Ask John: What’s the Significance of Fruits in Japanese Culture?

Question:
On many Japanese magazines that I’ve seen, the cover models are sometimes holding a lemon. Is there any significance to this, such as a trademark to certain magazines, or is there some other reason for posing with one?

Answer:
Actually, a number of different fruits have implied associations within Japanese culture.

Lemons, in Japanese culture, are associated with vitality and exuberance. Fashion models may sometimes hold lemons to suggest liveliness. The Lemon People adult manga magazine and its spin-off anime use the word “Lemon” to suggest a “genki” spirit. The classic Cream Lemon adult anime series combines the implications of “cream” with the Japanese implications of “lemon” to suggest sensuality and eroticism.

Oranges and tangerines in Japanese culture represent wealth. They’re also a traditional fruit eaten during new years. These subtle themes do appear in anime, if you’re observant enough to catch them. For example, Nami, the resident money obsessed thief of One Piece, has orange colored hair and is often associated with oranges. And in Risky Safety, just after new year’s, Moe Katsuragi’s room is filled with tangerines.

Watermelon are virtually synonymous with summer. The favorite Japanese game of blindfolded smashing the watermelon appears in anime as diverse as SD Gundam, Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu!, and Tenchi Muyo.

Peaches (“momo”), and especially the image of an upside down peach, are popular in Japan because they reflect Japanese folklore. In the traditional Japanese fairy tale, the folk hero Momotaro was born from the center of a peach. This classic fairy tale in parodied in anime including Risky Safety, Dancing Blade, and Urusei Yatsura. Furthermore, because of their distinct rounded with middle cleft shape, peaches also sometimes symbolically represent the buttocks.

Strawberries (“ichigo”) are frequently associated with sweetness and love, probably both because of their color and taste. Anime and manga examples include the lusty red/orange clad maid Ichigo in Hanaukyo Maid Tai and the sweet, red outfit wearing Ichigo Momomiya of Tokyo Mew Mew. Sweet romance is also implied in the title of the popular manga series Ichigo 100%.

And, of course, bananas and eggplants are just as phallic in Japanese culture as they are in Western culture. It’s not necessary to look any farther than the highly suggestive opening animation of Excel Saga or Misono Kirika’s memorable snacks in Eiken for proof of that.

Thanks to John C. Watson for his assistance in composing this response.