Abe state dinner features haiku, R&B - and chopsticks

I wonder how many people over did the sake, which can lead to class "A" 5 Star Hangovers.

How is the guest list decided?

So this is the coverage we get of Abe's visit? (And remember gokai doesn't like Abe.) An article about the food? And that gay actor George Takei and his husband were there? (And remember, gokai is totally gay.) Still waiting for any substantive reporting on what happened.

Japan Gal asked about hangovers and Sake. They probably have some quality stuff from Nigata like Koshino Kampala that does not really give one a hangover like nomo nomo or sweet Sake. Glad to see PM Abe visit.

"American Wagyu beef"

American Wagyu beef?

American Wagyu beef?

Yes。。。 Why the surprise? This has been public knowledge for years. The first wagyu association started in 1990 or so if memory serves me correct.

Yes...here it is.

http://wagyu.org/

Let's Orientalism!

YubaruApr. 29, 2015 - 06:13PM JST Yes。。。 Why the surprise? This has been public knowledge for years. The first wagyu association started in 1990 or so if memory serves me correct.

What is also public knowledge is that "American Wagyu" isn't pure Japanese cattle, it is cross-bred with Angus and other cattle. Therefore is a new breed and now "Wagyu" at all, in the same way that a Labrador crossed with a Spaniel is no longer a Labrador.

First big LOL

Ain’t no mountain high enough. Ain’t no valley low enough to keep me from you,” Abe said. “The relationship between the United States and Japan is just like this.”

I was going to laugh at Obama's haiku, but Abe's response was just to geeky...

Second big LOL

this is the coverage we get of Abe's visit? (And remember gokai doesn't like Abe.) An article about the food? And that gay actor George Takei and his husband were there? (And remember, gokai is totally gay.) Still waiting for any substantive reporting on what happened.

gokai, your beautiful use of speaking about yourself in the third person was adorable. I want to be friends! But, George Takei is the most awesome old dude in the US, love him so much.

And OMG, those 'Mericans could us chopsticks. amazing...notz

This bugs me! Why are chopsticks and haiku ALWAYS the first topic when we Americans mention Japan? "Today we're learning about Japan, so let's begin with eating utensils and poetry." Really? "Today we're learning about Canada, we'll start with forks."

Perhaps Mr Abe could have been taken to an up market steak restaurant, only to be told that "Japanese must get the hotel to book for them", and be turned away...

What is also public knowledge is that "American Wagyu" isn't pure Japanese cattle, it is cross-bred with Angus and other cattle. Therefore is a new breed and now "Wagyu" at all, in the same way that a Labrador crossed with a Spaniel is no longer a Labrado

Not true, not all are cross bred either....

Some U.S. Wagyu breeders have full blooded animals directly descended from original Japanese bloodlines, and are registered through the American Wagyu Association.

American Wagyu beef?

I'm guessing it probably goes well with a Bordeaux from California.

So this is the coverage we get of Abe's visit? (And remember gokai doesn't like Abe.) An article about the food? And that gay actor George Takei and his husband were there? (And remember, gokai is totally gay.) Still waiting for any substantive reporting on what happened.

No. This is the coverage you get of the State Dinner - which was only one small part of Abe's visit. Other articles will also cover small parts of Abe's visit. You'll need to read them all to get coverage of Abe's entire time he is here.

What is also public knowledge is that "American Wagyu" isn't pure Japanese cattle, it is cross-bred with Angus and other cattle. Therefore is a new breed and now "Wagyu" at all, in the same way that a Labrador crossed with a Spaniel is no longer a Labrador.

Per the USDA: In order to claim "Wagyu" influence for beef sold in America, not only the sire and dam, but the grandparents as well must be at least 15/16ths Wagyu.

http://wagyu.org/uploads/page/GLW%20--%20Wagyu%20Live%20Animal%20--%20041808.pdf

“Ain’t no mountain high enough. Ain’t no valley low enough to keep me from you,” Abe said. “The relationship between the United States and Japan is just like this.”

I think I want to throw up

This is what diplomacy is all about. Being friendly and getting business done. I wish them both well and a happy life.

@Yubaru: I thought Japanese Cows from somewhere in Japan were shipped to USA cattle raising Southern States but that was what I heard when Kobe Beef became fad in many USA states. They taste same to me.

In our area in USA, some restaurants that are famous on Texas Steak. I have two daughters who bring me to these restaurants and these places proudly say they use only Texas Waguy. Every restaurants supply these tender beef with sukiyaki sauce. Some casinos; all you can eat buffets serve mongoranl style beef steak and when chefs see me they say they only use Wagyu from so and so state.

YubaruApr. 29, 2015 - 09:23PM JST

What is also public knowledge is that "American Wagyu" isn't pure Japanese cattle, it is cross-bred with Angus and other cattle. Therefore is a new breed and now "Wagyu" at all, in the same way that a Labrador crossed with a Spaniel is no longer a Labrado

Not true, not all are cross bred either....

U.S. Wagyu are designed F1, F2 or F3 (ranging from 50% to 87% purebred). Even the so-called "purebred" Wagyu in the U.S. only need to be 15/16th Wagyu.

The U.S. has less than 500 "purebred" Wagyu (and zero "purebred" Wagyu if one uses the 100% standard). That's less than 10% of the "Wagyu" population in the U.S., and thanks to the BSE scare in Japan there will be no new Wagyu stock coming into the U.S. for quite some time, so that number is set to decline even further.

If you eat a "Wagyu" steak in the U.S. (often mislabeled as "Kobe beef", which is actually something completely different) in the overwhelming number of cases it will be an F2 or F3, so less than 75% "Wagyu".

