From our other sites
The story
The official X account of the Nauru Tourism Corporation mistakenly referred to “omusubi” as “onigiri” in a post, then issued a “sincere” apology announcing that the staff member responsible would be punished with a one-coconut cut from their annual coconut ration — and it became a hot topic on 5ch’s Newsplus board. True to the account’s reputation for friendly, Japan-oriented posts, the humorous response drew a wave of sympathetic comments on 5ch, such as “Isn’t that punishment too harsh?” and “Please forgive them.” Meanwhile, the discussion went off on a tangent, evolving into a trivia debate about what actually distinguishes “onigiri” from “omusubi” — covering shape, regional differences, and etymology.
A post from the official X account of the Nauru Tourism Corporation, sincerely apologizing after mistakenly calling “omusubi” “onigiri,” is making waves.
By the way, do you know about the Republic of Nauru?
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, the Republic of Nauru is a small island nation in Oceania (the Pacific), with an area of 21.1 square kilometers (about the same as Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward) and a population of roughly 12,000.
Source: imgur.com / Original article here
What people said
Are you the type who insists on calling the Netherlands 'Nederland' every time? 😁
Isn't it just that people got excited because 'ero' (Japanese for 'erotic') happens to be hiding in 'Naoero'?
Of course you should. Even the UK gets called 'the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.' Anything less is rude to the country.
Wasn't that actually mixing up Kasumigaseki with the *other* Kasumigaseki, the one in Saitama — not Kasumigaura?
I-I'm f-fine as long as I c-can eat until I'm full, th-that's all I n-need…
got rich off phosphate rock → mined it all out → national bankruptcy
…yep, that's Nauru.
These days I hear they're taking in prisoners from Australia (offshore detention).
Wait, they're cozying up to China too?
Somebody needs to tell them not to.
Japanese people don't care about this even a little bit, so please forgive them — this is honestly way too pitiful…
Is there even a point in apologizing for this?
Even Japanese people probably don't know the difference lol
Guess they think Japanese people are super picky about food lol
That's just the kind of joke account it is.
Maybe it's meant to boost their image in Japan,
but they're always saying random nonsense —
they've even picked up some haters because of it.
Sounds made up.
You should cite a source for that.
What is this guy even talking about.
Don't sweat it.
on the 'triangle shaped like a mountain' theory, there are versions crediting both 'onigiri' and 'omusubi.'
Which one is actually right?!
And there are also competing theories about which term dominates in eastern vs. western Japan.
What is going on, Japan?!
Kyushu uses 'onigiri.'
End of story.
My parents are from Kyushu, and when I was a kid the onigiri in my lunchbox were always the cylindrical 'tawara' shape.
I used to envy the triangle kind…
There's that kids' hand-game song 'Musunde Hiraite' ('Close and Open') — you make a fist and open your hand along with the lyrics, right?
'Nigiru' (to grip) and 'musubu' (to tie/bind) were originally the same verb with the same meaning.
'The Master' doesn't look any younger than me — even though at this point he should've been like 10 years younger than I am now.
> "Onigiri are triangular, representing a mountain, so any other shape is omusubi."
Never heard that definition before.
Maybe it depends on the region?
Back in the Showa era, moms were busy since schools and workplaces didn't even have two-day weekends yet, and I remember homemade onigiri in bento boxes were mostly round.
That explanation makes no sense.
If anything, I'd say it's the opposite.
Both 'musubu' and 'nigiru' describe the same hand motion.
'Musubi' has been used since the Heian period, and it was only after the Meiji era that people started tying it to the god Musuhi and claiming it had to be triangular — whereas 'nigiri' probably originated from Edo-period hand-pressed rice, like sushi.
If it's for warding off evil, it should be 'omusubi' — it's an offering to the god Musuhi.
Nobody's seriously making onigiri while thinking 'I'm slaying a demon' lol (a pun on 'oni-giri,' demon-cutting).
That's just wordplay invented after the fact.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
The official X (formerly Twitter) account of the Nauru Tourism Corporation is known for friendly, joke-laden posts aimed at a Japanese audience, and this over-the-top apology and self-imposed punishment (cutting the coconut ration) over the “onigiri” mix-up looks like part of that same routine. Nauru is a nation of roughly 12,000 people that once grew rich on phosphate rock, went bankrupt once the reserves ran dry, and has since relied on aid from Japan and Australia — without that background, this could easily look like nothing more than a typo scandal. What actually split opinion in the thread was the distinction between “onigiri” and “omusubi” itself: against the theory that it comes down to a triangular shape, others countered that etymologically both words point to the same action — “gripping/binding” — and the debate never really settled. In fact, there’s no official definition separating the two terms, and usage varies considerably by region and era, so the post’s claim that “a triangle representing a mountain is onigiri” doesn’t go beyond folk etymology.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Newsplus) thread “Nauru Tourism Corporation misspells “omusubi” as “onigiri”… its “sincere apology” draws reactions like “Isn’t that punishment too harsh?” and “Please forgive them”.”
Leave a Reply