Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2011

Star Shots

Regarding “The Great Tokyo Michelin Scam” (The Last Word, January 14): Steve Trautlein’s salsification of Michelin’s ethnocentric chutzpah in trying to make money telling the Japanese public where and how they should eat Japanese food was as satisfying as a hefty bowl of cassoulet, and long overdue.

Michelin’s French editors scurry to stave off criticism by claiming they take a few anonymous, undocumented Japanese along with them when they set out to rank their sushi, soba, yakitori and oden adventures, as if one or two natives’ critiques among some 127 million possibilities validates their assumptions of the existence of some sort of Omniscient Palate.

It is richly ludicrous to imagine a gaggle of nose-heavy Frenchmen picking judiciously at the offerings on their plates in elegant kaiseki restaurants, where some Japanese chefs have endeared themselves to their compatriots by suggesting overseas food writers need to remain in Japan for several years’ worth of seasons before they can begin accurately assessing the oeuvre of kaiseki. Meanwhile, certain Japanese wags in the restaurant industry have begun calling Michelin “mi-shiran” (mi: tastes; shiran: don’t know).

Mr. Trautlein sums it up as gracefully as a flambéed dessert when he suggests Michelin irrationally bases their Japanese restaurant rankings on “a false equivalency between dissimilar food cultures.” Michelin-starred oden indeed!—Aretha Jones

Seems to me that the stars awarded are based on the experience of the diner, not the experience of the chef. And a fair number of the restaurants given at least a star are not Japanese, but are French or Italian, with at least one Spanish restaurant and one Chinese as well.—semiautodidact

Hacking away

Regarding “Motohiko Odani” (Art, Jan 14): Since Japan likes to limit its interaction with the outside world, the so-called “art-world” here is bereft of contact. We need more honest, non-advertising criticism. Anyone with a little art under their belt can see instantly the general hackism of Odani. You can’t advertise intelligence and breadth into artworks. Sculpture that does not understand space fails at its initial challenge. Works that aspire to the well-known without distinction always fall short. Works that copy designers, populist decorators and well known artists but fail to understand what they aspire to be, may indeed please the eyes and senses of those out of the know, but a pseudo-goth posing as a conflicted artist rings about as true as Elvis Costello/Murakami playing the un-laid geek/otaku.—herewegoagain

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