
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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