悲報！100年以上前の講談本がエアコンの水漏れでびしょ濡れ〜三番弟子・若之丞の大食い日記２

A Quirky Special Week — Tonami's Absence and a Fake-Out

This week fell during TBS Radio's Special Week, but Tonami, the director who has supported the show for nearly a decade, was absent from the studio due to illness, joining pre-show discussions by LINE call instead. Bakuzan described the arrangement as "something like AI Tonami," explaining that the show works precisely because Tonami's personal tastes — crude humor, toilet jokes, and disciple-ribbing — are already baked into its DNA, no-cuts guaranteed.

There was also a minor scandal: Waraiya Shigefuji, believed to be away studying in Egypt, turned out to have been performing at Kyoto's Shunjūza theater all along. A fan spotted him, posted on X — "That liar!" — and the resulting furor spread quickly. Bakuzan found the image of a furious "rose-dress lady going berserk" hilarious, while also welcoming Shigefuji's return.

The Air Conditioner Leak — Century-Old Kodan Books Soaked and Molded

The heart of the episode is a disaster Bakuzan calls "100% entirely my fault." An air conditioner in his home library had been silently leaking for about a month, pooling a large volume of water directly below the vent — and he never noticed.

The casualties were approximately 8 kodan stenography books published in the Meiji and Taisho eras by publishers including Hakubunkan: two volumes on Ōmaeda Eigorō, plus titles on Katō Kiyomasa, the Kaga Disturbance, and Mito Kōmon's Travels. His wife (referred to as "Kami-san") discovered the damage and sent him photos — mold already blooming across the pages.

"Old books are a relay passed down from owner to owner," Bakuzan said. "I'm sorry they ended up with me." When his wife suggested throwing them away he snapped at her — and immediately admitted he "had no leg to stand on."

For the mold-free volumes he tried a zip-lock freezer method: sealing the books in bags, freezing them to draw out moisture, thawing them, then pressing them flat under weights. Stenography books on Miyamoto Musashi, Tokugawa Tenkichibo, and Murai Chōan survived the treatment. The moldy volumes — including the Ōmaeda Eigorō books — could not go in the freezer; left outside to air, they were swarmed by ants and sparrows, reduced to what Bakuzan called a "corpse" state. He invoked Dr. Tenma from Astro Boy to capture his grief, and noted the absurd dilemma that putting mold-covered books in the freezer next to his Häagen-Dazs was simply not an option. He closed the segment with a direct appeal: anyone who knows a specialist capable of restoring century-old books with mold damage should contact TBS Radio.

The Hokugin Yose — Performing Alongside Master Gontarō

Bakuzan appeared at the 22nd Hokugin Yose (北銀寄席), a 2,000-seat event hosted by North Japan Bank (北日本銀行), headquartered in Morioka, Iwate. His co-performers were Yanagiya Gontarō, a heavyweight of the Rakugo Association's Yanagiya school, and Utagamine (歌武蔵), a former sumo wrestler at 125 kilograms. Gontarō, who is fighting esophageal cancer, still brought the full house to roaring laughter; his fans include Eiichiro Oda and other prominent figures. Bakuzan's admiration for Gontarō stretches back to 2017, when as a zenza he appeared at a show called "Gontarō Howls at Kinkin" and the master praised him from the stage: "Finally, a man worth his weight in gold has appeared."

Wakanojō's Big-Eating Diplomacy — Food as a Career Move

Third disciple Wakanojō, 22 and from Iwate, had come along simply to carry bags. It started in the dressing room, where Gontarō spotted Iwate-exclusive yogurt and asked whether Wakanojō knew it. Wakanojō drank it down in large gulps — "I'm from Iwate" — and won immediate favor.

The after-party, held face-to-face with bank staff in an unusual format, was where he truly shone. While former wrestler Utagamine and a bank employee traded comic back-and-forth over soy milk versus local sake, Wakanojō steadily worked through tempura, soba, and the local confection kamome no tamago, all while talking about Iwate: he had once planned to become a Michinoku Pro Wrestling wrestler, and his all-time favorite performer is the late Ichiryūsai Teisui. The local bank staff leaned forward in their seats; Gontarō watched with a warm smile and murmured, "He can eat. I love it. Maybe I'll invite him back next year." The next morning, Gontarō's wife called to report: "Gontarō was delighted."

Bakuzan wrapped up with rueful admiration. "Getting more work just by eating — that's a genuine skill. I'm impressed by his one talent." He laughed that even though he was the one who had been invited, it might end up being only his disciple who gets called back.