2005

Two thoughts:

• I don't like the exclamation mark at the end of the second report - it suggests that they are not taking the story seriously;
• How remarkable that Ms Funahashi could work as a farmer for 40 years without even once seeing a peculiarly shaped radish.

Comments

[Phil Craig]

Japan really is a journalist's dream...does a week go by without a story that bewilders Westerners? Are there any aspects or stories that seem normal in the UK that the Japanese are generally amazed at?

I can't think of an Anpanman or Silly Radish equivalent...

[Pratheepa Nallanathar]

Oh my.
Strangely shaped radishes.
Sounds like it's a fast and furious world over there in Japan.