Meguro no Sanma (The Sanma of Meguro)
目黒のさんま・めぐろのさんま
The story
A pampered feudal lord, out on a country outing in Meguro, tastes a freshly grilled sanma from a farmer's kitchen and finds it the most delicious thing he has ever eaten. Back at the castle he demands sanma again, but his attendants, thinking such humble fish beneath him, carefully steam it and pick out every drop of fat and every bone, leaving something bland and sad.
What to listen for
The endearing cluelessness of a sheltered lord who has never known real food. A beloved staple of autumn.
Background
Sanma (Pacific saury) is a cheap, oily fish eaten grilled in autumn, prized precisely for its rich fat, exactly what the fussy castle cooks remove. A daimyo (feudal lord) lived so sheltered that ordinary pleasures were foreign to him. Meguro is now a Tokyo neighborhood but was once countryside.
Notable performers
三遊亭金馬春風亭一之輔