Keeping it un-real with today’s Doodle in Japan

Today on our Japan homepage we pay homage to Takizo Iwasaki, the man who has helped many a diner decide what to order at the restaurant, thanks to his re-invention of wax and plastic replica foods.

The practice of creating sampuru — derived from the English word "sample"— dates back to the 1920s. Takizo Iwasaki, however, is credited with making the plastic truly fantastic with his creation of a perfectly “cooked” omelet made of wax in the 1930s. Urban legend has it that when Takizo presented his creation to his wife, she couldn't tell the difference between the sampuru and the real thing!

Many of the world’s replica food continues to be made in Takizo’s home city of Gifu. The visual feasts continued to be handmade to maintain the quality of the sampuru and the unique dishes that each restaurant requests — although plastic rather than wax is now the material of choice.

Today's Doodle features the original omelet which changed the landscape of sampuru forever and marks what would have been Takizo Iwasaki’s 121st birthday.