"Buddy" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Musashi wrote:
> > "Buddy" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >
> >>
> >>Musashi wrote:
> >>
> >>>"Gerry" > wrote in message
> s...
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>In article >, Jao Tsu >
> >>>>wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>>Frog is eaten in the US and France. It is common to get fried frog
> >
> > legs
> >
> >>>>>in the South and in California. It is not uncommon.
> >>>>
> >>>>It is eaten raw in neither place.
> >>>>
> >>>>--
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>True.
> >>>Nor is it eaten raw (or cooked) in Japan, lest anyone
> >>>think this video refelects something commonly found
> >>>there.
> >>
> >>But this clip celebrates Getemono, which I thought was a type of
> >>Japanese cuisine, although I could easily be mistaken. Obviously, it's
> >>raw in the clip.
> >>
> >
> >
> > True, this is an establishment which obviously specializes in Getemono.
> > For those unaware of that term it refers to odd., strange, ununusual and
> > often disgusting and gross foods.
> > I wouldn't consider Getemono a "type of Japanese cuisine".
> >
> >
> >>This clip (with the rest of a one hour show) was on the Travel Channel a
> >>couple of nights ago and several times in the past.
> >
> >
> > I don't watch the travel channel but I hope they made it clear that one
> > would have to seriously
> > go out of their way to find anything like this.

> That was the thrust of the show which went to other countries besides
> Japan. Perhaps calling it a 'type of Japanese cuisine' wasn't exactly
> spot on. I was only trying to say that this restaurant, for whatever
> reason, was located in Japan. If Getemono originated in another culture,
> say as sushi served in America, then I would have been wrong to call
> sushi 'a type of American cuisine.

Getemono in one culture can easily be a delicacy in another. And, in time
with the exchange of
cultures, that difference may become moot.
Sushi, or rather Raw Fish as in sashimi was definitely Getemono in the US up
to the mid 1970s.
Escargot I believe is another example. But here, we have examples of
something not-too-uncommon
in the originating county becoming accepted elsewhere over time.
But the term "Getemono" really pushes the limit of the words "strange" or
"unusual" and really refers to
things "most people" would find disgusting or not palatable.

' I'm having a hard time trying to
> think of a purely original American 'cuisine' that would help make my
point.

I know that Bull's testicles are eaten somewhere in the US. Some may find
this in the Getemono category, others
may not. But I'd hestitate to call it a type of American cuisine.

> I understand that you won't find Getemono shops on every corner, but do
> you mean to say that it's an import to Japan? So, I'd have better luck
> finding it outside of Japan?
>

As I said, what qualifies as Getemono in one culture may be perfectly normal
in another.
Indeed there are plenty, or at least some things, in Japan that can be found
that most people in Japan
simply wouldn't touch. Frogs and snakes are generally not considered food in
Japan, which makes them
Getemono when served in Japan. However I believe both are commonly eaten on
the Asian mainland.
Actually, an awful lot of things are eaten on the mainland.
In Japan, characteristically just about anything from the ocean is eaten,
with some rare exceptions.
For example horse shoe crabs are not eaten in Japan but they are in
Southeast Asia.

> Just curious. However 'gross' or 'disgusting' a food might be, it smacks
> of a lack of sensitivity to other's tastes and perhaps a personal
> interjection slightly out of keeping with the open-mindedness one
> expects in a sushi ng.

When talking about foods that are generally eaten in another country I
absolutely agree.
Disgusting and Gross are all relative.
However, I believe that anyplace in Japan that serves Getemono is
deliberately playing up on
those attributes.

M