Octopuses – Japanology Plus
[Applause] [Music] to many people around the world octopuses may seem a bit unsettling but in Japan they’re a familiar presence in diverse forms Sashimi sushi fried octopus and now trendy takoyaki balls are some of the many ways in which octopus is eaten [Music] Octopuses appear in Ukio prints Traditional dance and various other Japanese art forms They have been treated as objects of worship and recently some people even keep them as pets In today’s episode we dive into the relationship between people in Japan and octopuses Hello and welcome to Japanology Plus I’m Peter Barakan In case you are wondering what our topic for today is let me introduce you to Mr octopus over here In addition to being a common menu item octopuses or octopi if you prefer are often depicted in paintings manga all kinds of places They’re very much a part of Japanese society Today I’ve come to Hima Kajima which is a very small island in Achi Prefecture which is famous for its octopus I’ll be exploring the island today and hopefully learn a little bit more about these rather interesting creatures Izazan nice to meet you Thank you for having me Ikad Yuzuru is a professor at the University of Dukus He’s an octopus and squid specialist who researches the intelligence of octopuses It’s interesting that in Japan the octopus has a kind of cute feel to it whereas in Europe at least in the past they used to call it devil fish I gather but I think the image has changed a bit recently hasn’t it Yes UNESCO recognized traditional Japanese cuisine as a cultural heritage I think that has contributed to the popularity of octopus as an international food Its image has changed Peter do you eat it The first time I had it I thought it was very chewy a bit kind of rubbery but you you do get used to it I I prefer it cooked rather than raw though Around 50 octopus species live in Japanese waters The East Asian common octopus giant Pacific octopus and webfoot octopus are commonly eaten The East Asian common octopus is the most popular and found across Japan Its eyes are similar to those of a human And it has excellent vision This mouthlike tube a siphon is not a mouth but an organ that expels water ink and more The rounded part looks like a head but is the mantle filled with internal organs Just below that is the head and this is where the eyes are The mantle alone measures around 20 cm The whole body of an adult is about 60 In Japan they have long been caught in traditional octopus pots These traps exploit the tendency of octopuses to shelter in rocky crevices Hots are lowered to the sea floor Then you simply wait until an octopus climbs in This fishing method is popular in Marugame Kagawa Prefecture A fisherman there shows us a way to prepare a common octopus First cut the suckers from each arm Then separate the meat and skin The meat and suckers are eaten raw as sashimi The meat is known for being sweet and satisfyingly sticky The suckers are cut into pieces that are nice and crunchy The skin is par boiled and served with kimchi [Music] Three cuts with different textures For fishermen it’s a classic serving style The most widely caught species in Japan is the giant Pacific octopus It’s known for its size growing up to 3 or 4 m in length It’s mostly found in Japan’s north where the water is cold and currents are strong Kazamura in Almuri is known for its catch of giant Pacific octopuses Organs are removed by turning the mantle inside out These organs are served in a traditional local dish called douidu Everything from the intestines to the eggs is simmered together in a large pot Next Osaka a foodies paradise In the 1930s this local specialtity was born Takoyaki A batter of flour and water is cooked on a griddle Each bowl is filled with octopus and other ingredients Takoyaki are crispy outside and creamy inside Bite into one and the umami from the octopus oozes out Thanks to their delicious taste takoyaki have become popular worldwide Japan is said to be the largest consumer of octopus Everything from the suckers to the organs is eaten These two are exploring the octopus island Even the manhole covers here have an octopus It’s an octopus on top of an octopus pot Oh it’s in a little pot Okay Well well well What have we got here Do you know about these I’ve seen pictures of them It’s my first time to see one in the flesh as it were Wow It’s quite strange isn’t it These are dried octopuses They’re stretched out to dry Pulled this way and that Oh this is the origin of the phrase pulled octopus meaning highly sought after Oh right Presumably these are eaten in some form How does one know about eating It looks tough but when it’s grilled or boiled it softens up Here on Himakajima they often eat this by mixing it into rice Oh Oh that sounds like it could be good So now they’ll sample some of the island’s famous octopus cuisine What a feast I’ve never seen so much octopus in my life Can you explain what it is we’ve got here [Music] [Music] It’s big [Music] surprisingly soft actually I’ll try the sashimi It’s very tender Delicious Now for the island’s specialtity Rice cooked with dried octopus When dried octopus generates more imami [Music] My first time You get the the umami That’s delicious Having tasted all these different varieties of octopus and they’re all really tasty I must say you understand why it’s such a popular dish Octopus is actually high in protein but low in calories It contains plenty of torine which is really good for your liver So it’s a healthy food and that has contributed to its popularity Japan’s history of octopus cuisine goes back 2,000 years This is suggested by the discovery of octopus pots at ruins dating from that time A thousand years ago taxes could be paid in the form of octopus meat and it said that grilled octopus was served at aristocratic feasts In the 19th century octopuses were not only eaten but also featured in works of art An octopus even appears in a traditional Japanese dance piece But octopuses do more than just dance This print shows anthropomorphic octopuses playing various games Artwork like this shows how deeply ingrained they were in everyday life So our next stop is a Buddhist temple At this temple the object of worship is an octopus Buddha Oh let’s go in and take a look Hello What’s the connection to the octopus foreign [Music] [Music] Octopuses use their suckers to latch on to things Their grip is powerful They’re said to latch on to good luck They came to be woripped as bringers of good fortune That’s another aspect of their appeal This temple isn’t the only one of its kind There are other temples and shrines in Japan where octopuses are objects of worship I find it interesting that the octopus would be an object of worship I I suppose it’s an indication that Japanese people from long ago have watched these creatures quite closely and observed them Absolutely In Japan they’re really woven into the culture But if you study them as animals you’ll see a completely different side to them They’re called the sages of the sea floor and known for being extremely intelligent Really they have very large brains for their body size They can ponder things and remember things Their