Mmm.. Kirin
DMZ · August 16, 2009 at 7:39 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Thanks to Ryan Divish, here’s Ichiro:
“It makes me think, ‘man, we lost a lot of games last year.’â€
“This year I am able to enjoy some Japanese beer, the right way,” he said.
And in a little plug he added,
“In particular, Kirin Ichiban.”
What happened to that New Guinea stuff that he had us looking all over the country for last year??
Ichiro just likes to toy with us.
That’s awesome! Must…find…Kirin Ichiban beer…
an old “review” of Kirin Ichiban Beer….
Mmm teammates:
Wow. That’s something coming from Ichiro. I would surmise he feels pretty strongly about it to come even this close to lobbing grenades….as they were lobbed at him. The on field results would seem to agree with him.
Not that surprising really. Ichiro has publicly talked about how he was dismayed that when the team was losing badly, certain players wouldn’t care and would play cards or basically goof off instead of trying to win. It’s Ichiro’s belief that regardless of what your record is, you’re here for the fans and should win as much as possible or try to win as much as possible to acknowledge their support of you.
Gross
Ichiro usually shies away from the “cold, cutting” style of humor, so I also popped my eyes at:
“I think, man, we lost a lot of games last year,†Suzuki said through an interpreter. “We also have a lot better human beings on this team.â€
I’ve never heard anything remotely like this from him, ever.
The AP report opens with:
Different year, different beer.
As far as the “human beings” remark goes… we should remember this was said through an interpreter. While it’s his job to catch and shape subtleties, and while it’s true Ichiro seems to have a pretty good grasp of English and sometimes corrects him, we can’t discount the possibility that this particular phrasing evokes something Ichiro didn’t intend. “Guys” and “men” and “people” would all fit in there and would suggest something else, after all (I’m assuming he said something in Japanese other than “players”). He may not have been commenting on them as “human beings.”
I’m also completely open to (and ok with) the idea that that is exactly what Ichiro meant. But until we get clarification (ie, Baker or Drayer tracks him down and asks him about it specifically) I’m not going to read too much into it.
Well, if I’m not mistaken, at least Kirin is available in the US (or used to be, anyway).
Unlike South Pacfic Export…which required a trip to the far corners of the Earth to get. 😮
By all accounts, Ichiro speaks very good English. It doesn’t seem unreasonable that he would know the nuances between “people” and “human beings”.
I like that he chooses to speak through an interpreter, though. Another layer of abstraction– It’s probably much less stressful.
Nigori sake is way better than Kirin.
Man, I might as well drive to Fujiyama right now.
Kirin is a good all-purpose beer, but I prefer Suntory Premium Malts. Unfortunately Suntory has not yet ventured into the U.S. market. Sapporo Reserve is also pretty good.
Kisaku in Tangletown has Kirin on tap and Nakano-san knows his baseball. Best sushi in town, too.
Ichiban?
Ron & Fez 11-3 !!!
(And I am NOT trying to be a snotty beer-bore with this! I usually rotate between Kirin Lager, Ichiban, Asahi Super-Dry [w/tonkatsu], and Malts.)
I recently had my first taste of Kobe’s local brew “Mt. Rokko Ale”, made of course with the same water that makes Nada-ku, Kobe sakes among the best in Japan+. I didn’t expect much, and I was blown away by a dark-brown, incredible rich but not heavy brew as good as I have ever had. And the other five were just as good.
It also is absurdly expensive for beer, but still.
Somebody let Ichiro know, ‘cos it’s great alone and also accompanies Yakiniku superbly (and Mexican food as well).
Dear Ichiro,
I love my sushi. I’m guessing you can’t go out and enjoy what is available in Seattle and Portland, but if you are, I recommend two beers over Kirin.
1. Rogue Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale
2. Koshihikari Echigo
That’s all.
That was actually a mistake-riddled translation of his quote. The correct translation is:
“The morning dew sparkles brighter on the rose pedals as the cool breeze whispers through the trees this year.”
I hope that clears up any confusion.
terry: wouldn’t “rose petals” make more sense in your translation? or is there some pink bike part involved that I’m not getting?
Ichiro is looking forward. Last year, he kept us busy finding beer from Papua New Guinea. This year, the team is moderately good, and he says we should have a Kirin.
We must be patient and wait for next year, if the team gets to the playoffs he will tell us what beer we should have to celebrate.
A couple of things.
The first item, about whether or not “human beings” was the appropriate translation in that situation- I would think with 99.9% certainty it was. If the translator Ichiro uses was a Japanese person than maybe they would miss the cultural significance of using “human beings” here, but (and I’m assuming he used his regular translator) Ken Barron would know what using “human beings” there meant, and if he wasn’t certain that it was what Ichiro meant he would have asked for clarifcation before translating (as I’ve noticed him do before).
The second thing- of the four biggest beers in Japan- Kirin, Asahi, Suntory, and Sapporo. Kirin is by far my favorite. And that is only partly because Ichiro does the advertisements for them.
No. It’s definitely rose pedals.
That has got to be the oddest looking rose bush ever. I look forward to seeing the pics you will, no doubt, provide to those of us curious to see such flora.
Sorry. Ichiro often speaks in metaphors but rarely does he speak in Polaroids.
“We have lot better human beings this year.â€
And ya know, considering how many players on that team were brought in for their “character” or “clubhouse presence” that really says a lot about clossal a failure the 2008 team was.
Or it could just be that selfish Ichiro again, wanting to play with good teammates for his own selfish benefit.
Does he often speak in mistaken metaphors?
In the english language, a petal is a part of a flower, whereas a pedal is a part of a piece of equipment that one uses their foot on to actuate said equipment’s drive or brake system.
One of the best things about traveling in Asia (and it may be the same for other far flung reaches of the globe) is that each province and sometimes city has it’s own local beer that you can only find in that area. I love trying local beers.
Dude, your lack of a sense of humor is funny.
Love it.
Anyone else remember the ultra-cheesy Japanese style commercials for Kirin?
Lotsa bright colors, boys at the bar, song over:
‘OH IT’s KIR-IN
WHEN YER BEER-IN’
It was so bad it was beautiful.
Divish has a link to video evidence…
Oops, I posted that last comment to the wrong thread (thought I was posting to the game thread–must be all that Kirin I’m drinking :-).
There is a beer store near my apartment in Greenwood (Big Star–several people mentioned it last year when talking about searching for Papua New Guinea beer). I have made a point of asking for Papua New Guinea beer twice in the last year. The owner appears to be Chinese (but hell, she could be Japanese), and she clearly didn’t know what the f*** I was talking about. But I’m sure they carry Kirin Ichiban–it’s a pretty common beer in the U.S. )(made in LA, as someone mentioned!).
My sister lived in Japan for several years in the early 2000s and, knowing I was a beer freak, she bought me a lot of beer stuff. Right now I have about four small cans (must be 5 oz.) of Kirin (no other name given). The motto in English says “Sheer refreshment! Open up the smooth taste that goes perfectly with good times.” Clearly, someone in their company actually knows English 🙂
I’ll have to try this and report back what it tastes like. However, Japanese beer such as Kirin and Sapporo are typically like all other East Asian beers (Tsintao, Tiger, etc.)–Very light pilsners with very little taste. Just like Bud!