The Eel Vendor

The rainy season arrives.

The air grows heavier.

At the market, the season turns from spring whitebait to summer eel.

The story heard in the rakugo tale The Eel Vendor is not merely about a fish.

It is about the people around it.

The one who splits it.

The one who skewers it.

The one who grills it.

The one who sells it.

The one who waits.

Edomae is not only the fish itself.

It is the time required for the fish to reach the town.

Great Edo-Style Grilled Eel (Ōkabayaki)

Published by Unagisendō

May 1852 (Kaei 5)

From Eel Cuisine Ranking List (Unagi Banzuke)

Collection: Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library

Sukeroku

Sensei, is eel just a fish?

Junki-sensei

It is.

“Then is it Edomae?

Not yet.

No?

First it is split.

Then skewered.

Then grilled.

Then someone waits for it.

So Edomae is more than the fish?

Of course.

Then what is it?

Eel is something you eat together with time.

And somewhere in Edo, a voice returns.

Fish Tales of Edo

Issue No. 1 — Eel

Inspired by The Eel Vendor,

a classic rakugo tale of Edo.

Rakugo is a traditional Japanese storytelling art.

Through a single voice, an entire town can appear.