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Actually it is a Chinese dish called Drunken Shrimps. They put shrimps into Shaoxing rice liquor and let it swim in it for a while. Then the shrimps will be poached in a specially designed metal pan.

You're right about the drunken shrimp. In that scene I'm fairly certain it is a form of sushi. The alcohol stuns the prawn and after it has finished squirming they take it out of the shell and eat it. YUMMY!

by - mrbobvilla (Mon Mar 7 2005 14:38:43)
Also its important to note that the legal age is 14 in japan, so 14 year old nudity isnt illegal anyway.
Depends on where you're viewing and not where it's filmed Be very careful when making observations on law!

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This post is a bit sexually explicit, so don't read any further if you're squeamish that way. Regarding the egg-passing scene, anyone who has ever watched Japanese pornography is aware of their obsession with semen and the way it is used almost as a prop (going way beyond what is known in American porn as "the money shot.") Anyway, when the yakuza's girlfirend finally breaks the yolk and allows the yellow liquid to run out of her mouth and onto her white dress, it was very reminiscent of such scenes. And given the fact that Itami loves to pay homage to various film genres (westerns, gangster flicks etc.), it's possible that this was his nod to his country's unique style of pornography. (I will now sit back and relax while everyone call me a prevert.) In any case, I LOVED this movie it's only contender as a food-as-life allegory is "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman."

Maybe not illegal.but immoral!

Also its important to note that the legal age is 14 in japan, so 14 year old nudity isnt illegal anyway.

Yes, interesting especially since she looks like 14(although according to her bio she was 20 at the time). Plus it show's the Japanese approval of older man and younger females. Though the female was the one in power in the scene as she seduces the man.

Yeah I see it as symbol of sex and virginity. Japanese flag? Blech.

I imagine the prawn game feels like some weird tickling. I imagine they eat the prawns somehow. I believe there are several recipes involving 'drunken' shrimp/prawn/lobster, involving alcohol-soaked shellfish.
As for the oyster scene, it seemed pretty allegorical to sex as well. Note the difference in age between the man and the girl, and the symbolic opening of the oyster shell, revealing the wet, tender, salty oyster for him to slurp up out of her hand. The oyster as a vaginal symbol is pretty common. The blood could be seen a reference to the young girl's status as a 'virgin', though one interesting twist is that the blood comes from him.

The DVD is out? Perhaps I will get it. Of course, I don't have a DVD player either; I'll have to get one of those as well.
Prawns then. I've eaten plenty of them, however I guess I can't identify them live.
You have to keep in mind that I was born in 1970, and I first saw the movie when it came out. It made a big impression. It remains easily on my top five list (if I had one). I've probably seen it 5 or 6 times since then. In each case I probably was trying to introduce the movie to a friend who I hoped would share my passion for it, but no one ever has. Which makes it really nice to have people respond to my post. Thank you all.
Anyway, please excuse my inaccurate description of the scene. I hadn't seen the movie for probably a decade and my memories were clearly getting fuzzy. Actually that isn't quite true. While some details may drift a bit, certain frames from that movie are burned into my memory. All that is fixed now however, since I have just seen the movie again.
I don't have a girlfriend so I can't perform the experiment, but perhaps some of you can. Otherwise, we can simply pontificate on the subject. What do you think the prawns game feels like?
One of the images that is burned into my memory is the oyster scene. That scene is just so beautiful. I see the drop of blood on the oyster as a Japanese flag, does anyone have their own thoughts about the symbolism of this scene?
I guess my attraction to this movie centers around the fact that it is just so sensual. It strikes me that in some ways this film is the shining symbol for enlightened hedonism.
Plus it's the one true spaghetti western.
Thanks,

• Manifold

The 'Crayfish Sequence' involves a variation of what is known as Drunken Shrimps, in which live shrimps (or crayfish) are thrown into rice wine before cooking. The 'Egg Sequence' is pure erotica, on a similar level of what is portrayed seriously in the foolish film '9 1/2 Weeks'. My favorite erotic scene from Tampopo is the 'Oyster Sequence' in which a horribly underaged oyster-diver seduces the 'Yakuza' while feeding him a fresh oyster. Eastern and western erotic symbology are smashed together, with the vicarious 'wrongness' of underaged sexuality riding over top: breathtaking, hilarious, and extremely disturbing, even after many viewings.

The egg scene is incredibly sexy. It's all about sharing bodily fluids, and the yolk splitting and spilling out of the girl's mouth is unadulterated eroticism.

oh no. the prawn scene is so cool - but for some reason, i always have to fast forward through the egg scene. it just makes me squirm in my chair because of the way it's so drawn out. i don't know, it doesn't make any sense to me either. i just can't watch that part without gagging.

For your info, animal-cruelty dude, he wasn't killing the shrimp or whatever, just letting it run around on her belly. I don't think that's cruel at all, in fact, who wouldn't want to be it. That gangster was awesome. My fav scene with him is when they take turns with the egg. I don't know why, but that's so cool.

They were prawns or shrimp, not crawfish (crayfish don't move that fast). He put them in some sake or some other wine, not eggs.
If you like it so much, just buy the DVD. I got a copy from buy.com, it's got the scene and is not edited at all from the original to my knowledge.

Thanks for the warning jori. When I read the plot summary of this film I thought, "Sounds charming, but I hope they don't do any gratuitous animal slaughter/torture." Looks like you answered my question.
P.S. I'm not going to entertain another debate about animal cruelty in film, Buddhism, vegetarianism or the respect for living creatures. Either you get it or you don't.

funny cause I thought that the prawns died happily due to alchohol intoxication

the prawns and the turtle were eaten by the film's staff. not one animal was wasted. and now my point: the turtle died quickly and painlessly the prawns were tortured (suffocated in wine).
this is a beautiful film. one of my all-time favorites.

Jorilind, how is bleeding a turtle cruelty? How do you think they kill chickens and cows and pigs for food? Do you think they pass away from old age naturally?
I don't understand how it's bad to kill a turtle for food but you probably eat pork and beef that was killed under worse conditions.

Making crawfish run around a bowl is not animal cruelty. Slitting a live turtle's back/neck and then turning it upside down to pour the blood out is! If not for that scene, I'd rave about how great the movie was.

Killing shrimp is cruelty? are you a vegetarian then?

hmm..isn't things like that called animal cruelty?