What is time? Let me think about this at the start of this year.

One food item that is central to New Year’s culinary tradition in Japan is “omochi” (glutinous pounded rice cake).

Now, let’s pretend that omochi is also the unit of time used for measuring how long it takes a person to eat up one piece of omochi.

Obviously, not everyone eats at the same time, nor does anyone always eat at the same speed.

And that, to me, is what “time” is ultimately about.

“China and Japan are neighbors, but they are as different as New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day,” said Masayoshi Ohira (1910-1980), who, as foreign........

© The Asahi Shimbun