Sounds like they're just being ordinary people aside from the politics and criticisms.

Bet Putin and the NK dictator couldn't boast of any splendor. Prob smoked cheap cigars, vodka & egg-noodles-

I just watched on youtube Abe's speech to US Congress. Predictable enough, apparently it was appreciated.

@Alex80

I Agree. But the 'condolences' bit struck me as rather odd seeing as Abe is representing the Japanese state. Condolences are usually something you send to someone when you are an unrelated third party. (ie: If your neighbour's dog gets run over by a car you express your condolences, but if you ran over the dog you should express your apologies). It seemed very carefully calculated to balance the demands of the rightwing crowd in Japan and the people demanding apologies. He said:

My dear friends, on behalf of Japan and the Japanese people, I offer with profound respect my eternal condolences to the souls of all American people that were lost during World War Two

@M3M3M3: yeah, we know that's his style. For this reason I said "predictable enoough". He also said he feels deep remorse for the victims in Asia and that he shares past PMs apologies. I guess everyone knew he wouldn't have made a new own apology. But his political agenda satisfies American political agenda overall (I read in an article that US Congress agrees with 18 points on 22 with Abe).

@Frungy........

Dont go on and start thinking that everything is pure in Japan either. My point is a fact, not all wagyu is cross-bred.

Pres haiku When I pronounced in my Japanese accent 5 7 5 hauku

Spring, green and friendship.” supurinugu GureenuAnudo FurendoSippu

“United States and Japan.”

“Nagoyaka ni.” “harmonious feeling.”

The sake they served was Dassai 23 from Abe's home prefecture of Yamaguchi. It costs 5,000 yen for 720ml retail and is very high quality. No alcohol added (other than that produced in the fermentation) so no hangover - unless you drink too much.

I don't want to throw cold water on this, but we must distinguish between the reality and the pomp and circumstance that camouflages that reality. And what's that reality? The suzerain-colony relations of the two countries are kept intact with U.S. bases occupying the areas for 38,000,000m², of which 74 percent of them are planted in Okinawa.

From Okinawa one can clearly see the hard fact that Japan is still being occupied by a foreign army. Okinawa represents the whole nation in a most condensed form.

It's absurd that PM Shinzo Abe celebrated April 28, the day Japan was supposed to have recovered full sovereignty in 1952, disregarding the fact that a part of its sovereign soil is literally still occupied by a foreign army. It's absurd that the two heads of states dine together with many invited celebrities and celebrate the occasion as if they were equal partners.

As if there were any "pure" Japanese cows around. Where do you think these guys came from...?

It's the "image" that counts and not the reality. Like with much in Japan the "brand" is what counts. For example here in Okinawa there are two major "brands" that are classified as "wagyu", Ishigaki-gyu and Motobu-gyu, no one cares how they were bred really, just that the meat meets the standards necessary for classification as "wagyu" and those standards are pretty strict from what I have been led to believe.

Hey even Japanese themselves are not "totally" pure-breds either, even though they like to think so.

It was Dassai 23 as per the following. 23 refers to the fact that the makers polished the sake-rice to 23% of its initial weight, discarding 77% (which is used for other purposes like sweets etc).

https://www.google.co.jp/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=_o5BVaiALKbamgXa6YDgDg&url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/files/state_dinner_japan_2015.pdf&ved=0CCgQFjAD&usg=AFQjCNElXtYKr3csBGL9bKB0Pr9lkSSWXQ&sig2=VzE6DMRgvcrSB2Iks6zugQ

I don't want to throw cold water on this, but we must distinguish between the reality and the pomp and circumstance that camouflages that reality. And what's that reality? The suzerain-colony relations of the two countries are kept intact with U.S. bases occupying the areas for 38,000,000m², of which 74 percent of them are planted in Okinawa.

From Okinawa one can clearly see the hard fact that Japan is still being occupied by a foreign army. Okinawa represents the whole nation in a most condensed form.

It's absurd that PM Shinzo Abe celebrated April 28, the day Japan was supposed to have recovered full sovereignty in 1952, disregarding the fact that a part of its sovereign soil is literally still occupied by a foreign army. It's absurd that the two heads of states dine together with many invited celebrities and celebrate the occasion as if they were equal partners.

Talk about thread-jacking here. Discussions about wagyu not allowed, but this is? Done again with another thread.

Yubaru,

I know my post goes off the tracks a little bit. But it's nonsense to talk about whether beef sakes were Kobe wagyu or Texias wagyu. What's the meaning of this fusion food served to the invited guests? They should have taken a moment to think about it before they started handling unaccustomed chopstiks.

It's absurd that the two heads of states dine together with many invited celebrities and celebrate the occasion as if they were equal partners.

True enough. One is the master, the other most certainly the servant

@shiboriL Where did you get info about brand of Sake? Every city in Yamaguchi Prefecture has at least one sakaba (sake maker business) Which City;s production?

Hi Toshiko, I included a link to the description of the state dinner in my second post above. It's a PDF. Some news sources have also indicated the brand. I'm not familiar with Yamaguchi, but the maker of Dassai is Asahi Shuzo located in Iwakuni. Here is there homepage. https://www.asahishuzo.ne.jp/index.php

>“Ain’t no mountain high enough. Ain’t no valley low enough to keep me from you,” Abe said. “The relationship between the United States and Japan is just like this.” ** You, me Obabe! Pacafist Spring green fields. Yup...Sayonara!

@shiboriL Thank you,

Sometimes, how you use chopsticks will let other people guess if you are some kind of Asian,

I don't drink any alcohol but there is saje cups very small. I don;t think anyone had sake in champain glass/

All of them look graceful