Let's read the story "Prices at a Mochi Shop"! / Japanese Learning Support LLC
Let's read a story about prices at mochi shops.
This story features a character named Yoshiroku.
Some of you may know the person named Yoshiroku, as he often appears in Japanese folk tales.
Yoshiroku is very intelligent, so I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of story he'll tell this time.
So let's read it!
"Prices at the Mochi Shop"
Once upon a time, there was a very intelligent man named Kichomu.
One day, Yoshiroku rode his horse to town to sell some firewood.
Takigi is wood used to make a fire.
Kisshiro: "Do you need some firewood? Do you need some firewood?"
As I was walking through town saying this, I met the husband of a rice cake shop.
Mochi shop owner: "Hey, Yoshiroku! I'd like to buy everything you have right now. How much is it?"
Kisshiro: "Yes! The total is exactly 100 mon!"
Rice cake shop owner: "Wow, 100 mon? That's cheap."
The rice cake shop owner grinned and handed Yoshiroku the 100 mon payment.
Yoshiroku was happy that he had sold the firewood and said cheerfully:
Yoshiroku: "Thank you!"
Then the rice cake shop owner started walking, pulling a horse loaded with firewood.
Yoshiroku: "Hey, hey! We're not selling horses! Just take the firewood."
Yoshishiro said in surprise.
The rice cake shop owner said calmly.
Rice cake shop owner: "That's not what we said. I asked you how much everything you had was worth. You said it was 100 mon in total, and you took the money."
Yoshiroku: "Argh!"
Rice cake shop owner: "So I paid for everything and bought the horse and the firewood. You have no complaints, right?"
Yoshiroku: "I got it!!"
And so, Yoshiroku's firewood and horse were taken away.
When Yoshiroku returned home, he thought to himself.
Yoshiroku: "Okay, I'll get my revenge this time!"
A few days later, while the husband of the rice cake shop was busy, a customer came in.
The customer in question was Yoshiroku, but the owner of the rice cake shop had his head down the whole time he was roasting the rice cakes and didn't notice.
Yoshiroku: "Wow, what a nice place. How much is it?"
Rice cake shop owner: "Hehe, our rice cakes are delicious! 20 mon!"
Yoshiroku: "Wow, that's cheap. Okay, let's buy it!"
Yoshiroku handed over 20 mon.
When the rice cake shop owner was about to receive the money, he finally looked up and realized that his customer was Yoshiroku.
Rice cake seller: "Oh, it's Kishiro. Haha, there's no point in trying to please me by buying rice cakes. I'm not giving the horse back."
Kishiro said with a laugh.
Yoshiroku: "Ha ha ha! You don't have to give me the horse back. But more importantly, can you please get out of there quickly? This shop is mine."
Mochiya: What do you mean?
Kisshiro: "I just bought this shop for 20 mon."
Mochi shop owner: "I don't remember selling the store!"
Yoshiroku: "I asked him, 'This looks like a nice place. How much is it?' And you said 20 mon."
Rice cake shop owner: "Damn it!!"
Yoshiroku: "Well, I've paid the money, so from now on this shop is mine."
The rice cake shop owner regretted being so mean to Yoshiroku.
He apologized profusely, got his store back, and Yoshiroku's horse back.
How was it?
This time we introduced the story "The Prices at the Mochi Shop", which features Yoshiroku.
Now let's take a closer look at the grammar that appears in the text.
The text said, "A customer came in while the husband of the rice cake shop was busy."
What does the grammar of this "tokoro ni" mean?
Let's take a look together.
● "Tokoro"
This grammar is used to mean "I am doing something now," "I am doing something," or "I have done something."
Depending on the form of the verb that comes before "tokoro," it can refer to the future, the present, or the past.
For example, if you use the dictionary form of the verb "Ima kaigi ga hina de mashiro" (the meeting is starting now), it means that the meeting is about to begin (in about 1 to 3 minutes, starting soon).
If you use the verb tense, such as "I am cleaning my room now," it becomes the present continuous tense, meaning "I am doing something now."
If you use the 'ta' form of the verb, such as "I just got home," it will refer to the past.
This means "I just got home" (= I got home about 1 to 3 minutes ago. It hasn't been long since I got home).
Let's look at some other examples.
Sample1 I'm on my way out now.
Sample 2 We are all about to go out to eat, would you like to join us, Tanaka?
Sample 3 I was busy when the phone rang.
Sample 4 (on the phone) Sorry, I'm in a meeting right now.
The Sample5 report has just been published.
Sample 6 When I arrived at the station, I realized that I was wearing different shoes.
It can be used like this.
It can also be used as "toko ni" (tokoro ni) or "byehoro" (by the way) as shown in Samples 3 and 6.
After "where" comes an event that changes the situation.
It often follows a verb such as "come," "appear," or "happen."
In Sample 3, the words "a phone call came" are also included after "tokoro ni" (where the word "phone" comes).
It implies that the situation has changed because of the phone call.
"By the way" means that the previous action has come to an end or a temporary stop has been reached, and the subsequent event will occur.
In Sample 6, "by the way" means that the person noticed that the shoes were different after they arrived at the station (after they had completed the act of getting there), and that they noticed too late.
As you can see, the meaning changes depending on the particle, so when you practice, try to memorize the correct phrases including the particle.
The more you practice, the better you'll get!
Today, we talked about "prices at mochi shops" and introduced the grammar "-tokoro."
I hope you enjoyed it.
That's all for today!
See you in the next blog!
