The $50 Melon

The other day my wife gave me a treat for dessert: a delicious slice of honeydew melon. It wasn’t just any melon, but one of those mouthwateringly good melons that costs $50, which always seem to amuse my mother when she’s visiting. Of course, the point of a $50 melon isn’t the price but its value as a gift and the warm feelings it generates when the recipient and his family eat it, which is what Japan’s highly developed culture of gift giving is all about. This melon was a “return gift” from Asami, the talented J-List employee who keeps us supplied with bento boxes, fun traditional products and our trademark “Wacky Things from Japan.” She recently got married (congratulations, Asami!), and as an employer we naturally gave her a small “congratulations gift” to help her get started in her new life. When you receive a gift in Japan, you always give one in return to say thanks for the first gift, and while this practice can sometimes lead to “gift wars” with endless volleys of gifts and counter-gifts going back and forth, in moderation is a nice aspect to life in Japan.

Japan’s gift-giving culture is deep and complex, and occasionally delicious.