Friday, July 11, 2008
Blame thy neighbour
Dear diary
As you know, there are four seasons in Japan...
We can mark the changes of the seasons by what the Japanese are blaming the Chinese for.
In spring, for example, everybody scampers around 'neath the cherry blossoms, complaining that Chinese gyoza has given them the dire rear. Summer, meanwhile, is famous for the chirruping of cicadas and the chirruping of everyone else about how unagi (eel) of Chinese origin has been scandalously labelled as domestic produce and sold on to unsuspecting consumers, thereby placing them in grave danger of getting the dire rear.
These hot, heavy days are not without their compensations, although I, for one, long for the cooler season, when the serene progress of the archipelago into its autumnal phase will be indicated by everyone clamming up about eels and mouthing off about Chinese matsutake mushrooms instead.
As you know, there are four seasons in Japan...
We can mark the changes of the seasons by what the Japanese are blaming the Chinese for.
In spring, for example, everybody scampers around 'neath the cherry blossoms, complaining that Chinese gyoza has given them the dire rear. Summer, meanwhile, is famous for the chirruping of cicadas and the chirruping of everyone else about how unagi (eel) of Chinese origin has been scandalously labelled as domestic produce and sold on to unsuspecting consumers, thereby placing them in grave danger of getting the dire rear.
These hot, heavy days are not without their compensations, although I, for one, long for the cooler season, when the serene progress of the archipelago into its autumnal phase will be indicated by everyone clamming up about eels and mouthing off about Chinese matsutake mushrooms instead.
