People of Nagoya: Nagoya Dialect Demonstration and Nagoya Cultural Theory

Nagoya Dialect Original Text

When I was changing my clothes for the season, I found a NAGOYA CITY T-shirt I bought at the main store of Village Vanguard where I used to work a long time ago. When I put it on, for some reason, my Nagoya identity started to show itself.

So today, I ate tenmusu for a snack, and for dinner, I had Sugakiya miso-nikomi. I made sure to have it with rice, too.

Even so, I don't have an earthenware pot, so it's not quite the right mood. It's no good because I can't perform the etiquette of using the pot lid as a serving plate.

Also, the tenmusu didn't come with butterbur pickles, so it felt a bit lackluster and that's no good. If you're in Nagoya, even the ones sold at supermarkets come with them. The butterbur with tenmusu isn't just a garnish. People in Kyoto don't understand at all that without it, it's just a soggy shrimp tempura on rice, and that's no good.

(Aichi Prefecture, western Owari region, including some Mikawa nuances)

Standard Japanese Translation and Supplementary Notes

When I was changing my clothes for the season the other day, I found a NAGOYA CITY T-shirt I bought at the main store of Village Vanguard (which originated in Nagoya) where I used to work.

I spent today wearing it, and it strangely ignited my Nagoya identity. I bought and ate tenmusu from a convenience store for a snack, and for dinner, I had the Sugakiya miso-nikomi I had bought in advance. Of course, it came with rice. Not 'raisu' (rice), but 'ryasu' (rice).
And it's a shame I don't have an earthenware pot. I can't perform the traditional etiquette of using the pot lid as a serving plate. Also, it's not just about the mood; the residual heat of the earthenware pot is necessary. By letting the undercooked noodles and ingredients finish cooking in the residual heat, you can enjoy the change in texture while eating it piping hot.

Once, when I ate miso-nikomi elsewhere, it was completely cooked through, which was a letdown. To begin with, it was also a letdown that the menu listed it as 'Miso-nikomi Udon.' There is only one thing that is miso-nikomi, and that is udon; you should just call it miso-nikomi.
Dote-ni also involves simmering offal in miso, but that is dote-ni, not 'offal miso-nikomi.' They don't understand anything.

Although tenmusu originated in the Ise region, it became a brand in Nagoya, so it is Nagoya food. However, the tenmusu I ate today didn't come with butterbur pickles, which was also a letdown. Without that, it's just soggy shrimp tempura on rice.

My Nagoya identity felt a bit lackluster today, and that's no good.