Onigiri Filling Quiz
Umeboshi (Pickled Plum)
Like a single pickled plum that sets the flavor of the whole rice ball, you have a way of doing things that's all your own.
The plum filling in onigiri is umeboshi: the fruit of the ume tree, a relative of the apricot often called a plum in English, salted and then dried in the sun. It has long been made as a food that keeps well, and a lunch box with a single umeboshi in the middle of white rice has been called a hinomaru bento, after the Japanese flag. Its sharp sourness and saltiness are unmistakable from the first bite.
Your presence is just as clear, and you value familiar ways and long-standing customs. You know exactly what you like, and once you've decided “This is the one,” you don't change your mind easily. When something needs saying, you say it then and there.
Umeboshi take many days from pickling to drying, and it's often said that every household has its own way of making them. Your way of doing things also has reasons behind it that you've firmed up over time. But if you don't share those reasons, all people hear is “because that's the rule.” Adding one line changes how it comes across.
Strengths
- Once you've settled on a way of doing things, you can stick with it without wavering
- Because you know what you like, you can be the deciding voice when a group can't make up its mind
- You can say hard things clearly, right when they need saying
Where you may stumble
- When new rules or ways of doing things come in, it takes you a while to adjust
- Because what suits you and what doesn't is so clear, you tend to drift away from people who don't suit you
- You say “This one's better” without saying why, and it comes across as pushy
Sounds familiar, Umeboshi (Pickled Plum)?
- Your plans for a day out are already worked out by the night before
- You go to the same place at the same time every year
- Where your things go was decided years ago
Where you shine
A discussion that can't reach a decision, or a time when long-standing ways need to be passed on. Your clear words and steady way of doing things become the backbone of the group.
Tips for “Umeboshi (Pickled Plum)”
- When you say “This one's better,” add one reason
- Before deciding on a new way of doing things, try it for a week
- With someone whose tastes don't match yours, ask one question and hear them out
Matches
See every match in the Onigiri Filling Quiz compatibility chart →
Okaka (Bonito Flakes) — Okaka also has time-honored ways and a style of its own. When Umeboshi states a rule out loud, Okaka quietly sticks to it, so what Umeboshi says tends to actually happen.
Tenmusu (Shrimp Tempura) — Tenmusu takes in new things while still holding on to its own style. It shows Umeboshi new ways to enjoy things without pushing them, so Umeboshi can try them without feeling pressured.
Yakiniku (Grilled Meat) — Yakiniku keeps taking in new things and goes along with everyone. To Umeboshi, who wants to protect familiar ways and its own style, plans that seemed settled can feel like they keep changing on Yakiniku's whims.
Close neighbors
These differ from this one on just 1 of the 3 axes. If one of your axes was near the middle, you may have their side too.
Which one are you? 18 everyday situations, about 3 minutes.
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