2019年（令和元年）10月12日（土）VOICES From

THE NEW YORKERSMy Obsession with Yuzu
by Ashley Matarama

SHUKAN NEW YORK SEIKATSU

JAPAN VOICECOOL JAPAN from New Yorkers’ Viewpoints

Photo courtey of Stephanie Berge

I don’ tremember
when exactly I
first encountered the yellow, bumpy
citrus fruit
called yuzu,
but it wasmost likely after a trip to Mitsuwa inEdgewater, New Jersey. It is one of myfavorite fruits and fruity flavors todate. So much, in fact, I had written
down Kochi prefecture as one of mypreferred placements to teach Englishpartly because of its notoriety for yuzu
(and seeing most yuzu product packaging mention Kochi).
When I go out with friends, you’dbetter believe I’ll order yuzu if I see iton a menu: from yuzu tea and cocktails
to yuzu and pepper seasoned fries andchips, yuzu pastries and yuzu sorbet;
the list goes on. I’ve yet to try yuzu
ramen and the newly released yuzu
sake Kit Kat (I also haven’t gone to
Kochi or taken a yuzu bath yet), but
I would in a heartbeat because savory
or sweet, yuzu is fantastic. Fun fact, I
was gifted a yuzu cocoa shower gelfrom Lush, which shortly after discontinued.
When I go to Japanese supermarkets like the aforementioned Mitsuwa
or Sunrise Mart in the city, I’ll pick up
yuzu cider, a yuzu lemon drink, andyuzu ramune. I used to be able to pickup yuzu ramune fairly easily, but a few
months ago they were running out ofstock. Were they getting popular? I’dtry again two or three more times andstill, nothing. Shortly after this dryspell, I managed to procure whatwould end up being my last couple ofyuzu ramune for a while at the Korean
supermarket H Mart. I even realizedthat they too have yuzu in their cuisine(called yuja), so I got myself yuja marmalade and ordered a cup of yuja tea ata Korean cafe once I memorized its
spelling in the Hangul alphabet andsaw it on the menu.
Bear in mind that this yuzu
ramune was apparently manufactured
in California, and I had never seen
yuzu ramune in Japan (maybe they sellTHE

週刊NY生活[English Edition］(20)

Satoshi Miyagi, a representative of theJapanese theatrical world, started his play
Antigone on September 25 at Park Avenue
Armory in Manhattan. As the king in theplay says, should we expose the bodies ofthe dead to the elements bury them
respectfully? Adding the Japanese mindsetof life and death to the famous Greek
tragedy, Miyagi’s rendition is getting rave
reviews from the crowd that filled up
almost 1,000 seats. What’s surprising isthat the pool-like stage filled with 18,000
gallons of water. Many Japanese performance techniques were presented in thisplay. The actors walked quietly around thewatery stage and the zenza (curtain raiser)
coyly explained the story of the play.
Subtitles were shown while others spoke
and acted. Other techniques incorporated
from Japanese traditions fascinated New
Yorkes including Noh, Japanese literature
and a Japanese monk.
After another play on September 28,
crowds praised the work and said, “Thecontrast between the percussion instruments and the slow motion was brilliant,”
and, “Beautiful, just beautiful.” The crowd
lined up in front of Miyagi who was seeing
guests off to tell them what they thought ofthe play. Miyagi said, “I heard that today
all the tickets were sold out. I am very
happy to hear that. New Yorkers have suchdiverse backgrounds and it means that myThe Antigone of Satoshi Miyagi Leaves New Yorkers Fascinated“The size and overall atmosphere were amazing!”
play has a universality hidden inside. I
think it was a great experience for me.”
The play was performed until Sunday,
October 6 for a total of 11 acts. It was cosponsored by the Shizuoka Performing
Arts Center and the Japan Foundation.
(Kaoru Komi/Translated by KantaHakamada)

SHIZUOKA PRESENTS
Jiro Katahira and Mohei Honda serve
Japanese tea from Shizuoka prefecture to New Yorkers at Park Avenue
Armory Theatre on September 26.
Noriyuki Suzuki gave a speech introducing Shizuoka prefecture.

Photos: Ryoichi Miurasome in Kochi?). After they sold out
everywhere I looked, even on
Amazon, I dreaded my days of drinking yuzu ramune being over. That is,aging in stock had changed from Hata
with a cute drawing of a smiling cartoon yuzu to Kimura with white stars
flying about and an illustrated yuzu. I

carried as much as I could and checked outof Sunrise Mart with a smile beaming onmy face.
As you can see, my obsession withyuzu knows no end. Have you tried thislovely citrus fruit? If not, next time youTHE JAPAN VOICE is the English Edition of SHUKAN NY SEIKATSU
NEW YORK SEIKATSU PRESS, INC., 71 W 47 St, Suite 307 New York, NY 10036 USA see it on the menu or in a supermarket,
Editor in Chief: Ryoichi Miura, Associate Editor: Ashley Matarama, Kaoru Komi
give it a try!

until I took a friend to Japan Village inBrooklyn and found a fully stockedbatch of Kimura branded yuzu ramune!
I didn’t mind that the brand and pack-

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