In my never-ending, worldwide hunt for the weirdest of column fodder, I can count on the Japanese to be fully foddersome. In fact, those fine Rising Sun folks recently reached a rare level of freakiness – wonderfully so. It’s taking place within that nation’s famed raw fish realm, where epicures in sashimi-ing have begun demanding their raw fish be not only flapping fresh, but also stress-free. They want their victuals to come from fish that are calm as cucumbers.

Oh, it gets weirder; just wait.

To fully appreciate where all this is going, a bit of a sashimi backstory is needed.