The sheer eroticism of the egg yolk scene in ‘Tampopo’
Juzo Itami’s 1985 film Tampopo truly defies genre. Sometimes referred to jokingly as the first ‘ramen western’, Itami’s work toys with the conventions of the spaghetti western movie while delivering a comedy-drama narrative that dives into the relationship between human beings, Japan, food and culture.
There’s a profound experience that occurs through watching Tampopo that celebrates the act of eating, transforming the medium of cinema into one that evokes all the senses, including taste, with countless scenes that stimulate the appetite of the audience, whether through vision or sound.
On the one hand, Tampopo shows how the titular character comes to make the best ramen in town with the help of a pair of truck drivers, but Itami also explores the tradition and importance of culinary excellence in Japan while inviting his viewers to embrace the art of gastronomy.
Woven in between the main narrative are several other minor scenes that also explore the wonders of food, and one of the undoubtedly most erotic moments arrives between a mobster and his mistress. Shacked up in a hotel, the pair enjoy the more sexual nature of food, with plenty of juicy fruits being lapped up in the process.
One scene sees the gangster approach his lover from behind, both dressed in white, which is symbolic perhaps of their perceived purity despite their actions. The man reaches down and cracks an egg on the side of a bowl, separating the white from the yolk and closes his eyes as he places the soft, yellow, nutrient-rich part of the egg into his mouth with his lover looking at him intensely with heavy breaths.
He throws the useless shell to the floor and embraces the mistress, slipping the yolk into her mouth and then bending down to receive it back in return. The scene is absolutely brimming with pure fucking sex as the yolk is passed between mouths with breathy moans, the yolk itself retaining its perfect shape and consistency as the lovers clearly continue to rise in excitement.
Eventually, just as with any sexual endeavour, that yolk must burst, and it does so beautifully in the lady’s mouth, the glowing yellow liquid spilling down her chin and onto her now spoilt white dress and her lover’s jacket. The scene fades to black, and audience members breathe a long, deep breath, having witnessed what is likely to be the most strangely erotic scene in the history of cinema.
Shortly later, the gangster appears in yet another erotic culinary scene in which he purchases an oyster from a young sea diver. After cutting his lip on the shell, the diver slips the oyster into her hand and lets the man eat it from her palm. Now, there’s naturally a sexual element to eating oysters anyway, but the way the man in the white suit devours it from the girl’s hand, especially considering her young age, borders on the problematic and the sexual tension rises even more when the girl starts to lick the blood from the gangster’s lips.
That’s arguably why the egg yolk scene is the film’s most erotic moment and certainly one of the most sexual in the history of cinema. There’s a delicateness to proceedings that is undoubtedly scintillating as the yolk slips between the mouths of two truly beautiful lovers, representative, of course, of their unbridled fertility. With Itami’s film, sure, come for the ramen, but be sure to come even harder for the egg yolk.
Check out the wonderful scene in question below.
