Lumpsuckers Live Stuck to Rocks, Seaweed, and Ken Matsudaira

What's going on

Hakkeijima Sea Paradise is a large aquarium and amusement park on a small island in Yokohama. Its official account posted a short video of lumpsuckers, small round fish whose Japanese name, fūsen-uo, means "balloon fish." They're weak swimmers and use a suction disc on their bellies to hold on to rocks. In the video, they're holding on to Matsuken. Specifically, to his head.

Matsuken is the actor Ken Matsudaira. To most people in Japan he is first and foremost Uesama, "His Lordship": the shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune, whom he played for a quarter century in the period drama Abarenbō Shōgun, literally "The Rowdy Shogun." In every episode the shogun slips out in disguise, uncovers some villainy, and cuts the bad guys down in the final act. He never loses. Matsudaira is also known for "Matsuken Samba II," a dazzling dance number in a gold kimono that became a nationwide craze in the mid-2000s.

The aquarium has been placing Matsuken in its tanks for a while now, so his appearance wasn't the surprise. The picture was. A lone head on the sea floor with fish clinging to it reminded a lot of people of sarashi-kubi, the Edo-period practice of putting executed criminals' heads on public display.

Comments

@seaparadise_agOfficial

Lumpsuckers aren’t good swimmers, so to avoid getting swept away they live stuck to rocks, seaweed, and Matsuken. (Theories vary.) (“Theories vary” is the disclaimer Japanese TV slaps on questionable trivia.)

フウセンウオは泳ぎが不得意なため、流されないよう岩や海藻、マツケンに張りついて生活しています。(諸説あります)

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ok no, that’s way too much information at once lmao

いや、情報量多い多いwww

lmaooo they’re stuck to Uesama I’m dying 😺 and they’re all on his scalp 😂

ちょwww上様に張り付いててしぬんだけど😺ww しかも頭皮に集中😂

So if you keep lumpsuckers at home, you’ll want to put a Matsuken in the tank. Every household has one lying around, after all.

フウセンウオを飼う時は、どこのご家庭にもあるマツケンを水槽に入れておくと良さそうですね

If we sank some breakwater Matsukens, or built a Matsuken reef, maybe fish would move in.

消波マツケン沈めたり、マツケン礁作れば魚が住み着くかな。

Two puns in one line. Japan’s coasts are lined with concrete “wave-dissipating blocks” (shōha burokku), and fishing towns sink artificial reefs (gyoshō) to attract fish. Swap in Matsuken and you get “wave-dissipating Matsukens” and a “Matsuken reef.”

HIS LORDSHIP’S SEVERED HEAAAD!

上様の生首がァ！

Uesama’s head on display!? I wanna see!! I wanna see!!!

上様の晒し首！？見たい！！見たい！！！

It looks like a head on display getting pecked at, it’s so scary

晒し首がついばまれてるみたいで怖いですぅ

Isn’t this a head on display for a new era… lol

Lumpsuckers are cute though, I like them

新時代の晒し首じゃないですか…w フウセンウオは可愛いので好きです

I think it’s… torture? Directed at Matsuken lol

マツケンに対する拷問？だと思いますw

What do you have to do to get beheaded AND water-tortured while you’re the actual shogun…

なにやらかしたら将軍の身で打ち首水責めされるんや・・・

This is Uesama from the timeline where he lost to the villain

悪役に負けた世界線の上様じゃん

Then again, Uesama is the rowdy type. Careful you don’t get thrown off

でも上様は暴れん坊だからなぁ。振り落とされないよう注意して

He’s the Rowdy Shogun, so it’s probably gonna turn into a rodeo…

上様は暴れん坊だからロデオみたくなるんじゃないかな……

Matsuken Sango

マツケンサンゴ

サンバサンゴ

“Samba” → “coral.” Sango means coral. Change the last syllable of “Matsuken Samba” and the song turns into the reef the fish live on.

My timeline is wall-to-wall Sea Paradise Uesama. Divine.

わたしのXはシーパラの上様で埋め尽くされてる。神々しい。

@seaparadise_agOfficial

Seahorses and their relatives are poor swimmers, so they rest by wrapping their tails around coral, Matsuken, and so on to hold themselves in place. (Theories vary.)

タツノオトシゴの仲間は泳ぎが苦手なため、尾をサンゴやﾏﾂｹﾝなどに巻きつけて体を固定して休みます。(諸説あります)

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Maybe it’s from going to Sea Paradise, but I’ve been cursed: if I don’t get a regular dose of Matsuken Samba, I can’t settle down

シーパラ行った影響か定期的にマツケンサンバ摂取しないと落ち着かなくなる呪いにかかった

@seaparadise_agOfficial

🌅

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@seaparadise_agOfficial

✨📷

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@seaparadise_agOfficial

📷✨

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My take

This may be taking the joke a little far, but apparently it's officially approved. So go ahead and laugh with a clear conscience.

#Funny #Animals #Culture

Source & translation note

Comments loosely translated for tone. Reactions collected from Togetter and X threads.

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