Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The iconic green code in The Matrix is just sushi recipes

Christopher Hooton
Friday 27 October 2017 09:37 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The falling green characters at the beginning of all of the Matrix films have become perhaps the most recognisable visual from the film, signifying how everything in the franchise's universe is a vast fabrication.

So what constitutes the code? An incredibly complex equation? Chopped up passages of Heidegger? Nope, it's just a load of recipes for sushi.

The Matrix production designer Simon Whiteley told CNet of the apparently indecipherable collection of Japanese hiragana, katakana, and kanji characters: "I like to tell everybody that The Matrix's code is made out of Japanese sushi recipes.

"Without that code, there is no Matrix."

Film and TV has a rich history of concealing through translation, Game of Thrones having previously hid a Monty Python line in its Low Valyrian language.

For more film, TV and music, follow Independent Culture on Facebook.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in