Japanese Food, Japanese Culture and Music
Japan is famous for wagyu beef, sushi, matcha, anime, karaoke, ramen, Kyoto, Tokyo, and Osaka. Speaking of Osaka, Japan is blessed with two awesome Naomi’s. The tennis player Naomi Osaka and the comedian and fashion designer Naomi Watanabe. Japan is referenced in a lot of movies and the health and wellness industry. The most used Japanese phrases in the industry are ikigai and kaizen. The Japanese phrase ikigai means a reason of being and kaizen which means continuous improvements by making small daily changes. Japan is also referenced in a lot of hit songs. Here are our top 5 songs that mention Japanese food and Japanese culture.
1. Beyonce featuring The Weeknd 6inch heels
Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter. Former Destiny’s Child group member, Mother of Blue Ivy, Sir and Rumi. In her lemonade album. She has a song called 6-inch heels featuring The Weekend. The song is about a woman who works hard to make money. In the lyrics, she mentions sake and Yamazaki. Sake aka nihonshu日本酒 means Japanese wine. Sake is made by fermenting rice. It is usually served in ceramic cups or shot glasses. Depending on the drinker’s preference, it can be served at room temperature, chill, or heated. There are a lot of sake bars around and in central Tokyo. If you’re ever in Tokyo, we recommend sake bars in Ginza, Shibuya, and Shinjuku.
2. 6lack Switch
We were today’s years old when we found out the Baltimore-born rapper Ricardo’s stage name is pronounced as Black and not 6lack. He even has a video on his YouTube channel titled How do you pronounce 6lack. Many people were saying six lack, others slack, and others black. 6lack has a lot of hit songs, and our favourite is Pretty little fears featuring J. Cole. The song will make you feel like you’re everything and more. No one, absolutely no one, can tell you otherwise after listening to that song. Whenever we hear the song, we experience the same feelings when a game of thrones season is aired or when Adele and Rihanna release their albums.
You know that feeling when you’re so passionate about something, and nothing else matters? That feeling when it’s raining outside, or things are falling apart. Still, you don’t pay much attention to anything negative because you’re consumed by good music or a great TV show. In the hit song switch, which was released in 2018. 6lack mentions Yamaha, which is a Japanese motorcycle. We found it interesting that even though Japan manufactures motorcycles, a few people actually own motorcycles. The majority of the people either walk, drive, use bicycles, trains, buses, or taxis. We also think people ride more ferries in Japan than motorcycles.
3. Young Thug Bad Bad Bad
In his song Bad Bad Bad. Young Thug mentions Kawasaki, which is another motorcycle manufacturing company in Japan. Kawasaki is also a city near Yokohama. These cities are in Kanagawa prefecture, which forms part of the Greater Tokyo area. Kanagawa is popular for Minatomirai, The Red Brick Warehouse, Enoshima Island, The Great Buddha of Kamakura, Monkey Island, and the USA Navy base in Yokosuka. Near the US base, you will find various shops. You could go there during the daytime and enjoy international or Japanese food, and there are also a lot of small shops for those who love shopping, cute cafes and bars.
4. Doja cat Juicy
If Khaleesi from Game of Thrones is the Mother of Dragons. We think it’s safe to say Doja Cat is the Mother of Hit Songs. Say so, Juicy, Moo, Woman, Rules, and the list goes on. Did you know that Doja cat is half American and half South African? Even though Amala Zandile Dlamini, aka Doja cat, grew up in America and still lives in America. Her vibe has some traces of a South African black woman. Doja cat’s music and Lizzo’s music can entertain you, empower you and bring you through the darkest seasons. Many people like the Juicy remix ft Tyga, but have you listened to the original song? In the original one Doja cat sings about sake, tekka maki and edamame. All of these are Japanese foods. Tekka maki is a tuna sushi roll. Speaking of fish, you need to try Taiyaki. Taiyaki is basically a Japanese fish-shaped cake or cookie. We recommend the one that’s filled with custard; it’s oishii desu (delicious).
She also talks about edamame, also known as edible young soybeans. Usually, people eat them as a side dish, and it is popular in bars and restaurants all over Japan. Edamame is high in antioxidants and vitamin K. We’ve discovered something interesting about Japanese culture. The Japanese have a great way of pairing unhealthy foods or drinks with healthy consumables. For example, they love sake, beer, shochu, and highball. They pair the unhealthy drink with a healthy snack such as edamame, at work Japanese work parties such as Shinnenkai “new year party” and Bonenkai “end of year party. After eating, at the end of the night. You will notice almost everyone drinking green tea to end the night. Unlike most countries, people pair unhealthy drinks with unhealthy foods. For example, drinking alcohol and eating pizza or fries. Perhaps this is one of the contributing factors why Japanese people live longer.
5. Tiesto featuring Post Malone Jackie Chan
Raise your hand if you know a South African or someone from South Africans or Pretoria that used to call Jackie Chan “Jiki China”? We are side-eyeing you. Tiesto has a song with Post Malone called Jackie Chan. In the song, Post Malone says he just ordered sushi from Japan. Sushi originates from Japan, and there are countless sushi restaurants all over the country. Sushi costs about 100 yen per plate, around R16 in ZAR, and 0.95 US dollars. Of course, we all know popular sushi such as California roll, salmon, and tuna. However, Japan also offers various types of sushi such as wagyu beef sushi, fried egg sushi known as tamagoyaki sushi, freshwater eel unagi sushi), fried shrimp ebi tempura, and fried chicken karaage sushi.
These are our top 5 songs that reference Japanese culture and Japanese food. What music have you been listening to recently?
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