Dagashi Kashi 46

061:

第
46th Sweet: Ume Jam

====================

062:

も
I've made up my mind.

ほ
Hotaru-san...

行
I'm leaving...

=====

止
Don't try to stop me, Kokonotsu-kun...

=====

シ
I leave Shikada Dagashi
in your care...

シ
Shikada

=====

い
Erm... Nope, I'm not taking it over...

=====

…
...

====================

063:

頼
Anyway, I leave it in your care...

い
Hey, did you hear me?! I said I'm not taking it over!!

=====

て
And when I asked you were you're going, you said...

=====

「
"I'm leaving on a journey to become the /'Ume Jam'/ successor."

[on the ume jam]

本
Genuine Ume

全
No artificial sweetener

元
Pioneer

商
Trademark

梅
Ume Jam

本
Genuine Ume

全
No artificial sweetener

[end of ume jam]

梅
Ume Jam

梅
A dagashi made with Ume flesh that has been on the market for more than 60 years. It mixes Japanese and Western styles in a form that is unique to it. Eating it on lightly-baked senbei is extremely popular.

=====

後
What do you mean by "becoming the successor"...?!

=====

そ
It's the manufacturer's job to find one!!

違
You've got something wrong, Kokonotsu-kun...

=====

梅
The production of Ume Jam... is assured by a single individual!

====================

064:

そ
His name is Hirofumi Takabayashi! He's the artisan who's been producing Ume Jam all on his own for more than 60 years now!!

高
Hirofumi Takabayashi-san

高
But Takabayashi-shi hasn't chosen his successor yet!
In other words, if he ever comes to retire, Ume Jam could very well become nothing more than a memory of the past!!
[TL note: the "-shi" honorific used here is different from the one she uses for "saya-shi", and simply means "mister/miss/..."]

=====

そ
That would be a bit sad.

そ
I didn't know...

軽
How can you stay so detaaached?!!

=====

コ
Kokonotsu-kun!

お
It's time for a lesson!!

=====

高
When Takabayashi-shi was 14 years old, the war came to an end.

終
[...]ar is over

====================

065:

そ
Back then, kamishibai were all the rage in the city.

だ
Dagashi Kashi

=====

皆
While everyone was fascinated by the kamishibai, what caught his eyes were the thin "senbei" that were sold during those...

=====

あ
I'm sure if there were something like jam to add some flavor to senbei, it'd sell like hotcakes...

そ
At that time, one of his father's friends had given him "apple powder"...

=====

り
apple

梅
ume

…
...

乾
and he had seen dried ume at a dry snacks store, and it gave him a brilliant idea.

=====

そ
And then, after two years of trial and error...

完
he found the perfect recipe!

=====

う
Vob Dis Ube Jab... /(For this Ume Jam.)/

え
Huuuh?! What part of the story made you cry?!

=====

こ
A million thanks to Takabayashi-shi... no, Takabayashi-shin! for this miracle, for giving birth to Ume Jam...!
[TL note: "-shin" means "god"]

…
...

====================

066:

わ
I know where you're coming from.

う
Woooaaah!! Don't scare me like that!

ヨ
You-san...

=====

父
You know, when I was young... people often said that I was a very agitated child...

す
*sniff*

な
Now he's gonna tell us his life story...

今
And you're still agitated...

=====

よ
I was always running around and sweating a lot, so I needed a lot of salt...

ウ
Woohoo!

か
But I just couldn't settle down and calmly eat something.

=====

そ
In times like those, Ume Jam was really great!

吸
I could play while sucking on it.

=====

体
Ah, the feeling of the ume's bittersweetness penetrating my body...

あ
I was made of Ume Jam back then...
Or rather, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I was Ume Jam...

過
No, it /is/ an exaggeration! Don't lose sight of yourself!

=====

ち
*sluuurp*

====================

067:

や
It's really super good... We can't afford to lose it! That's why I have to succeed...

=====

待
Wait!
Don't you have the Shidare company to succeed, Hotaru-chan?

ぐ
Ghh...!

そ
And... You can still make your decision after listening to what I have to say.

=====

そ
First of all, Takabayashi-shi has sons...

！
!

で
But he doesn't want them to succeed him.

=====

な
Why...?

フ
Hu hu...

氏
Apparently, he said...

=====

「
"You have to become better fathers than I've been for you."

そ
And also...

高
Takabayashi-san

「
"I'm the one who has started the whole Ume Jam business, and I'll be the one who ends it."

=====

そ
Should we really ignore his feelings just to satisfy our selfish desires...?

か
He's so cool...

====================

068:

…
...

氏
I see... So he said that...

=====

私
Then I guess there isn't much we can do but keep on loving Ume Jam...

そ
Exactly...

う
Right...

=====

そ
I understand... What's important is to be thankful for the Ume Jam and other dagashi that exist today...!

継
It's not a question of whether or not the son succeeds the father...! So it's fine if I become a mangaka...!!

=====

コ
Kokonotsu-kun...

=====

だ
Of course it's /not/ fine!

お
You have to take over the store.

え
Huuuh?! Did you two really understand the moral of this story...?!

受
Kokonotsu inherits (?) his father's will!