［No.34］

   　The dried bonito,Katsuo-bushi, Mr. Edison’s Surprize　               By Tomomi Muramatsu from Asahi-shinbun　

  　At a restaurant in Hozen-ji alley in Hozenji-yokocho, Osaka, I was staring at the thread-like, thinly shaved dried bonito flakes in a small vessel on my boiled greens, Ohitashi. “How do you think it was shaved?” asked Oyakata, the shop master. He answered his own question with mischievous eyes, “Oh, Yes, with fragments of an electric bulb.” When I tilted my head in confusion, he sent his assistant to bring something wrapped in cloth. He carefully opened the cloth to reveal a bulb fragment. He said that it worked well and had the assistant demonstrate on dried bonito. With a light sweeping motion from top to bottom, a fine thread wound out and fell gently. I was surprised by how well it worked. I thought this method of shaving dried bonito with electric bulb fragments was well suited to Hozen-ji alley, as using ivory is to Kyoto. In addition, it seemed that this method could only come from this part of Osaka.    

　Some time later I heard from some one about a musician who has made customized musical instrument reeds like clarinet and saxophone using electric bulb fragments.

　Speaking of electric bulbs, the filament, not bulb fragments, is used in the core of spider thread for Kabuki performances. Craftsman tried many bulbs before settling on the filaments of 20 Ampere electric bulb.

　Thanks to the light bulb, I now have an unconny connection to these three professions: the cook, the musician and the Kabuki craftsman. Surely Thomas Edison would be surprised to learn that his invention is being used in such different ways.                                                             　　　

　Although my introduction to the electric bulb's applications started in a restaurant in Hozen-ji alley, Osaka, I cannot remember the taste of the greens and bonito at all. 　 

( By Tomomi Muramatsu, born in 1940 - same age with me - who got 87th Naoki Prize awards in1982 by "The wife of a time store, Jidaiya-no-nyoubo.")

　　　　　　　                                        　 ・・・　I would like to write such a fine essay like this.