食通The Gourmet

About this text

A narrator humorously redefines 'gourmet' as a big eater and recalls his past gluttony with friends.

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Source

This text comes from Aozora Bunko (青空文庫), the volunteer-run library of Japanese writing that is out of copyright. See this work on Aozora Bunko

Base edition (底本): 「太宰治全集10」ちくま文庫、筑摩書房
1989（平成元）年6月27日第1刷発行

Typed in by 土屋隆. Proofread by noriko saito.

Yomimaru has not changed the spelling or the wording.

The furigana are Yomimaru's.

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

食通しょくつう	gourmet, connoisseur of food
大食おおぐい	big eater
おでん	oden (Japanese stew)
がんもどき	deep-fried tofu fritter
鬼おにがら焼やき	grilled shrimp with shell (lit. demon shell grill)

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～というのは N4Used to define or explain something; 'speaking of ~, it means ~'.

  食通しょくつうというのは、大だい食ぐいの事ことをいうのだと聞きいている。

• ～たものであった N3Used to recall a past habitual action or state; 'used to do'.

  檀だん君くんは眼めを丸まるくして、君きみは余程よほどの食通しょくつうだねえ、と言いって感服かんぷくしたものであった。

• ～かも知れぬ N4Casual form of 'かもしれない', meaning 'might be'.

  ことによると、僕ぼくも食通しょくつうかも知しれぬ、と言いった。

• ～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すまして、またもや一ひとつ、つるりとむいたが、

• ～て見せる N3Used to express doing something as a demonstration; 'do to show/appearance'.

  際限さいげんも無なく食たべて見みせると、檀だん君くんは眼めを丸まるくして、

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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