Shank's Mare (Tokaidochu Hizakurige) Summary
Tokaidochu Hizakurige, known in English as Shank's Mare, is a comic travel story written by Jippensha Ikku in the late Edo period. Its first installment appeared in 1802 and became a huge hit, and sequel after sequel followed. The word "hizakurige" means using your own knees in place of a chestnut horse. In other words, traveling on foot.
The heroes are Yajirobei (Yaji), a man easily carried away by his own big talk, and Kitahachi (Kita), his young and reckless companion. After losing everything to a life of pleasure, the two left Fuchu in Suruga Province for Edo. When life there hits a dead end, they set off on a pilgrimage to Ise, using the excuse of shaking off their bad luck.
Their journey is one failure after another. At an inn in Odawara, they pretend to know how to use a goemon bath, a type of iron-cauldron tub, climb in wearing wooden clogs, stamp through the bottom, and have to pay for the repair. Past Hakone, they make friends with a kind fellow traveler who is really a goma no hai, a thief who preys on travelers, and at the inn in Mishima he steals their travel money. Then in Mariko, a post town beyond Yaji's hometown of Fuchu, they order the local specialty, tororo soup made from grated yam, only for the teahouse couple to start a fight. The tororo ends up all over the floor, and the two leave without a bite. This manga lets you enjoy the misadventures of this incorrigible pair the easy way.
Story summary
Episode 1Rock Bottom? Perfect Time for a Road Trip — Shank's Mare (Tokaido Hizakurige)
In the mangaMiddle-aged Yaji has lost his home, his work, and every last coin. His buddy Kita just got fired. "Let's shake off this bad luck. We're going to Ise!" Two lovable losers set out from Nihonbashi for Shinagawa in episode one of a road trip from 200 years ago.
In the original mythTokaido Hizakurige is a kokkeibon, a type of comic fiction popular in Edo-period Japan, written by Jippensha Ikku. Oddly, the beginning of the story came last. The first part, in which the two heroes leave Edo, appeared in 1802. Only in 1814, after the series had become a huge hit, did Ikku publish a prologue (hottan) explaining who these two men were and why they were on the road.
Episode 2Too Proud to Ask, He Bathed in Clogs — The Goemon Bath
In the mangaYaji has no idea how to use the inn's Goemon bath, an iron tub heated by a fire underneath, but he's too proud to admit it and insists "Everybody knows that!" He secretly gets by wearing wooden clogs in the tub, his buddy Kita copies the trick, and their first bath on the road, 200 years ago, ends in disaster.
In the original mythTokaido Hizakurige follows two Edo townsmen, Yajirobei (Yaji) and Kitahachi (Kita), as they walk the Tokaido, the great highway between Edo (modern Tokyo) and Kyoto. They set out on a pilgrimage to the Ise Grand Shrine, partly to shake off a run of bad luck. Leaving Edo through Shinagawa, they pass post towns such as Kawasaki, Totsuka and Oiso, and at almost every stop they cause small disasters, play tricks, and…
Episode 3Never Trust a Stranger Who's Too Nice — Hizakurige: Hakone and Mishima
In the mangaYaji finally drags himself over Hakone's brutal slopes and through the mountain checkpoint, then falls hard for a friendly fellow traveler who loves his bragging. After a midnight snapping-turtle prank turns the Mishima inn upside down, the boys wake up to find every coin of their travel money gone.
In the original mythTōkaidōchū Hizakurige (often translated as "Shank's Mare") is a comic novel by Jippensha Ikku, a popular Edo-period writer. The first volume came out in 1802 and the second in 1803. It follows two men from Edo (old Tokyo), Yajirobei and Kitahachi, better known as Yaji and Kita. They set off west along the Tokaido, the great highway between Edo and Kyoto, on a pilgrimage to the Ise Shrine. They say they want to…
Episode 4Faked Success at Home, Fell Into Yam Soup — The Yam Soup of Mariko (Tokaido Hizakurige)
In the mangaFlat broke, Yaji slinks into Fuchu, the hometown where he once partied away his parents' shop. There he plays the big success from Edo while quietly borrowing travel money. With the cash, he heads for the treat he's been dreaming of: Mariko's famous yam soup. But when he tries to break up the shop owners' marital spat, all four end up brawling in a sea of slippery yam. To top it off, he leaves all his money behind just to save face.
In the original mythTokaido Hizakurige is a comic travel novel by Jippensha Ikku, published in installments from 1802 to 1809, with eight parts in its main series. The title is a joke about using your own knees as a chestnut horse; in other words, going on foot. Its heroes are Yajirobei and Kitahachi, usually shortened to Yaji and Kita, two Edo men who set out on a pilgrimage to the Ise Grand Shrine. Their route is the Tokaido, the…
Episode 5A Fake Samurai With No Way Down — The Oi River
In the mangaWith no bridge across the Oi River and almost no money left, Yaji dresses up as a samurai to dodge the fare, with Kita as his reluctant retainer. He lords it over the porters from atop their shoulders, until his "sword" does something unthinkable in the middle of the river, and his lie falls apart in the one place he can't climb down.
In the original mythHizakurige is a comic novel by Jippensha Ikku, a popular writer of Japan's Edo period. Its first part came out in 1802, and the book follows two Edo men, Yajirobei (Yaji) and Kitahachi (Kita), as they walk west along the Tokaido, the great highway linking Edo, today's Tokyo, with Kyoto. Their adventures tend to follow a dependable pattern: someone has a clever idea, and the idea backfires.