Cool Kanji – 牡蠣
Welcome to July, month of terrible heat and humidity. The good news is that we are halfway through the Oyster-less months. May, June, July and August, otherwise known as months without an R, are the months when raw oysters are supposed to be dangerous to eat. Which is why we should celebrate Oyster Day on September 1. I had a small celebration last year and posted about the famous tongue twister 隣の客は、よくカキ食う客だ。
I have discovered one thing about oysters since last year: the カキ in the tongue twister is actually an unexciting fruit, the persimmon, and not a delicious briny mollusk, the oyster. This, to me, is an outrage. I can’t think of a more boring fruit than the persimmon. Obviously, the 隣の客 has no taste at all.
So I suggest we replace the カキ in the tongue twister and try to restore 牡蠣 (oysters) to their full glory.
Two months until Oyster Day. I plan on trying to arrange some kind of meetup. If you are interested, let me know.
July 1st, 2009 at 7:53 am
Maybe he was tricked the same way you were! You can expand the tongue twister. Add a 牡蠣食いたかったけど in there.
July 1st, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Good point! Perhaps the kyaku was deceived! 食いたいな！
August 30th, 2009 at 10:39 am
[...] so busy at work the past month that I’ve been almost completely unable to prep anything for Oyster Day. Sadly next weekend is booked for me (Brasil Festival being one of the planned activities), so [...]
September 1st, 2009 at 7:19 am
[...] that oysters should be consumed raw only during months with an r in their name; thus, as mentioned earlier this year and celebrated last year, September 1st can be considered the beginning of oyster season. [...]