(Voice actor) Mr.David Radtke

Even geniuses, heroes, and extraordinary figures have dark days. For example, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who took control of Japan from the 1580s to the 1590s, served Yukitsuna Matsushita, the vassal of the Imagawa family as a foot soldier before serving Nobunaga Oda. Hideyoshi felt that he was well-taken care of during this period and was deeply grateful. There is a story that after he united the nation, he returned the favor by finding Yukitsuna and awarding territory to him. There is another, quite contrasting story, about the genius tactician of China’s Spring and Autumn Warring States period, Angler Jiang Ziya. He was divorced by his wife during his master-less days. Later, he assisted the king of Zhou to destroy the Yin and became the king of Qi, but when his ex-wife asked to reconcile, he rejected. While it is difficult to gauge people’s talent, it may be a good idea to help someone in need to the best of one’s abilities. In the 1690s during the Tokugawa regime, there was an influential scholar named Sorai Ogyu. His talent was recognized by the 5th shogun Tunayoshi Tokugawa’s close aide, Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, and became famous. He also gained the trust of the 8th shogun Yoshimune Tokugawa and acted as his mastermind. Sora Ogyu was celebrated as a genius since he was a child. A bright future was expected of him, but his father angered the lord of the Tatebayashi domain, Tsunayoshi Tokugawa (later the 5th shogun), and was kicked out. Sorai moved to Josou (now a part of Chiba prefecture). Here, he had the opportunity to read various books and built the foundation of succeeding as a scholar. Later, he was forgiven in 1692 and was able to enter Edo. By this time, Sorai was a full-fledged scholar. He tried to teach academics by opening a private academy near Zojoji temple, but no one entered at first and he lived in poverty. Sorai bought stuff from a tofu vendor on credit. But he didn’t make money for several days and his debt to the vendor kept growing. Sorai honestly apologized that he had no money and promised the vendor that he would pay him back when becomes successful. The vendor believed Sorai’s honest character and accepted his offer. After that, the vendor brought tofu to Sorai every day. But one day, the tofu vendor’s shop burned down in a fire. It was Sorai, whom the vendor had brought tofu to every day on credit because he was poor, who showed up in front of the troubled vendor. What did Sorai Ogyu offer the vendor? Enjoy the story of Sorai-dofu.