Near Shichijo in Kyoto, there lived Fukutomi no Oribe, who made a fortune off his farting skills.
Next door, there lived Gokusho no Tota, who was always poor. Tota had a wife named Oniuba, who was
older than him.
One day, Oniuba, who was envious of the lifestyle of Oribe and his wife, prodded her husband Tota,
“Even you can learn the art of farting and get rich.”
With no other choice, Tota asked his neighbor Oribe to take him on as a student and teach him
farting skills. Oribe, who thought that Tota was acting ridiculously, gave Tota two round, black
pills, and lied, telling him they would make him fart more. Tota reported back to Oniuba
immediately, and his heart leapt with desire to hurry and show off his skills.
Tota ate the pills that he received from Oribe, and went out to the residence of Chujo-dono in
Imadegawa. On the way, his stomach was rumbling and his bowels were loose, but he desperately held
it in. Although his stomach hurt while he passed through the garden of the residence, he ate the
treats that were offered to him. When he could no longer bear it, he lifted up his clothes, and the
moment he strained himself, all that was inside of him leaked out with a loud fart. Chujo-dono’s
residence was a dreadful sight. Although he tried to run away, Tota was caught by Chujo-dono’s
servants, and he was beaten many times with a whip. “What a lousy farter you are. You are a
disgrace! Hit him, hit him!” “There’s something yellow in your drink, and it smells.” “Oh, it
reeks! It reeks!”
Bleeding from his forehead, Tota returned home in a battered state. The bones of his hip where he
was struck were throbbing, and his skinned knees were stinging. Although he wanted to rest, he could
not because of the atrocious smell on his body.
Oniuba saw her husband coming home on the main street from afar. She mistook Tota’s bloodstained
clothes for a red, quilted silk garment that she thought he had earned as a reward. She burned all
of her old kimonos.
“What a lot of smoke! Is the smoke coming from my house?
It keeps streaming this way.”
Once Taro returned home and took off his clothes that were stained with blood and dirt, he did not
have anything to change into. He had no choice but to remain naked, and trembled when it was cold.
His diarrhea also continued that evening and the next day, and he suffered from a stomach ache.
Oniuba felt pity for her husband Tota, and devotedly took care of him.
“This is all Fukutomi no Oribe’s fault!” Oniuba set out to the riverside, and prayed to the god of
Kumano while counting her rosary beads.
“Let there be revenge!”
Tota became weaker every day and night. Now, he could not go to the bathroom on his own, and only
wanted water incessantly, making incoherent sounds. Oniuba had Wake no Kiyomaro, who was a doctor,
prescribe medicine for her husband.
Around this time, Oribe suffered nightmares, and was advised by a fortune teller to stay at home.
However, the prideful Oribe set out on a pilgrimage to temples and shrines early the next morning.
Oniuba, who was waiting since the early morning, seized this golden opportunity. Seeing Oribe, she
bit into him, and avenged her husband.
Commoners’ storyFukutomi Zoshi(Tale of
Fukutomi)
