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Series
Decoded
What people abroad think, what’s actually true in Japan, how we got here, and how to encounter the real thing. One topic at a time.
Decoded
Wasabi — the green paste at your sushi place is mostly horseradish
The green dab on your sushi plate is, almost everywhere, dyed horseradish — not wasabi. Real wasabi is a different plant, grown in cold spring water, and tastes like a different flavor altogether.
Decoded
Hibachi — the American 'hibachi' restaurant has nothing to do with what 火鉢 means in Japan
An American 'Hibachi' dinner is a flat-grill steakhouse show. A Japanese 火鉢 is a small charcoal brazier in the corner of a room. Same name, completely different things — here's what each one actually is.
Decoded
Futon — the sofa-bed your American dorm called a futon, and what that name means in Japan
An American 'futon' is a wooden-frame sofa-bed. A Japanese 布団 is a thin mattress that lives in a closet and rolls out onto the floor for the night. Both are real things. The name traveled; the object didn't.
Decoded
California Roll vs Sushi — what your local sushi place is actually serving you
The California Roll is an American invention from 1960s Los Angeles. The Japanese sushi (寿司) family it borrowed its name from is broader and built around vinegared rice in many forms.
Decoded
Bonsai — the small potted tree at the garden center is not what's meant by 盆栽
The 'bonsai' at the garden center is its own thing — a small potted tree as houseplant. 盆栽 in Japan is a sculptural practice measured in decades. Both exist; they're not the same craft.