WIT Life #97: Anko obsessed
Anecdote Article, Food & Drink, Translating/Interpreting, Uncategorized, WIT Life 
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
For those of you who have been faithful readers of my blog, you probably have a sense of the sweet tooth that I have, especially regarding 和菓子(wagashi). This is something known well by those closest to me, as well as those looking for the fastest way into my heart :) My birthday was this past weekend, and my friends came through with flying colors in terms of satisfying my cravings for something sweet.
I celebrated my birthday with dinner at Koiso, the best Japanese restaurant in NY (and I’m not saying that just because I used to waitress there!). It is a truly authentic family-run joint where regulars dominate the clientele, and there are always multiple conversations taking place in Japanese. Taisho (the sushi chef), gets his supplies from the Freeport Fish Market, and he always lets customers know what fish are the freshest that day. Omakase (leaving it in the hands of the master) is definitely the way to go for the best sushi/sashimi!
Taisho’s wife Kyoko-san is the waitress and all-around life of Koiso, and the warmest woman you will ever want to meet. For my birthday, she had all of my favorites prepared. As you can see in the picture on the right resembling an anko trifecta, she made me a generous portion of 赤飯 (sekihan, sticky rice steamed with azuki beans used for omedetai or celebratory occasions) as well as zenzai (bottom left, minus mochi) from the leftover azuki beans.
The small gold box on the right was actually part of a gift from my former homestay お母さん (okaasan) back in Kumamoto. This local wagashi is called 陣太鼓 (jindaiko), named after the taiko drums used for military purposes that were played at Kumamoto Castle back in the day. This is probably my favorite Japanese sweet, due to it being natsukashii (nostalgic) as well as its uniqueness of having anko jelly on the outside and mochi on the inside, the reverse of most wagashi. あああ、幸せ (shiawase, or happy)!
In other news, there were two Japan-related articles in the Times yesterday. One talks about the Major League debut of Eri Yoshida, “a diminutive 18-year-old woman who arrived from Japan with dimples and a sidearm knuckleball” who is now part of the independent Golden League’s Chico Outlaws. She goes by the nickname ナックル姫 (nakkuru hime or “Knuckle Princess”), and if her impressive debut is any indication she has much success ahead of her. The other article discusses the plans of tech provider Softbank to expand into China. Happy reading!
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