Takizo Iwasaki

Takizo Iwasaki (岩崎 瀧三, Iwasaki Takizō) (September 12, 1895 - 1965) was a Japanese businessman who is credited with the invention of "shokuhin sampuru", the plastic models of menu items commonly displayed in restaurant street-front windows in Japan.[1][2]

Life

Iwasaki was born in Gujo Hachiman Japan on September 12, 1895.[3] He is said to have been inspired to create his first shokuhin sampuru after seeing drops of candle wax forming on the tatami mat floor of his apartment.[4] After many months of trial and error, Iwasaki was able to produce a fake omelette, complete with simulated tomato sauce, that his wife thought was real on first glance.[2] In 1932, his fake omelette was used in a display at a department store in Osaka.[2]

He later opened a company called Iwasaki Be-I Co., Ltd., in Gujo Hachiman, his hometown. The company still enjoys a large share, an estimated 60% of the Japanese market for shokuhin sampuru,[5] and the town of Gujo Hachiman is now known as the food replica capital of the Japan.[5][4]

Iwasaki was featured as a Google Doodle on 12 September 2016.[6]

References
  1. Billock, Jennifer (August 4, 2016). "Japan's Most Mouthwatering Dishes Are Made of Plastic". Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  2. McCurry, Justin (3 March 2018). "'Looks good enough to eat': inside the home of Japan's fake food industry". the Guardian.
  3. "The father of Japanese faux food would've turned 121 today". kitchen.nine.com.au.
  4. "A Visit to Japan's Fake Food Capital". 1 July 2014.
  5. "Japanese food samples: Look so good you could eat them". 20 September 2016 – via Japan Times Online.
  6. Soldani, Bianca (12 September 2016). "Wondering what today's Google doodle is about?". Food Network (Australia). Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 12 September 2016.


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