Olympics has come and gone. I was quite frustrated because I couldn't watch enough sports because most of sports events took place in daytime while I am working. I was yet lucky enough to go and watch some games.
Although I am only watching, I tend to cook a "Winning Bowl" before the important matches I am going to watch. For instance, I made it while Women's Football World Cup for Japanese female footballers, "Nadeshiko". Of course I ate it though as there is no chance that they will come and have dinner with me. Anyway they have won the cup.
It is in fact just a cutlet, "Katsu" in Japanese. And it is just a pun of "Katsu" which means "to win".
And it doesn't have to be "Katsu-don" (Katsu on rice). Just Katsu is fine.
 | ||
| Katsu-don (Katsu on rice in a bowl) |
Often when there is an important match or exam to pass, parents are busy making "Katsu" bento lunch box for their kids. When I sat at the exam for admission to my high school, most of students lunch box had "Katsu". When I took an exam for admission to universities, the hotel I stayed made lunch box of "Katsu Sando" (katsu sandwich).
Where there is no involvement of religion or myth but just an existence of pun, this "katsu" as in cutlet happened to sound the same as another "katsu" which means "to win". And it has spread around the whole nation, and now global (because of me) as a superstition.
Anyway, I made katsu this time again with no particular events in mind, just wishing Japanese athletes to play well. I was too tired I couldn't spend too much time and effort so just made chicken katsu. Usually when we just say Katsu in Japan, it refers to pork katsu. Chicken Katsu is almost non-existent actually.
Fortunately Nadeshiko Japanese female footballers went into final and my tickets weren't wasted. But we didn't win and gold medal went to USA. While applauding Nadeshiko at Wembley Stadium, I was thinking, "maybe I should have made proper pork katsu..." Sorry, Nadeshiko! But still well done for Silver!
