A Tokyo Eel Restaurant

choi

Tokyo; Unagi Kabuto. New York Times, Jan 6, 2013 (in the column Bites).
http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/0 ... abuto-in-tokyo.html

Note:
(1) Unagi Kabuto  うなぎ かぶと
(a) YY, Ikebukuro - Unagi Kabuto. Gaijins in Tokyo, Oct 9, 2009.
http://summertokyo.blogspot.com/ ... o-unagi-kabuto.html
(b) At the end of the food review is its address:
2-53-2 Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo.

かぶと
https://plus.google.com/10447968 ... out?gl=us&hl=en
("東京都豊島区池袋2丁目53−2 池袋ESビル 1F  171-0014, Japan")

* The ESビル is the name of a building, where ビル (pronounced "biru"( is short for "building."
(c) In paragraph 2, the review says "you’ll want to watch the chef and owner, Kazuo Iwai, haul live eels out of a basin, spike them to his cutting board and speedily fillet them just before skewering and grilling."
* The surname of the owner is IWAI  岩井.
* Spike?  Yes, see photo 3 in this Japanese-language blog

azabuclassic, うなぎ　かぶと　池袋. Azabu the Classic Taylor, June 1, 2011.  
http://atct.exblog.jp/15665497

(2) unagi うなぎ 《鰻》 (n): "eel (esp the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica)"

Japanese eel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_eel
(found in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam[1] as well as the northern Philippines; Like all the eels of the genus Anguilla and the family Anguillidae, it is catadromous, meaning it lives parts of its life in both freshwater and saltwater)

(3)
(a) kabuto 兜 【かぶと】 (n): "helmet (of armor)"
(b) kabuto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuto

(4) Ikebukuro 池袋
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikebukuro
(a district [more accurately, a neighborhood] in Toshima 豊島区, Tokyo;   

Quote: "The kanji for Ikebukuro literally means pond bag. Outside the west exit of Ikebukuro station near an entrance to the Fukutoshin Line [(東京地下鉄) 副都心線] is a small plaque explaining three origins of the name Ikebukuro. The first is that in the northeastern part of the village there was a lake shaped like someone holding a bag. The second is that there was once a large number of lakes in the area of various sizes (thus implying a bag full of lakes). The third is that long ago a turtle came out of the lake carrying a bag on its back.

(5) The review talks about the "tender, unctuous eel" in the restautant.

unctuous (adj):
"1 a: FATTY, OILY
b: smooth and greasy in texture or appearance"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unctuous

* from Latin ūnctum, ointment, from neuter past participle of unguere, to anoint

(6) The review mentions "Yama-no Chaya, which opened in the early 20th century on the leafy grounds of Hie-Jinja Shrine."

(a) Yama-no-Chaya  山の茶屋
http://yamanotyaya.jp/  
(address: 東京都千代田区 永田町 2-10-6, or 永田町２丁目１０－６)

(b) For Hie-Jinja Shrine (jinja is 神社), see Hie Shrine  日枝 神社
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hie_Shrine
(東京都千代田区二丁目; The main god of the shrine is Ōyamakui-no-kami 大山咋神 [日本の神  an indigenous god of Japan])

The main god, as well as the name of the shrine (with a bit of chane), ultimately came from
日吉大社  Hiyoshitaisha
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiyoshitaisha

* The "hi" and "yoshi" are Japanese pronunciations of kanji 日 and 吉, respectively.
* Japanese Wiki page for 日吉大社
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E5%90%89%E5%A4%A7%E7%A4%BE

Quote:

(A) introduction: "滋賀県大津市坂本にある神社 * * * 全国に約2,000社ある日吉・日枝・山王神社の総本社である。* * * 社名の「日吉」はかつては「ひえ」と読んだが、第二次世界大戦後は「ひよし」を正式の読みとしている。

translation: located at Sakamoto (neighborhood), City of Ōtsu [Kyoto is on its west and prefecture capital], Shiga Prefecture. * * * head shrine of 日吉・日枝・山王神社 which total 2,000 nation-wide. * * * The shrine name 日吉 was pronounced "hi-e" but after World War II formally pronounced "hi-yoshi."

(B) section 2 歴史: 文献では、『古事記』に「大山咋神、亦の名を山末之大主神。此の神は近淡海国の日枝の山に坐し」とあるのが初見である。日枝の山（ひえのやま）とは後の比叡山のことである。

translation: 大山咋神 resided in 日枝の山 (Hie-no-yama), which became 比叡山 Hiei-zan.

(7) Mount Hiei 比叡山--elevation 848.1 m (2,782 ft)--strides the boundary of Ōtsu and Kyoto. That is, 滋賀県大津市西部と京都府京都市北東部. The second "i" in Mount Hiei merely signifies the "e" is a long vowel (rather than pronounced like "ei" in "eight")--put another way, the second "i" is silent.

(8) The review then alludes to "Tokyo’s Ikebukuro neighborhood, whose lively streets are peopled more by touts in skinny suits than by elegant women in kimonos."

tout (n): "British  a ticket scalper"
Random House Dictionary
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tout

(9) The review refers to "kushiyaki hitotoori, a sequence of skewered grilled eel parts"
(a) kushiyaki 串焼き; 串焼 【くしやき】 (n): "grilling on a skewer; spit-roasting"

* kushi 串 【くし】 (n): "spit; skewer"
(b) hitotōri 一通り 【ひととおり】 (n,adj-no) (1) (See 一通り揃う) from start to end; in general; (2) ordinary; usual; (adv) (3) briefly; roughly; (n) (4) one method;

* The "oo" in "hitotoori" merely signifies a long o vowel (symbol: ō), rather than pronounced twice.


(10) The review ends by saying, "The main course options include the familiar sweet-savory glazed eel (okabayaki) and something you don’t see as often: unglazed eel (shirayaki), simply grilled over charcoal and served with salt on the side. Each is offered in small, medium and large portions (medium — toku — was just right)."
(a) okabayaki  蒲焼
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabayaki
(section 2 Etymology)

* kaba かば 《蒲》 (n): "common cattail (Typha latifolia)"
* The "o" in okabayaki is merely an honorific (to show respect; another example is okane where kane is money 金 (the same kanji can mean gold but pronounced differently: kin); kane and kin are Japanese and Chinese pronunciations, respectively).
(b) shirayaki  白焼き 【しらやき】 (n): "grilled without seasoning"
(c) toku 【とく】 (v): "to do something in readiness for; to get something (needful) done"
Jim Breen's online Japanese dictionary