Japanese culture does have its share of oddities and quirks. One of the latest is probably one of the oddest: perfect fruit purveyors.
For some strange reason, the pursuit of perfection, ingrained in Japanese culture, has moved from Bonsai and swords to produce. Yes, produce.
A perfect melon apparently can fetch a 5 figure price. Well formed grapes can cost more than 100$.
But where is this trend going? It is almost counterintuitive, that a country mired in one of the longest economic slumps in history has developed an obsession for pricey fruit.
Examples abound: a perfectly formed, according to what standards one is unsure, bunch of Ruby Roman grapes sold for $4,000. Whether the perfect grapes were eaten or not is unclear too. A melon from a specific growing region in Hokkaido went for 1.6 million yen, something in the order of about 13,000$.
Most of the fruit in question is given as a prized gift.
The growers, and purveyors, insist that the fruit is spectacular in taste too.
Another obsession is forcibly shaped watermelon and other produce. A square watermelon goes for about 5,000 yen.
Gift giving in Japan is both a tradition and an art. For that reason, all sorts of ingenious businessmen have come up with novel and smart ideas to come up with the next 'it' gift.
Farming products in Japan have always been prized, if nothing else because of the difficulty of the climate and other factors. For that reason, no one balks at high prices for produce.
Just like Kobe beef, a lot of the allure in the pricey produce comes from 'philosophical' approaches to the 'rearing' of the produce. In one case, a musk melon grower, not only hand pollinates the melon plants but also gives the plant 'love'. He also selects only one melon to proceed with ripeness, cutting off all the others, so that the plant concentrates, in his mind, all nutrients, taste and perfect qualities in the selected fruit.
Source : France 24/ 9.30.13
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