Japan is well-known for its creativity which at times raises some eyebrows. One of the products of that unique creativity comes in the form of rice balls rolled under ‘cute girls” armpits.
While the phenomenon isn’t too new, a recent article by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) exploded online with more than 800 shares on Facebook within three hours.
Rice balls, also called onigiri, are a staple Japanese food made by shaping rice into balls or triangles that are then wrapped in dried seaweed called nori.
Though in most cases, food handlers will take care of hygiene, a certain method of preparing rice balls that has become popular goes completely against such practices.
Shaped using ‘cute girls” armpits, these rice balls are a unique delicacy as they are ‘infused’ with the said girls’ sweat.
The phenomenon, which is making rounds on social media again, has actually been around since 2016, as reported by Sirabee, a Japanese news site.
The article sought to answer a simple question: Are rice balls rolled under cute girls’ armpits actually tasty?
Source: Sirabee
The male reporter who ate the rice ball said that it was nice. He also jokingly added that he wished to display it on an altar.
Source: Sirabee
The article concluded that the rice balls rolled under girls’ armpits had poor texture and were hard to hold, but tasted delicious because they were rolled under a cute girl’s armpit.
Netizens — both international and Japanese alike — reacted with shock to the story.
Girls Channel, a Japanese forum, had comments like: “This is seriously disgusting.”
Source: Girls Channel
Another one quipped: “Is your head alright?”
Source: Girls Channel
The phenomenon was popular enough to spawn its niche of fan art. You can find cute anime girls making rice balls on the popular Japanese art site ‘pixiv’ under #腋おにぎり.
According to a user-run wiki on pixiv, the phenomenon came from a manga called ‘Magical Circle Guru Guru’.
In the story, an old man helps the protagonists in need of quick cash by speedily rolling rice balls with his armpit. The scene was so impactful that it spawned a lot of fan art.
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Featured image adapted from Sirabee.
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