radish peel?

I wondered exactly the same thing, and hope that someone can shed some light on this question.

My favorite opera is Die Valkure. I've always loved horses.

I thought it was "slicing radishes" she mentioned in relation to jealousy. I intended to rewatch that scene because the metaphor went over my head. Maybe it had something to do with not being able to make a clean break with someone. Or a string of slices not quite separated were like a string of conquests. I'm not sure.

However, the apple peeling scene seemed quite clear to me. The long, continuous peel represented the father and daughter's life together. It's dropping away was like her marriage and departure from his life. Which is why he bowed his head in sorrow at that point.

I'm baffled by this too, and have a different theory. Perhaps the word "jealous type" is not a good translation, and it refers to someone who would break up a relationship. So if I slice a radish the slices stick together means if I try to break up another couple they stay together anyway. It sort of makes sense of the later reference to her knife being dull.

Damn Japanese and their indecipherable idioms.

What's the Spanish for drunken bum?

The radish and apple metaphors are not related, except possibly visually, as some others in this thread have theorized.

There is a saying/superstition in Japanese that if when a person cuts radish the slices keep sticking to the knife that means he/she is jealous of someone/something. Japanese eat radish quite often, so it's used in this proverb.

The use of this in the film is subtle and ingenious. I'm surprised that people on this board don't seem to pick up on it, but the fact is that Noriko and Hattori had a 'thing' for each other, but he has just told her that he is going to marry someone else. I'm not saying how deep the relationship was, but clearly there was some sense of romantic attraction, at the least. The father's observation that 'they get along well, just as acquaintances' is meant to show that he is a bit clueless; this is clearly shown later when the two housekeepers comment that they thought Hattori would end up marrying Noriko.

So when Noriko says, 'Well, then, what type do you think I am?' it's reasonable to assume this is in reply to Hattori talking about what type his fiance is. And since Noriko doesn't appear to be angry, he says 'well, you're not the jealous type.' Again, this should show pretty clearly that there was something between these two. Noriko responds by saying she IS the jealous type, and that's where the radish saying comes in. She's keeping it all lighthearted, but inside I guess she is not too happy. Hattori, perhaps sensing that Noriko might not be as happy as she is acting, tries to deflect the jealousy thing by saying the proverb is meaningless, it's just a question of the sharpness of the knife.

But the real beauty of the metaphor comes the next day when Hattori invites Noriko to the concert. She declines, and NOW Hattori raises the issue of jealousy, by mentioning the radishes sticking together. This time, however, Noriko is not going to play along with the flirtations anymore, and says, yes, her knife must be getting dull. The two have completely changed sides, and it is Noriko who is rejecting Hattori (which is the correct thing to do, all things considered). Then we see Hattori sitting dejectedly by himself at the concert. It was his decision to marry someone else, but maybe he's having a bit of regret at that moment.

The apple image at the end of the movie has nothing to do with the radish image. As someone else pointed out, it's said that if you can peel an apple in one slice, you will have good luck. I think this is said in Japan, too, but not totally sure. In this sense, the image is ironic, because though the father does have 'luck' in marrying-off his daughter, he is now sad about it.

But another way of looking at it is that peeling the apple as he does is something of a tricky task. You must do it carefully and with precision. In other words, it is a metaphor for the 'task' the father has been performing throughout the film, getting his daughter to let go of him and get married. As with the apple, he performed his task perfectly and got the desired result. And now he is miserable about it.

I think his misery has two sides. One, he is lonely because his daughter is gone. But furthermore, I think he feels great regret for having hurt his daughter, even though he knew it had to be done.

The English subtitles on the dvd I was watching said pickles, not radishes.


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"truly, my Satan, thou art but a dunce"-William Blake

Raise your hand if you thought that because of lack of practice he was going to cut a deep gash into his thumb! :)