We’ve been having sunshine and temperatures like in mid-summer for all of September and it seems like there is still more fair weather ahead. Sunshine and some fabulous late-summer gifts, what more can I ask for. I got pears so crisp on the outside and so sweet and soft on the inside, and shallots in a kimchee sauce from Okinawa which I had for breakfast this morning - my new favorite way to start the day! (with fried rice on the side) Another late-summer gift came swimming. Sweet sea bream, and if you’re Japanese, you know of course what I’m talking about: taiyaki. Used to come with sweet-bean-paste filling only and hence not edible for most foreigners. Don’t get me wrong, I like anko once in a while, but I prefer the new version, taiyaki filled with chocolate, custard cream and marron cream. We had some in our girls’ chat room today and devoured them, not very ladylike … Taiyaki are so popular in Japan, there’s even a song about one of them called Taiyaki-kun which became a super hit in the 70’s and with 4.5 million copies sold remains the largest-selling Japanese single to this day. The song is a metaphor and tells the story of a taiyaki who escapes a hard life among many other taiyakis, jumps to freedom into the sea only to be caught and eaten by a fisherman. Here are the lyrics translated into English - Maiko, thank you for submitting them:
SWIM, TAIYAKI-KUN !
Lyrics by : Hiroo Takada
Composed by : Juichi Sase
Day after day I was waitin’ to be fried
I always tried to run away and hide
One morning I said, “I want to be free”
I left the fish store and went to the sea
Swimming in the ocean felt so flne
Golden water filled me with sunshine
★Even though my belly was full of bean jam,
I felt as light as air and happy as l swam
★Repeat
Day after day, and now all I do is play
I live in an old ship under the bay
Sometimes sharks tease me, but I don’t care
I swim fast till they can’t find me anywhere
I’m hungry from swimming all day long
My tired body needs food to be strong
★★Thought I saw a shrimp so I jumped from my nook,
But I was fooled - it was just a fishing hook
★★Repeat
Twisting, turning - but I can’t get free
The fisherman now is laughing at me
I’m pulling hard but this hook is really stuck
I can’t do anything, so I’m out of luck
I’m just a Taiyaki - This is my fate
A little burnt Taiyaki, ready for the plate
This hungry man wants something too much
Taiyaki, I’m so tasty - I will be his lunch
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