Gunma, this week

A daikon resembling George W. Bush has been unearthed in the remote village of Annaka Haruna, Gunma prefecture. The daikon was discovered by farmer Taro Akagi, who noticed the resemblance to the US president and decided to display the curiosity at his farm. Locals came to see the unusually shaped tuber, and this led to town officials appropriating the radish as their "leader for a day". The daikon, pictured left, has since become a favorite of the townspeople who have dubbed it "Henachoko Daikon", or wimpy radish.
"It's a great chance to put our village on the map," councillor Goro Akagi said, "and with this white vegetable in charge, we know exactly how it feels to be American."





Local horticulturalist Jiro Akagi has announced he will attempt to clone the daikon by extracting its DNA and plans to create a line of Bush radishes.
"I'd like to put together an entire Bush family, if I can," he told the Rising Sun- Times. "We've got George W, we can try for George senior, then there's Jeb, the twins, and even Barbara Bush. No, on second thought, scrap Barbara Bush. I wouldn't do that even to a daikon."

The "Henachoko Daikon" is the latest in a series of radishes that have sprouted up over Japan capturing the national imagination. Recently in Wakayama, a daikon resembling Marilyn Monroe was unearthed, and this followed two "Dokonjo Daikon" or gutsy radishes that appeared in Hyogo and Fukuoka. Many have drawn inspiration from the radishes, while others are more skeptical:
"This is pathetic," complained disgruntled Annaka Haruna farmer and erstwhile village councillor Fujima Kobayashi. "I've been producing daikon that resemble famous people for years. Did anyone come to see my 'Ronald Reagan Daikon'? No they didn't. Did the village get behind me for my 'Kennedy Family Daikon' collection? Not a chance. This is all a plot by the Akagi family to rob the Kobayashis of their rightful place as most interesting daikon growers in Annaka Haruna. It stinks."

Discuss