時そば

In the classic rakugo story *Toki Soba* (Time Soba), the trickster customer uses the passing of the time to cheat the soba shop owner out of his payment. As he eats his bowl of soba, he loudly counts the toppings on the noodles, pausing to ask the time from an outside accomplice right before he reaches the number ten. He uses the answer given (such as "It's 9 o'clock" - *Ku-ji*) to seamlessly trick the shopkeeper into thinking he only counted to *Ku* (nine), effectively getting one noodle free.

The main character in *Toki Soba* is typically a classic Edo-period archetype known as a *tanuki* (a clever trickster or lovable rogue). In some specific performance lineages, the character is referred to as a variation of the famous trickster named Jirokichi, though it is often just an unnamed witty townsman. He is characterized by his quick wit and ability to talk his way out of paying full price for his meals.

The story centers entirely around a bowl of *soba*, which are thin buckwheat noodles served hot in a broth, a very popular and cheap fast food in Edo period Japan. Specifically, the trick involves counting the *kakiage*, or tempura flakes, mixed into the noodle broth. The shopkeeper, who sells cheap bowls of soba to the working class, is easily confused by the trickster's rapid, time-based counting.

Yes, *Toki Soba* is considered an absolute foundational classic and a mandatory staple in the repertoire of almost every professional rakugo performer. It is often one of the very first stories a deshi (apprentice) is taught when they begin their training under a master. A rakugo performer's skill is often judged by their specific pacing and comedic timing during the final counting sequence of this iconic story.