In a scene from Juzo Itami¡¯s 1985 film ¡°Tampopo,¡± a group of executives walk along a riverfront. A young subordinate carries their briefcases ¡ª the lowly kaban-mochi (bag carrier).
Inside the private dining room of a French restaurant, he stumbles, drops the bags and gets smacked by his manager. He sits before the senior executives do, is yanked up by the collar by his boss and placed in the shimoza, the low-ranking seat nearest the door and the spot most exposed to intruders in feudal times.
Yet when the menus arrive, he becomes an unexpected standout. The execs, stumped by the French terms on the menu, follow a colleague¡¯s lead and order the same things: soup, sole and beer.
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