Parents who deliver a new bundle of joy are usually eager to show off their newborn to family and friends. But Covid-19 has greatly restricted visitations and travelling. Due to challenges in holding get-togethers, Japanese parents are increasingly turning to sending relatives proxy ‘babies’ to announce births.

The proxies, called dakigokochi, consist of a bag of rice shaped like a bundled newborn, with a photo of the baby’s face attached to it. Parents can customise the rice bag according to their baby’s weight, so that the recipient can experience what it’s like to hold the actual child.

The dakigokochi trend was reportedly started some 14 years ago by rice shop owner Naruo Ono from Kitakyushu in the Fukuoka Prefecture, who got the idea to send bags of rice to her faraway relatives who couldn’t travel to see her newborn son. “So we decided to make bags of rice that were the same weight and shape as the baby, so relatives could hold them and feel the cuteness,” she says.

Prices for the rice babies are charged according to their weight, with some rice shops reportedly offering dakigokochi at one yen per gram. Which means a newborn weighing an average of 3.5kg would cost 3,500 yen (S$43) in rice form.

Customers can also choose their preferred designs for the bag fabric and include the baby’s headshot plus birth details. Way more effort than a WhatsApp photo and message, but we’re sure Ah Gong and Ah Ma would appreciate it.

According to rice shop boss Ono, a lot of consideration goes into making sure the bags are comfortable to cuddle and the babies’ photos are not crumpled. The only problem, she shares, is that people find it hard to, er, eat the grain baby once they’re done with the cuddling.

Photos: Yoshimiya