Film Teaches Us How to Behave: Tanpopo + A Zen Monk’s Wild Poetry
Hello,
The first Japanese Mind & Taste note of 2026 is going out a little late—but at least the Year of the Fire Horse is still on the horizon.
Film Teaches Us How to Behave
Tanpopo (“Dandelion”) (Itami Jūzō, 1985) is a “ramen western”—often described as the starting point (or at least a defining milestone) of so-called food porn.
Alongside the main story, the film weaves in several smaller vignettes, all connected by food.
In one, a group of suited businessmen finds itself helpless in a refined French restaurant, unable to navigate the menu.
The bittersweet humor revolves around hierarchy so characteristic of Japanese society.
A small lesson in Japanese social norms: someone lower in rank is expected, among other things, to make sure the more important person doesn’t end up looking foolish. A rule the young man in this scene breaks spectacularly.
YouTube link to the scene: Watch here
A Zen Monk’s Mad Poetry
värsid mul kukuvad hästi välja
paremaid ei tee keegi
mõnuledes keerutan habet - mul
üsna kena on seegi
Ikkyū Sōjun (1384–1481)
“Hullunud pilv” (translated by Rein Raud)
