Head Performance: Cuter than Anime

There is just something so quintessentially Japanese about this website, which chronicles the days of rabbit Oolong and his successor, Moon Cake. One day Oolong's owner, a Japanese photographer, noticed Oolong had a unique talent for balancing items on his head. Over the years, Oolong's owner cultivated and documented this skill, which he calls 'head performance.' Oolong balances a variety of objects: Hello Kitty figurines, pastries, donuts, plants, flowers. Usually the item bears some relevancy to the various festivals and holidays of the Japanese calendar year and changing of the seasons.

Clicking through all the pictures as they mark the passage of time has a very meditative effect.

Oolong's pages are not translated from the Japanese, so what is going on is often inscrutable, but most of Moon Cake's, 'the new rabbit,' are. Moon Cake has many charms but has not achieved the same level of talent for head performance and consequently suffers many 'head failures.' But, as one patient caption concedes, "She is still young." Actually, Moon Cake doesn't seem interested in doing much except licking, a nervous habit most likely developed from living in the shadow of Oolong's reputation.

One of my favorites tableaux is of Moon Cake meeting a 'great senior rabbit' named Mack, who has reached the remarkable old age of 12. The captions reveal a lot about Japanese mentality. Respect him, Moon Cake, and he will tell you secret of long life!

Here is Moon Cake seeking divine favor at the rabbit shrine 'Tsuki-jinja.'

This one kind of tugged at my heart. The photographer captures a beetle for Moon Cake to play with, but it bores her and she ignores it. A photograph of the beetle wistfully looking at Moon Cake is entitled "Beetle is Lonely."


I was also deeply moved by Moon Cake paying her respects at Oolong's grave.

The captions, even in their rough translations, have a beautiful, almost haiku quality and titles like "Spring Excursion" have an elegant simplicity.

Spoon, however, scoffs at the rabbits. "I (head) PERFORMER!"

Here E captures the ultra competitive Spoon displaying her own formidable talents with a piece of All American wheat bread. Spoonie says, "Suck it, Moon Cake!"