食通The Gourmet

Read a sample in Japanese

What you'll learn

The author describes his past belief that 'gourmet' means 'big eater', and how he convinced friends of this definition with demonstrations of huge eating. He then observes a man at an oden restaurant who carefully peels shrimp with chopsticks, which he finds foolish, advocating for simpler methods.

Key vocabulary

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～というのは N4Used to define or explain something; 'speaking of ~, it means ~'.
  食通というのは、大食いの事をいうのだと聞いている。
• ～たものであった N3Used to recall a past habitual action or state; 'used to do'.
  檀君は眼を丸くして、君は余程の食通だねえ、と言って感服したものであった。
• ～かも知れぬ N4Casual form of 'かもしれない', meaning 'might be'.
  ことによると、僕も食通かも知れぬ、と言った。
• ～どころか N3Used to indicate 'far from; not only that but'.
  てれるどころかいよいよ澄まして、またもや一つ、つるりとむいたが、
• ～て見せる N3Used to express doing something as a demonstration; 'do to show/appearance'.
  際限も無く食べて見せると、檀君は眼を丸くして、

Cultural notes

• おでんA popular Japanese winter dish consisting of various ingredients like boiled eggs, daikon radish, tofu, and fish cakes simmered in a light soy-flavored dashi broth. Often sold at street stalls or casual restaurants.
• 鬼がら焼きA style of grilling shrimp (or other seafood) with the shell on, often seasoned with salt. The term '鬼がら' (oni-gara) means 'demon shell', referring to the hard shell that looks demonic.
• 手で食べる習慣In some cultures, eating with hands is common. The author mentions Russia where even 'rice curry' (a Japanese-style dish) is eaten with hands. This contrasts with Japanese etiquette which generally uses chopsticks.

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