Oishinbo EP54 - Tokyo-style Zoni

amaoka's elderly acquaintance, Mr. Date the "head of the Edo firemen", is in low spirits and barely leaves his room. He wanted some zōni soup for New Year's Meal but the place where he had always bought kamaboko paste, an essential ingredient, had closed shop and he didn't like the kamaboko from anywhere else. Yamaoka wants to cheer up the old man, but when he tries some commercially available kamaboko he finds them unappealing, as artificial flavors and polyphosphate have been added to the product. Eventually, Yamaoka makes his own kamaboko from scratch using traditional methods. Now Mr. Date can properly celebrate the New Year with "Edokko" zōni. He feels invigorated and few days later participates in the Dezomeshiki, an annual event where modern and Edo period fire-fighting techniques are displayed.