mental capabilities are high We humans use tools which is actually a very difficult thing to do But octopuses can use tools too Let’s say a coconut shell falls into the ocean An octopus might take that shell and hide inside it Adapt it to everyday use Octopuses can even shapeshift They change the color and shape of their bodies Almost like a chameleon Chameleons can change color But octopuses can change shape as well as color It’s amazing They can also learn in sophisticated ways For example they exhibit observational learning When a person copies what another person is doing that’s called observational learning And octopuses can copy what another octopus is doing So for example let’s say an octopus is shown a red ball and a white ball A person trains the octopus to consistently attack the red ball That’s the first step After the training the octopus only attacks the red ball Now let’s say you put another octopus nearby It doesn’t know anything It watches the trained octopus single-mindedly attack the red ball If you then show red and white balls to the observing octopus it will attack the red one without further training It’s interesting Humans can do this kind of thing But even chimpanzees which are closely related to humans and quite smart find that type of learning difficult I’m kind of wondering again how they came to be so smart Octopuses are part of a group of animals called mollisks Much like shellfish or sea slugs they have soft bodies Those animals are all related Their ancestors all had shells but octopuses lost theirs somewhere along the way They became free and mobile but that change actually put them in a lot of danger They’d lost their protective shell And so being clever or intelligent became their path to survival By getting smarter they were able to stay alive Also octopuses only live for around a year They have to pack in a lot They spawn eggs take care of them until they hatch and then the adult dies Young octopuses aren’t raised They fend for themselves Typically intelligent creatures with larger brains such as humans live longer We teach our children what we’ve learned And during our long lives we have plenty of opportunities to try things out Octopuses don’t have time to do that And yet they’re really smart They have large brains as I said but the brain is actually a very costly organ to maintain It needs lots of oxygen It’s a cluster of nerves And so an octopus must work really hard to maintain the brain I think that cost is why octopuses don’t have very long lifespans They live for a relatively short time but they traded a long life for a high level of intelligence That’s just how they are Fascinating [Music] Welcome to Plus One I’m Kyle Card In today’s edition we are going to visit the home of someone who believe it or not has an octopus for a pet Now I’m personally excited to meet it So without further ado let’s go and find out what living with an octopus is like Kyle has come to a suburb of Kokia Nice to meet you son Oh my goodness your entire outfit is octopi Can we get a spin Oh there’s one on your back too Is that a backpack That’s so cute There’s one on your wrist as well That sounds like a wonderful life Let’s meet her pet octopus Why did you choose Chikawa as a name I see Wow [Music] Oh he’s a little nervous You think he’ll do it for me I high-fived an octopus Will Chigua be willing to pat Kyle’s head Chiqua He does against the glass of the tank I’m going through a lot lately Thank you so much Shikan Thank you How did you come about having an octopus as a pet What from like having an octopus as a pet what’s the thing that surprised you the most feeding time shows just how clever octopuses are Chikua can unscrew the lid of this container and take food out from inside Mochi places it in the tank with the lid on And Chikawa reaches out his arms to grab it but maybe he’s camera shy He takes the container into his pod It takes 10 minutes but then there’s the lid Here’s some footage from another day This is how Chikua normally removes the lid and eats his food This has been truly enlightening I mean I’ve heard that octopus are intelligent but after meeting Chiku Chan I have to say I am shocked I might just end up with an octopus for a pet myself now [Music] Himakajima’s fishing pod An octopus fisherman is going to show us what he’s caught Wow What kind of octopus is this Okay Can you tell if it’s male or female How So how can you tell Ah okay I’ve heard that the octopus catch in Japan is really going down these days and that a lot of them are now imported As the earth gets warmer a lot of marine life is affected Not just octopuses Also Japan has been importing octopuses for decades Many of them come from Moritania in Africa The current war in Gaza has blocked off the usual shipping route the Red Sea Ships have to go the long way round and that has increased the price of imported octopuses The global catch of octopuses is in decline So efforts are being made to farm them on land In Shiza researchers have succeeded in tankbased octopus farming which was long thought impossible They did it by solving a key problem It was a personality problem Octopuses are aggressive and even eat each other Keeping many of them in a confined space was seen as a challenge [Music] To address the issue Professor Akyama’s team developed the equivalent of an apartment building These Apartments allow nearly 100 octopuses to be kept together in the same tank Akiama’s team is also developing artificial feed for young octopuses The team’s aim is to quickly commercialize landbased octopus farming Today we looked at a lot of things related to octopuses So I’m wondering what did you make of it all What you’re saying about their intelligence was fascinating to me I had no idea somehow with creatures that live in the sea You don’t imagine them being some so clever Also the fact that they die so young I mean only live what a couple of years at most Um all stuff that I had absolutely no idea about So it was just very interesting even from that point of view Obviously you know they’re really tasty to eat as well but I I don’t know what when you realize they’re so smart you wonder whether it’s really such a great idea to to eat them I know I think we have a tendency to think that intelligence is something that’s exclusive to us humans but intelligence exists in other animals too And octopuses are a great example They’ve probably existed for a lot longer than humans have We don’t know when they developed their intelligence Many things remain a mystery but it’s possible they had it long before we did And so although humans acquired intelligence it’s octopuses that may have acquired it first By studying octopuses we may gain a deeper understanding of intelligence what it is how it shapes existence and what it truly means to possess intelligence That may reveal new perspectives It could answer a lot of questions I think Yeah it’s been it’s been really interesting Thank you very much My pleasure Thank you
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In Japan, octopuses are revered as religious symbols and the subjects of artwork but are also enjoyed as the main ingredient of several favorite foods.