Feast Like a Cannibal at the Human Banquet

Shouldn't there be an apple in her mouth?

Just when you thought you’d seen enough Japanese weirdness, something like the so-called “Cannibal Banquet” comes along to shock us anew. The photos pretty much say it all but I will comment anyway - hey, that’s what I do!

Do you prefer the breast, or the thigh?

Here’s how the Cannibal Banquet works… a pinata-like “body” is carefully crafted, then stuffed with edible goodies in a red sauce. More “sauce” is somehow embedded into the outside covering – “skin” as it were – of the body so that it will appear to bleed when cut into. By this time, most of us would have lost our appetites, but I digress… Anyway, the prepared body (who appears to be wearing a wedding ring!) is wheeled into the dining room on a hospital gurney and a courteous host wielding a scalpel begins the operation. From the looks of it, plenty of alcoholic beverages are required to keep the patrons in the mood to chow down, cannibal style! 

"Scalpel... Retractor... Fork..."

You know, I love Japan and even the more unsavory examples of weirdness I uncover just add spice to the culture’s charm. The Cannibal Banquet pushes the limits, though, and I have to wonder if the bizarre scene actually takes place in Japan. Other commentators have speculated that the buffet is actually a Taiwanese stunt – wouldn’t surprise me in the least. I find it both interesting and amusing that declaring something odd to be from Japan seems to give it an aura of believability in the weird wide world! (A little old but still weird. - via Weird Asia News - naturally!) 

Steve Levenstein 
Japanese Innovations Writer