[Daily Short Story 120] Next to the Tiger

July 29th, 2:00 PM. The thermometer on the wall of Miyako Diner indicated 34 degrees Celsius inside the shop.

With the lunch crowd gone, I finally finished wiping down the grease-splattered iron griddle. Every time the electric fan oscillated, the edge of the peeling menu flapped noisily. Curry rice, 700 yen. In the forty years since I married into this shop, that price is the only thing I've rewritten over and over.

On the shelf, a dust-covered papier-mâché tiger nodded its head every time a breeze blew through.

Minato pushed through the noren curtain and entered. He is my grandson, a fourth-grader in elementary school. He gripped the brim of his straw hat, his bangs plastered to his forehead with sweat, yet he sat in his usual spot at the far end of the counter.

"Grandma, curry."

"That's a short answer. Did something happen?"

"Nothing."

When something is wrong, children usually say "nothing." I lit the burner under the pot and brought him some barley tea. Watching him drink it, I could tell he was feeling down rather than angry.

I ladled the curry onto a plate and added some fukujinzuke pickles to the side. The thin red and brown strips lined the edge of the plate in the shape of a slender moon.

"I don't want these."

Minato flicked the pickles with the tip of his chopsticks, pushing them to the edge of the plate.

"No way. It's only my curry if those are on it."

"Why? The curry is the star, right?"

"Minato, how's your independent research project coming along? The one about tigers, right?"

His spoon stopped. Then, as if a dam had broken, Minato began to talk.

He had read five books he borrowed from the library. A hundred years ago there were 100,000 of them, but now there aren't even 5,000 left. Forests are being cut down, their prey, the deer, are disappearing, and there is poaching for their fur and bones. He wrote all that down in his notebook over three pages and told his friends about it.

"Then they said, 'Let's talk about the Hanshin Tigers instead.' Everyone laughed, saying the Hanshin Tigers are stronger if we're talking about tigers. There are tons of picture books about tigers, too. The strong ones, the scary ones—they're always the stars. So why are there so few of them? Even though they're the stars."

Minato wrapped both hands around his glass of barley tea, then said in a much smaller voice,

"Maybe I should quit the tiger project. Maybe I'll just do beetles instead."

I had no answer. So, I kept my hands moving.

There was still prep work left for the evening set meal. I peeled the winter melon, scraped out the seeds, and cooked it with chicken. I filled the pot with water and tilted the bottle of white dashi.

"Minato, look here."

Minato stretched his neck. The water in the pot barely changed color. The pale amber just dissolved smoothly into the water.

"This is white dashi. It doesn't add color, but if you don't put it in, it won't taste like anything."

"Hmm."

Minato peered into the pot, and then asked about something completely different.

"Why is winter melon called winter melon when it's not winter?"

"I don't know."

I wiped my hands with a dishcloth. The fukujinzuke pickles pushed to the edge of the plate were still there.

"Do you know the name of that?"

"It's fukujinzuke, right?"

"Which lucky gods do you think it refers to?"

"I don't know."

"The Seven Lucky Gods. They say it's likened to the Seven Lucky Gods because it contains seven types of vegetables. Daikon radish, eggplant, lotus root, cucumber, sword bean... what were the other two again? If you eat them one by one, they're nothing special."

"Hmm."

"And among the Seven Lucky Gods, there is Bishamonten."

I reached up to the shelf and took down a papier-mâché tiger. Its neck was on a spring, and when you set it down, it would keep nodding for a long time without stopping. The paint was peeling, the yellow parts had turned whitish, and the reddish-brown stripes had faded.

"This is a tiger figurine. Did we have this?"

"It's always been here. It's from Mount Shigi. Grandpa bought it when he started the shop.""

"Why a tiger?"

"They say Bishamonten appeared in the year of the tiger, on the day of the tiger, at the hour of the tiger, so he has a connection to tigers. Since their necks turn well, money turns well, and business turns well too. ...That's just what I heard from Grandpa, so I don't really know the details."

Minato poked the papier-mâché figure with his finger. The tiger nodded, bobbing up and down.

"...So, does that mean there's a tiger among the Seven Lucky Gods?"

"Not exactly, but there's a god who has a connection to one. And those Seven Lucky Gods are the names of the things you pushed to the edge of your plate."

"That's just a stretch."

"Yeah. It is a stretch."

I nodded.

"But you know, that tiger has been sitting there since before you were born. Even if nobody pays it any mind."

Minato was silent for a long time. Only the sound of the electric fan could be heard. Then he adjusted his chopsticks, put one piece of fukujinzuke pickle into his mouth, and next, scooped up some curry. He ate another piece of the pickle.

"...This tastes better with it."

"I know, right?"

"Why? The spicy part is still just as spicy."

"I don't know the logic behind it either. But whenever I serve a plate without it, all the customers say, 'Something's missing.' None of them can say what it is, though."

Minato opened his notebook and took out a pencil. The title on the cover was <The Tiger's Secret>. He crossed it out with a double line and rewrote it.

<What's Next to the Tiger>

"I'm going to write about the forest, the deer, and the path. And about poaching, too. ...If there's no forest, the tiger can't be there either."

I didn't answer. Instead, I refilled his barley tea.

Minato's curry was down to the last bite. What remained on the plate was the ochre color, and the red and brown at the edge.

The noren curtain rattled, and Grandpa, having returned from the market, walked in carrying a block of ice.

It's hot. What are you talking about?

About a tiger.

Hanshin?

No.

Minato retorted immediately, and I couldn't help but laugh. Grandpa kept his head tilted as he dropped the ice into the sink.

The winter melon in the pot was beginning to turn slightly translucent. It had almost no color. If I served this at night, the customers would say, 'Today's simmered dish is elegant.'

On the counter, the tiger was still nodding, bobbing its head.

Original concept: Y
Written by: Claude

What day is it today?

Fukujinzuke Day

Fukujinzuke served alongside curry rice is by no means a major presence. Even so, by adding a sweet and savory flavor and a light crunch, it makes the usual curry feel like a complete dish.

July 29th, 'Fukujinzuke Day,' is a memorial day established byShinshin Co., Ltd.and registered with theJapan Anniversary Association.
The date was chosen based on a pun related to the Seven Lucky Gods, which is deeply connected to the name of Fukujinzuke, reading '7' as 'shichi' and '29' as 'fuku'.The
stated purposes for its establishment include passing on the food culture of Fukujinzuke, which has been loved as a great sidekick to curry rice, expanding its use to dishes other than curry, and increasing opportunities to eat vegetables through Fukujinzuke.It also embodies the wish for children to enjoy Fukujinzuke with their meals during summer vacation, when demand for curry increases. There are multiple theories regarding the origin of the name Fukujinzuke, including the theory that various vegetables were likened to the Seven Lucky Gods. It is a day to turn our attention to the unique Japanese curry culture and the wisdom of pickles through a familiar side dish.

'Fukujinzuke Day' is a day to re-appreciate Fukujinzuke not just as a sidekick to curry, but as a food culture rooted in the Japanese dining table. If you try combining it with dishes other than curry, such as fried rice or omurice, you might discover a new charm in this small pickle. Note that since the year of establishment cannot be confirmed on the official Shinshin Co., Ltd. page, it is appropriate to avoid making a definitive statement.

Shirodashi Day

Shirodashi, which does not darken the color of simmered dishes or clear soups and brings out the flavor and color of the ingredients, is one of the seasonings that quietly supports modern home cooking.

July 29th, 'Shirodashi Day,' is a memorial day established byShichifuku Jozo Co., Ltd.in Aichi Prefecture, which manufactures white soy sauce and shirodashi, and certified by theJapan Anniversary Association.
The date is derived from a pun where the company's 'Shichifuku' is read as 'Hichifuku,' assigning 'Hichi' to 7 and 'Fuku' to 29.Shichifuku Jozo explains that they were the first in Japan to develop 'Shirodashi,' a seasoning made by adding dashi to white soy sauce, and began manufacturing and selling it in 1978. A major purpose of this day is to make people feel more familiar with shirodashi and to spread its appeal and usage. The company has also held a 'Shirodashi Day Festival' to invite local people, deepening exchanges with the community through the introduction of shirodashi dishes. Shirodashi, which can season food without significantly changing its color, also reflects the Japanese culinary sensibility that values visual beauty and a sense of the seasons.

"White Dashi Day" is a day to turn our attention to the origins of the seasonings we use casually every day and to local brewing cultures. It can be a day to make dishes like rolled omelets with dashi, clear soups, or simmered vegetables, and to slowly savor the colors of the ingredients and the aroma of the dashi. Note that the explanation that it was "the first developed in Japan" should be treated as an expression based on official information from the founder, Shichifuku Jozo.

International Tiger Day

Tigers have been depicted in stories and art across Asia as symbols of strength and dignity. However, wild tigers continue to have their habitats and lives threatened by human activity.

July 29th, "International Tiger Day," is an international awareness day for learning about the current situation of endangered wild tigers and thinking about their conservation. It was established against the backdrop of the International Tiger Conservation Forum, commonly known as the "Tiger Summit," held in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2010. This conference was attended by tiger range countries, supporting nations, and international organizations, and set an international goal to double the number of wild tigers by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger. The main problems threatening wild tigers include deforestation and fragmentation, poaching, and the illegal trade of fur, bones, and other parts. To protect tigers, we must protect not only the animals themselves but the entire ecosystem, including their prey, vast forests, and the lives of the people who live there. Instead of viewing this as a problem in a distant country, it can be a day to think about the connection between our daily consumption—such as timber, paper, and palm oil—and the forest environment.

What "International Tiger Day" conveys is not just a story about protecting a single rare animal species. Leaving forests where tigers can live for the future also leads to protecting the diverse creatures of those regions and the people who live alongside the forests. It is a day to learn the reality that the tiger, a symbol of strength, actually needs human cooperation, and to rethink the relationship between nature and our consumption.