Ode On A Japanese Rice Cracker

It's a strange and wonderful world, and in all the world I don't think you'll find anyone stranger than the japanese. I know, I know, many will not agree and insist that their family and their ancestors are the strangest, but being half-japanese myself I can testify right here and now that no one does weird like the japanese do weird.

Take, for instance, the japanese rice cracker. There is nothing remarkable about this little treat and I'm sure you've seen them before. They are small and crunchy, usually with some kind of soy flavoring and often with little belts of dried seaweed wrapped around their bellies (what we call norimake arare). I admit to eating more than my share of them over the years and so it was only natural that I should pick up a box today while I was down at the local japanese grocery store.

Nothing unusual in that, certainly nothing worth blogging about, but then the strangeness appeared as I was looking at one particularly attractive tin of crackers all packaged and ready for the holidays, and spied these immortal words inscribed on the front panel:

"Women's History Never Ceases to Yearn for Beauty" it said for no apparent reason, and then said nothing more.

How deeply heartfelt, I thought, and not the sort of sentiment you usually find on a box of crackers, but why anyone would put such poetry on their holiday tins? Well, I couldn't tell you, but for a people who seem to make an art of everything from raw fish to flower arranging it seemed only natural and, well, japanese.

So all day today I've had this expression rattling around in my head. "Women's History Never Ceases to Yearn for Beauty" it echoes, like a bad dream or some stupid little jingle you can't stop humming. But at the same time I felt inspired - instead of the same old 'Happy Holiday' or 'Best Wishes And A Happy New Year' this company tried to say something different, even if I'm not exactly sure what they said.

And then I thought "What a great idea for a Christmas card". You know, don't send out of one of those family histories that people are always sending and no one gives a damn about. Give out a card that not only speaks of the holidays, but of rice crackers and women's history as well. To show you what I mean I've included a sample template to get you started. Simply cut and paste it into your favorite desktop publishing application and add your own little message inside, and then just wait for the hugs and kisses from that special little sweetheart of yours when he/she opens this card on Christmas Day.

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Oh, and if I happen to forget, Merii Kurisumasu everybody.