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u/Semper_5olus 13h ago
I thought eating kitsune would be gross and sad, but this is delicious!
Next time, I'll order this... "mother and child udon".
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u/DonarArminSkyrari 10h ago
That one I think an average person of any culture could accurately guess though. It might be jarring at first, but the chicken+egg reveal does all the explaining on its own like a riddle. The Kitsune one has cultural lore involved that I never would have put together as an American.
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u/superfunnybunch 1h ago
I'm really happy the little explanation helped! That folklore connection is exactly why "kitsune udon" sounds so natural to Japanese people. 😊
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u/XVUltima 14h ago
I thought they were going to ask for grapes.
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u/Jaymark108 13h ago
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u/superfunnybunch 14h ago
Haha, exactly — Japanese foxes want fried tofu, Aesop’s fox wants grapes! 😄🍇
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u/AliveFromNewYork 12h ago
Not exactly the same, but it drives me crazy. I will say something like Mozart was a great composer my mom will look at me with a questioning look on her face and be like who’s that and no you definitely know who this is and she’ll suddenly be like Ohhh mozart(pronounced slightly differently in russian)
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u/superfunnybunch 12h ago
I know exactly what you mean! Most Japanese people pronounce McDonald’s as “Makudonarudo,” and when that doesn’t work, I just say “Mickey D’s.” 😂
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u/ThatInAHat 9h ago
Sometimes you can trip people up by using the Italian pronunciation of Michelangelo when talking about the painter. Everyone says it like the ninja turtle.
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u/SugarFromTheMaple 7h ago
I had a lovely interaction with some Japanese coworkers recently, where I said that I liked tofu, like kitsune udon tofu.
They responded: 'there's tofu in kitsune udon?' 'Yes? Karaage tofu?' 'Oh! We didn't know!'
I was bemused that they didn't know, and they were bemused that I did! Still not sure what they thought kitsune udon contained...
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u/superfunnybunch 1h ago
Haha, that's a great story! 😄 It just shows how we rarely stop to think about why familiar dishes have their names.
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u/TitaniumAuraQuartz 7h ago
It's hilarious that the name "Kitsune" is so ingrained into the culture that calling it by "fried Tofu" is just like "what?"
I wonder what ours in the US is, and I can't think of it just because of the dissonance.
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u/superfunnybunch 1h ago
That's a really interesting question! "Hot dog" might actually be a pretty good example. 😄
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u/InkoBird 13h ago
I'm Japanese American. When I visit family back home, hearing tourists say stuff like this triggers me to no end. Thanks Ms. Artist for visualizing my trauma. ❤️
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u/superfunnybunch 12h ago
Haha, I'm so glad this comic resonated with a fellow Japanese American. ❤️
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u/InkoBird 11h ago
The worst is when they complain that people in Japan need to speak English. Please draw this and make me cry.
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u/nize426 7h ago
Imagine being a foreigner going to a country and complaining about what they call their food.
"Why do you Italians call it pizza and not flat bread with tomato sauce and cheese!?".
"Why do you Americans call it hot dog and not sausages on bread!?".
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u/superfunnybunch 1h ago edited 1h ago
Exactly! Every culture has names that make perfect sense to locals but sound mysterious from the outside. 😄 For me, "Shoofly pie" was one of those names!
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u/Informal-Term1138 7h ago
Fried tofu is amazing. I had it in a poke bowl a couple of weeks ago and it was the bomb. Now I wanna make it myself.
But I should have gotten the Kitsune info sooner. Because then I would have incorporated it into m Kitsune cosplay for my last DND campaign.
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u/superfunnybunch 1h ago
Haha, that would've been a perfect detail for your kitsune character! 😄
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u/superfunnybunch 14h ago
Fun fact: kitsune udon literally means "fox udon," but it's actually udon topped with fried tofu. 🦊 The name comes from Japanese folklore, where foxes are said to love fried tofu!