I can't wait to see NHK-G's special program to air Feb. 23. They are finally going to address a topic I have harbored secret thoughts about since I came to Japan in 1994. NHK is going to broach the topic in a no-holds-barred documentary. The subject is turnip tossing.
I have always maintained that Japan's giant vegetables, in particular the daikon radish, have other-than-culinary uses, including weaponry. Their aerodynamic shape, weight and perfect palm size-to-daikon ratio make this radish the perfect vegetable to be armed with. With its long pointy nose, it is the shinkansen of radishes that, when accompanied by speed, can turn an otherwise innocent vegetable into a virtual missile. It is an alternative to swords and guns, doesn't require a license to own or carry, yet still functions as a weapon of minute destruction. The daikon is the pièce de résistance in any Japanese person's cache of garden vegetables.
How does this relate to turnip tossing? Glad you asked. The turnip is the root of the yellow-fleshed rutabaga. What's a rutabaga? It's one of those camper vans you drive across country. Not really. A rutabaga is a turnip from the Brassicaceae (mustard) family, which displays the ancient mustard plant crest on the Brassicaceae family coat of arms. A radish, on the other hand, is the root of the Raphanus sativus (not to be confused with Raphanus strativarius, which is a radish who plays the violin), and is also of the Brassicaceae mustard family.