How I felt that day
Yesterday (March 25, 2023) marked the first Japan Wagyu World Auction Market, in which I participated by assisting with the pre-party and cherry blossom viewing banquet on the day of the auction. First, let me describe the pre-party. I was at the front taking pictures of the Japanese-style celebration and the opening of the sake barrel, but there was a mishap during practice where we accidentally broke it. I realized how difficult it is to coordinate the timing with multinational participants without a common language. Even as a Japanese person, it was a rare and valuable experience for me to participate in the sake barrel opening ceremony, where a wooden mallet is used to break the lid of the sake barrel. I also learned that the contents of the sake barrel can splash out unexpectedly. Later, I checked the contents in the backstage area and discovered that there was Japanese sake and ice inside, which had been prepared for serving the delicious and cold Japanese sake immediately. By the way, the sake barrel had been tilted and spilled during transportation by the hotel staff, causing the floor to be covered with sake. This information was not known to the attendees, as the backstage area was filled with the aroma of sake. After that, the opera singer Maria Callas began her show. As she descended the stairs in a dazzling outfit, her singing voice was absolutely breathtaking. What was impressive was her ability to use both male and female voices to sing with a wide range of vocalizations. I had a slight mishap with Maria Callas during this event.
I was invited to the pre-party because I was there to support the Kobe beef cutting show after Maria’s performance. The organizers instructed me to leave my luggage in the dressing room because I had knives and other equipment. When I arrived at the hotel and asked about the dressing room, I was shown a room with a lot of luggage and a really nice smell. I thought to myself, “Is this really the dressing room?” but since it was the hotel staff who showed me the room, I assumed it was okay and left my things there before leaving. After finishing my greeting rounds and checking the facilities at the venue, I returned to the room and found four beautiful women. It turned out to be Maria’s dressing room. They were her manager and makeup artists. They were also surprised when I suddenly entered the room, but after I explained the situation, we hit it off. They were all top-notch professionals who were befitting of a world-class opera singer, and one of them was even a world-famous person who used to work at Shiseido. I won’t reveal her name, but she was a truly wonderful person. After this interesting encounter, it was time for dinner. I tried to get these newfound friends to try Kobe beef, so I brought steak and chatted with the hotel’s chef about meat in the hotel’s backstage. Finally, it was time for the cutting show. Today, I was a support role. The main stage featured “Kimono butcher Marika,” who teaches meat processing around the world. She had an interesting background, as she was originally an English teacher and became fascinated with beef while working part-time, eventually deciding to become a meat artisan who used English in her work. She also practices at our meat shop. At this event, she cut Kobe beef Chuck Eye Roll and Chuck, as well as Hokkaido-brand “Yume no Daichi” pork tomahawk, and presented them to the attendees of the pre-party. On the day of the event, she chose a bright red kimono, which combined beautifully with the stunning color of the Kobe beef, resulting in a memorable cutting show.
Thank you. I look forward to hearing about the auction market next time.