Friday, September 17, 2010

UNCLE HAYATO'S TEA TALES: THE SMELL OF UNAGI


There is another story told in Edo that I want to tell you, which demonstrates rather the opposite spirit of that shown to us by good Mine Genwa. Not so long ago there was a man of some years, who was not so well regarded in his neighborhood, owing to his tendency toward being stingy; in fact, he was a miser of the worst sort. As a matter of routine, among his sometimes troubling and cheap habits, he would stop at noon to eat his rice near a particular unagi-ya, or eel shop, in Nihonbashi, so that he might enjoy the delicious aromas of cooked and smoked eel as a condiment to his meal – for free. Now, for quite a long time, the owner of the shop had noticed the pinchpenny’s behavior, but took it all in stride; however, one fine day, he decided that he had enough, and presented the man with a bill for the smell.

The tightfisted old man looked at the bill, thought, and then nodded his head. He took a small purse from the sleeve of his kimono, opened it, and took out the exact amount stipulated on the bill. With a sly grin, he then laid the money on a large stone on the ground next to him for the shop owner to see, then picked the money back up again, and returned it to his purse, with the remark that the smell of unagi was more than well paid for with the sight of money.