Sometimes, rules are better when they are ambiguous.

[720 Musubi] Sentaro (Shinjuku Isetan) Black Rice

"VAR! VAR!"

When watching soccer matches, I've started hearing these words quite often.
In the J1 League, VAR (Video Assistant Referee) has been introduced starting this season.

VAR is a system where dedicated referees in a separate room assist by checking video footage to see if there are any clear errors in refereeing during scenes directly related to goals.

I think many people have seen the gesture where they repeatedly make a square shape with both hands.

Certainly, by introducing this, I think wrong calls will decrease and there will be more fair matches. A 'Hand of God' goal like the one Maradona showed at the Mexico World Cup will likely never happen again if VAR exists.

Actually, a slight change is happening within me too.


As I get used to this VAR system, I start to feel that maybe things should be clearly black and white. I find myself becoming the kind of person who wants to draw boundaries between things.

But... I want to think about it again.

Is it really necessary to make things so clear? I create rules on my own, draw boundaries, and feel frustrated when things don't fit into them.

Isn't that... just making life harder for myself?

Wouldn't it be happier to live a life where we acknowledge and enjoy the gradation between black and white, rather than clearly defining everything? Isn't it precisely because we accept ambiguity that we can lead to respecting diversity?

Sometimes, rules can be ambiguous.

So, having written this far, what I really want to say is...

There is a Japanese confectionery shop in the basement food floor of Shinjuku Isetan that always has a line.
Its name is 'Sentaro'.

Delicious-looking Kyoto-style Japanese sweets are lined up in the showcase.

Oh, an omusubi!
To my surprise, there was a pitch-black omusubi there...

Available for only 3 months in the summer! It uses ancient rice and black rice, and it seems to be packed with polyphenols!

I have to eat this!!

The black rice mixed with the glutinous rice is glossy.

The chewy texture and unique aroma are wonderful.

And inside, there's plenty of elegant smooth red bean paste...

Hmm, smooth red bean paste...

Hmm!

At this point, I'd like you to recall what I said at the beginning.

Drawing clear boundaries for things isn't necessarily a good thing.
Rather, acknowledging and enjoying that ambiguity is what's important in the coming era.

So... this is... it looks like a rice ball... so whether it's an ohagi... or whether it contains smooth red bean paste... it doesn't really matter...

Barely safe!

Now, let's gently release our hearts from rigid rules.

La la la la la~

And so, that was my report on Sentaro's delicious black rice ohagi.

Thank you for the meal!

The 'barely safe' bit is becoming a series, haha

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