Terry Ito Column Vol.30 Sake bottle as a turtleneck

This is what I was thinking while eating pancakes. They used to be called hotcakes, right? For the first two years or so, I didn't realize it and thought they were a different food. Looking at it objectively, hotcakes have butter on top, while pancakes are luxuriously topped with whipped cream, fruit, and fresh chocolate. It feels like a newly opened store has made the interior furnishings more luxurious and set the prices higher. Frozen strawberries have also been transformed into strawberry frappés, which are hugely popular with women. There are celebrities who have done this too, changing their names and making a fresh start. Spaghetti has also become pasta, and at Italian restaurants in Daikanyama, spaghetti is becoming a dead word. Milk coffee has become cafe au lait, a pretentious upgrade.

It's not just food. Business suits have become suits before we know it. Slacks have become trousers in fashion magazines. Mohiki has evolved two levels from spats to leggings. Jeans have evolved from jeans to denim. Tokkuri sweaters have become turtlenecks.

Looking around the city, I see food courts that have become food courts. Growing up in the downtown Tsukiji area, the transformation has been so overwhelming that when I went to a food court in a mall in Yokohama the other day, I was completely lost, not knowing how to buy a ticket or how to order. Since when have foreign tourists been called "inbound tourists"? It's troubling that the number of restaurants offering inbound prices, getting carried away and targeting foreigners who are excited by the recent weak yen, has been increasing.

Sunstroke, which made the news every summer, has been renamed heatstroke. People who didn't work used to be called "pootaro," but now it's "neet," which seems to have some kind of significance. It's strange how people feel like they have a sense of justice even if they don't work. The TV specials that often featured "mysterious flying saucers from space" have become cooler, becoming "unidentified UFOs appear." Perhaps seeing a spacecraft from NASA or some other source made people think that a flying saucer-shaped object coming from the edge of space couldn't possibly be that. Let's continue the story. "He's a perverted man" has become "a naughty man," and it seems like perverted and naughty are two different things, but that's a discussion for another time. AV actresses have also become sexy actresses without us even realizing it. Personally, I find sexy actresses more appealing, but...

Language is fascinating. A single name can truly give you a fresh start, but if you think about it, it's not good to just change Japanese into a foreign language to change your image. It would be more satisfying to promote and develop Japanese words. I'm happy when I see Japanese words like karaoke and sushi in foreign films. The word tokkuri sweater comes from the sake bottle used to hold sake. I don't want such wonderful words to become obsolete. I say this as I eat pancakes with lots of fresh cream.

Terry Ito (director)

Born in Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1949. After attending Waseda Jitsugyo Junior and Senior High School, he graduated from Nihon University's School of Economics.
In March 2023, he completed the Master's program at the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University.
He joined the television production company IVS Television, where he worked on variety shows such as "Tensai Takeshi's Genki ga Deru TV" and "Neruton Benikujidan."
He then went independent and worked on planning and directing a number of television programs, including TV Tokyo's "Asakusabashi Young Clothing Store."
His book "Comedy North Korea" became a bestseller, and he subsequently made numerous media appearances under the name Terry Ito.
In addition to his work as a director, he is also active in a variety of fields as a producer, entertainer, and commentator.
YouTube channelTerry Ito's Comedy Backdrop'
Currently writing a column in LALALA USA
https://lalalausa.com/archives/category/column/terry