Let's read the rakugo story "Toki Soba." / Japanese Learning Support LLC
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Today, I would like to introduce a Japanese reading material that you can use to study Japanese at home.
This is a rakugo story called "Toki Soba."
This is an upper intermediate level course.
If you're just starting to learn Japanese, there are plenty of other fun stories to read, so we recommend you start with those!
Recommended for those who have just started learning Japanese → "The Fox and the Crane" and "The Rolling Rice Ball"
Recommended for JLPTN4 and N3 level students → "Furuya no Mori"
Today's Menu
1. Let's check how to count numbers!
Let's check one thing before reading "Toki Soba"!
This is how numbers are counted in Japanese.
One, two, three, four, ...
One, two, three, four...
This is how you count.
The way Japanese people counted numbers in the past may be a little different from what you are familiar with.
1 (hii), 2 (fuu), 3 (mii), 4 (yo), 5 (itsuka), 6 (mu), 7 (nana), 8 (ya), 9 (ko), 10 (too)
This is how it was counted in the ancient Yamato language.
The pronunciation of "hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu" is a little similar because they have the same origin.
In the past, Japanese people would say "hii, fuu, mii" when counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and when counting objects, they would add "tsu" and say "hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu." "tsu" is a counter word, as in "ko (pieces)."
In this story, "Toki Soba," you'll find counting methods in the Yamato dialect, so be sure to pay close attention!
Now, let's read the story.
"Toki Soba" is a bit long, so I will introduce it in two parts: part 1 and part 2.
Today is part 1.
"Toki Soba" Part 1
There were many soba restaurants in Edo.
The shop owner carries a small stall out into town, and when a customer arrives, he sets the stall down and makes the soba noodles.
One day, a man was walking.
Soba restaurant: "Soba~ Soba~ It's delicious~."
Man: "Hey, that smells good. Give me a drink."
Soba restaurant owner: "Welcome. Please wait a moment."
Man: "Oh man. It's cold tonight."
Soba Shop Owner: "That's true. I have a slight cold."
Man: "Oh really? I'm not feeling too well, so I'll have a bowl of hot soba noodles."
Soba shop owner: "Yes."
Man: "How's the economy doing?"
Soba shop owner: "The recession is a real problem."
Man: "Every store says the same thing. Don't worry. After good there's always bad, and after bad there's always good."
Soba shop owner: "That's right. Hey, sorry to keep you waiting. Please come in."
Man: "Wow, that was quick! We were just chatting and it's already ready! I'm from Edo, so I hate having to wait. If it takes 30 minutes for the food to arrive, even the best food will taste bad."
The man said this and accepted the soba.
Man: "Oh, so they use disposable chopsticks here? That's unusual. This is the only soba restaurant around here that uses disposable chopsticks."
Soba shop owner: "Is that so?"
Man: "This bowl is also good. They say food should be served in a bowl, but this bowl is the best."
Soba shop owner: "Thank you very much."
Man: "Wow, it smells really good. I love soba noodles. I can tell if they're good or not just by the smell. And these soba noodles are thin and look delicious. Sometimes they're as thick as udon noodles, but soba noodles have to be thin."
The man said as he ate all the soba noodles.
Man: "Phew, thank you for the meal. Now, how much is it?"
Soba shop owner: "It's 16 mon."
Man: "Oh, I see. I only have a little bit of money with me right now. Can you help me count it?"
The man took small coins out of his pocket and placed one coin in each of the vendor's hands.
Man: "Hii, fuu, mii, yo, itu, mu, na, ya... what time is it now?"
Soba restaurant: "This is it."
Man: "Five, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen... Okay, that's enough."
Soba restaurant owner: "Hey, nice to meet you."
Then the man went home.
Another man was watching this scene.
Man 2: "Huh? Why did that guy ask me what time it was while I was counting my money? That's weird."
I tried to remember what the man had said earlier.
Man 2: "Hii, fuu, mii, yo, itu, mu, na, ya... What time is it now? Five, eleven... Huh?? He didn't pay when the soba shop said "kokonotsu"! He skipped "kokonotsu" so he only paid 15 mon!"
That's right. The man from before was a clever guy, and he deliberately asked the soba shop owner what time it was, got him to say "kokonotsu," and then didn't pay a cent.
"Kokonotsu" means midnight in the old time.
Man 2: "That guy!! That was a good one! Okay, I guess I'll give it a try then."
Unfortunately, I didn't have any small change that day, so the next day I gathered up some small change, left the house earlier than last night, and went into town to look for a soba restaurant.
to be continued…
Well, what do you think?
Will this second man be able to imitate it well?
I'm curious to see what happens next.
I will be posting part 2 on my blog soon, so please be sure to check it out.
Now, I would like to talk about numbers in Japanese.
About Japanese numbers
At the beginning of this blog, I mentioned that in Japanese there is a way of counting: "hii, fuu, mii."
That's right. There are two ways of counting in Japanese.
One is,
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten...
The other one is,
Hii, fuu, mii, yo, itu, mu, nana, ya, ko, too...
By the way, in the first counting method, 11 is said as "juuichi," but in the second method, it is counted as "too amari hitotsu."
The counting method of "hii, fuu, mii" is called Yamato kotoba and is an ancient way of counting in Japan.
It may seem like old Japanese, and it is true, but this way of counting is still used today and is deeply connected to the lives of Japanese people.
For example, how do you say the date in Japanese?
First day (Tsuitachi) *Tsuitachi means "the beginning of the month," meaning the beginning of the month.
Two days
Three days
Fourth day
Five days (someday)
We count it like this, right?
This comes directly from the Yamato dialect way of counting.
In the past, Japanese people would add "~ka" after a number to indicate the date.
When looking at beginner's textbooks, you may have wondered why Japanese counting is so complicated!
One, two, or three days is fine!
This seemingly random counting of the days from 1 to 10 actually comes from another way of counting numbers.
The dates after the 11th are quite long and difficult to say, so the current pronunciation is "11th, 12th..."
However, the old ways of saying the 20th is Hatsu-ka and the 30th is Misoka still remain.
If you're wondering what "Misoka" is, let's try to remember. What is the last day of the year called?
That's right. It's "O-misoka."
This "misoka" (30th day) means the end of the month, and only the last day of the year is read as "Omisoka."
The question is when the counting method "ichi, ni, san" came about. It was created when Chinese characters were introduced to Japan.
It is said that this method of counting was already in use in Japan during the Nara period (710-794).
However, it was not popular among the common people at first, and it is thought that it was not until the middle of the Meiji period, when the modern education system was established, that it began to be used by people in general.
How was it?
Today we introduced part 1 of "Toki Soba" and a story about how to count.
I hope you enjoyed it.
I would be happy if you read this blog and think, "Interesting! Wow, I see!"
Well, see you in the next blog.
thank you for your hard work!
