I had forgotten how fun this show is to do. For non-rice obsessives all you need know is that the show opened in good shape, the press turned up, there were pleasant speeches from representatives of The City of Setagaya (confusingly it’s part of Tokyo), Setagaya Public Theatre, The British Council and Stan’s Cafe. Beer was drunk, sushi eaten Etc.

Devotees only need read on…

Information no one really needs to know: Representing an F1 Pit Stop in rice is best done with Long Grain not what we have here. Japanese Emperors can change their name whenever they fancy – which makes writing a label for them more controversial than you would imagine. The Japanese ministry for transport will phone you back to tell you how many driving instructors and examiners there are in the country if you phone up and ask nicely. Reading about ritual suicide in ancient Japan will turn your stomach. The Japanese language, both written and spoken appears to get more not less difficult the more you learn about it. The process of translation is fascinating.

Finally; Nihonjin’s Too Many People is a very bad track to play at a private view – even if they are/were locals and Spiro works out much better.