Meguro no SanmaThe Saury of Meguro
目黒のさんま（めぐろのさんま）
On a long ride, a hungry lord tastes sanma (Pacific saury), a common people's fish, for the first time in Meguro. He can't forget the taste of that charred, freshly grilled fish and orders sanma at his mansion, but what arrives is a dainty bowl with all the fat and bones removed...
The story
A lord rides out to Meguro with his attendants. But a retainer has forgotten the lunch, and by midday everyone is starving. Just then, an irresistible smell drifts over from somewhere.
His retainers explain that it is the smell of a fish called sanma being grilled, a lowly fish eaten by commoners and not fit for their lord's mouth. Still, hunger wins out, and the lord has a farmer share his sanma. Placed right on the charcoal, blackened and dripping with fat, the freshly grilled fish is something he has never tasted in his life.
Unable to forget the taste, the lord one day orders sanma to be served at his mansion. A retainer buys sanma at the Nihonbashi fish market, but since fat is bad for the body and bones might stick in his throat, the fish is steamed to remove the fat, the bones are pulled out one by one, and the crumbled flesh is served in a bowl.
When the lord tastes it, it is far worse than what he ate in Meguro. "Where was this sanma procured?" he asks, and the retainer humbly replies, "At the Nihonbashi fish market, my lord"...
The sage the punchline, contains spoilers
Tap to reveal the punchline
"That will not do. For sanma, Meguro is the only place."
In the sage (the punchline), the lord assumes that Meguro, far from the sea, must be famous for saury. What made it delicious was that it was freshly grilled and he was starving, not the place. The story laughs at a lord who knows nothing of the world. The lord is often left unnamed or called Akai Gomon no Kami, but there are versions that make him the lord of Matsue (the Unshu Matsudaira family), and some, like Hayashiya Hikoroku, make him a Tokugawa shogun.
Meguro saury vs. mansion saury
Even the same saury becomes something else entirely depending on how it is treated. The laughs come from this gap, and from the lord's belief that the place is what made the difference.
| The saury he ate in Meguro | The saury served at the mansion | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it came from | A farmer's own meal | Bought at the Nihonbashi fish market |
| How it was cooked | Grilled right on the charcoal | Steamed to remove the fat, bones removed, served in a bowl |
| How it looked | Charred and dripping with fat | Crumbled flesh with no shape |
| The lord's verdict | Overjoyed, helped by his hunger | Nothing like the one from Meguro |
Key scenes original dialogue written for this site
The source of the smell
- LordTell me, what is this fine aroma?
- RetainerMy lord, it is the smell of a lowly fish called sanma being grilled. Not something for your lordship's mouth...
- LordNo matter. When one is hungry, there is no high or low. Bring it here.
His first sanma
- (Using a folded fan as chopsticks and his left hand as the plate, he flakes the hot fish and brings it to his mouth.)
- Lord...Mm. Mm. Why, this blackened, charred part is splendid as well!
- RetainerMy lord, I beg you, please keep this a secret at the mansion.
The mansion meal
- LordThis is sanma? The one in Meguro was more, well... sizzling.
- RetainerAs it might harm your health, my lord, the fat has been entirely removed.
This is not a transcription of any storyteller's performance. The plot and sage are traditional; the dialogue is written by this site.
Notable performers
- Sanyutei Kinba III1894–1964EdoKnown as a performer who excelled at this story.
- Hayashiya Hikoroku (Hayashiya Shozo VIII)1895–1982EdoPerformed it on a grand scale, making the lord a Tokugawa shogun and the mansion's saury a catch landed at Mito.
- Kingentei Basho X1928–1982EdoOne of the performers whose recordings survive.
