Shokuhin sampuru is a Japanese portmanteau of the kanji characters 食品 (food) augmented with the katakana characters サンプル (sample), which is the name for the replica food displays commonly found near the entrance of restaurants, combinis, department stores, food vending machines, etcetera.
Previously on Boing Boing, Mark posted a video showing a Gujo Hachiman artisan demonstrating the wax technique while creating a head of cabbage and shrimp tempura shokuhin sampuru; and after reading Al Williams' Hacking Fake Food article on Hackaday, we return to this technique with Shigeharu Takeuchi of Idea-Sample located in Nisshin, Aichi prefecture Japan. 53 years of experience enables Shigeharu Takeuchi to make objects magically materialize from a mixture of paint, molten wax and skill plied with the hands of a master who began his journey at the age of 18. The glee Shigeharu Takeuchi expresses while fabricating shokuhin sampuru, highlights the Japanese spirit where the devout yearn for joy earned by whole heartedly embracing the task at hand to attain mastery earned over years of dedication necessary to ascend to the highest levels.
Over the years, shokuhin sampuru has evolved with the changing technological landscape, and while the wax based method employed by Shigeharu Takeuchi has steadily been replaced with more durable PVC and resin based molded replicas, the newer techniques are equally impressive as shown in the video below.
