Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Great Tenna Fire in Edo


Yaoya Oshichi lived with her parents in a suburb of Edo, Japan in the 1600's. In December of 1682, during the great fire in Edo,  Yaoya and her parents took refuge in the nearby Enjo-ji temple. While there, Yaoya met Ikuta Shōnosuke, a young boy who was employed at the temple and they spent time together as she and her family waited for the fire to subside.

When the fire died out and the family traveled home, Yaoya returned heartbroken and wondered when she would ever be able to see Ikuta again. Desperate for a way to be united with her young love again, she came upon an idea.

Early the next year Yaoya was caught trying to start a fire. Her plan, it seems, was to recreate the events of December to be reunited with Ikuta. Yaoya, now 16 years old, would face the full penalty for arson at that time, being burnt at the stake.

When the magistrate of the case saw the young Yaoya brought before him, he tried to ease her sentence by asking her if she was 15, and as such would be tried as a minor, avoiding the death penalty. Yaoya, not understanding the intent of the question, answered honestly that she was 16. The magistrate again asked if she was sure that she was 16, and again Yaoya told the truth.

Whether it was naive innocence that caused her to answer that way, or maybe a desire to honor her parents, or a way of taking responsibility for her act of love for Ikuta, we will never know.  On this day in 1683, Yaoya Oshichi was burned at the stake in Edo, Japan.

________________________________________

On this day in 1886 the first batch of Coca-Cola was brewed in Atlanta, Georgia.





          The Historical Inebriant:  Jack and Coke
       I feel very comfortable leaving the mixing up to you




I drank my share of Jack n cokes when I was younger and Rum n Cokes as well, but I switched to vodka later on and never looked back.  However, when this latest round of  Pinnacle Vodkas
hit the market I tried them with coke (something you would not do with Kettle One!).

You are free to poke fun of me, but first, give a taste to a Pinnacle Whipped n' Coke!
Sometimes, it's good to be sixteen again!

http://pinnaclevodka.com/assets/pdfs/recipes/21_PINF374_Pinn_WhippedTame_RecipePage.pdf

No comments:

Post a Comment

Post Comment: