Vinegared tofu - Sudofu

Rakugo. An old Edo rakugo that has been performed since the Edo period. The original story is a short story called "Sour tofu" from the 1753 (3rd year of the Horeki) storybook "Karukuchi Taiheiraku." A group of young men from the town gather for a drink. They have sake but no fish. They have some tofu they bought last night, but it has rotted in the heat, turned yellow, and become sour. Just then, a pretentious young master passes by, so they call him in, flatter him as a gourmet, and serve him the rotten tofu. The young master pretends to know what he's talking about and takes a bite, then says, in distress, "This is called vinegared tofu." Amused, the man urges them to try more, but they reply, "No, you can only have one bite of vinegared tofu." In the Taisho period, Kohan, a disciple of the third Yanagiya Kosan, reworked the story, which was then moved to Osaka and renamed "Chiritotechin," and some performers in Tokyo still perform it under this title today. There is also a new version of the story, reworked and titled "Akunuke," and the third San'yutei Kinba added a different twist and titled it "Soap." From this story, the term "vinegared tofu" came to be used to refer to people who pretend to know things.

[Kazuo Sekiyama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

落語。江戸時代から口演されてきた古い江戸落語。原話は1753年（宝暦3）の噺本(はなしぼん)『軽口太平楽(かるくちたいへいらく)』にある小咄(こばなし)「酢豆腐」。町内の若い衆が一杯やろうと集まる。酒はあるが肴(さかな)がない。昨夜買った豆腐があるが、暑気で腐って黄色になり、酸っぱくなっている。そこへ気取り屋の若旦那(わかだんな)が通りかかるので呼び込み、食通とおだてあげて、腐った豆腐を出す。若旦那は知ったかぶりをして一口食べ、苦しみながらも「これは酢豆腐といいます」という。おもしろがってさらに勧めると「いや、酢豆腐は一口に限りやす」。大正期、3代柳家小さんの弟子小はんが改作、それが大阪に移されて『ちりとてちん』と改題され、今日では東京でもこの題で演(や)る人もある。また、この作を焼き直して『あくぬけ』と改題した新作風のものもあり、3代三遊亭金馬は別のくふうを加え『石けん』と題したこともあった。この落語から、知ったかぶりする人を「酢豆腐」というようになった。

［関山和夫］

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