goi Back to the route map日本語

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Meaning

getting even in an unexpected place

Settling an old grudge in an unexpected place, or over an unrelated matter.

Example

会議で反対された恨みを歓迎会の店選びで晴らすのは、江戸の敵を長崎で討つようなものだ。

Getting back at people who opposed you in a meeting through your choice of restaurant for the welcome party is like avenging Edo in Nagasaki.

Origin

According to Umegaki Minoru, the original form was Edo no kataki wo Nagasaki ga utsu (Nagasaki avenges Edo). In the Bunsei era, a showman from Osaka had a great hit in Edo and overwhelmed the Edo shows, but soon a show by Nagasaki craftsmen surpassed it in popularity, so it was as if Nagasaki had avenged Edo. Some dictionaries present it as a contest of pride between craftsmen over basketwork figures (kagozaiku). This is only one theory, however, and the origin has not been established.

Sources