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～雅とたこ焼き伝説～

時は江戸中期、徳川家が繁栄し、幕府が圧倒的な力を誇示していたころ。
商人の町、大坂堺は、ヨーロッパや朝鮮半島との貿易が盛んに行われ、町は活気に溢れていた。
海産物問屋「上吹屋」を営む藤伊彦左衛門は、魚類、貝類、海藻類などの海産物を幅広く扱っていた。遠くは信濃の国（現在の長野県）まで商売の手を広げ、堺では名のある豪商として知られていた。
16歳となった三女の雅は、信濃で茶屋を営む「亀ノ屋」店主の亀成和五郎のもとへ嫁ぐこととなった。中山道沿いに位置する「亀ノ屋」は、開業当時は多くの旅人で賑わっていたが、最近は多種多様な茶屋が立ち並ぶようになり、客足が減っていた。これを打開するため、店主の和五郎は、新しい名物が必要だと考えていた。
ある日、悩んでいる和五郎に対し、雅はひとつの提案をした。「父の営む海産物問屋に多幸（タコ）という魚がいます。生でも、煮ても、焼いても、とても美味しい魚です。ただ、見た目が悪いことで敬遠され、堺以外ではほとんど知られていません。その多幸（タコ）を使って、旅の人にも喜ばれる名物はできないでしょうか？」父の彦左衛門にかわいがられ、常にそばにいた雅には、受け継がれた商才があった。
雅はさっそく多幸を取り寄せ、三日三晩、寝ずに名物の開発に取り組んだ。
そして、試行錯誤の末に生まれたのが、多幸を小麦粉で包み丸く焼いた唯一無二の食べ物、その名も「雅のたこ焼き」だった。

It was in the middle of Edo era when Tokugawa Family was prosperous and the Tokugawa Bakufu showed its overwhelming power in Japan.
The city of merchants, Sakai, Ozaka was enjoying trading with European countries and Korean peninsula and the city itself was quite active
Hikozaemon Fujii who ran a wholesale store of seafood, Agefukiya’s, dealt with varieties of fish, shell, seaweed and so forth. He expanded his hand to the far way country of Shinano( current Nagano prefecture ) and was known as a wealthy merchant in Sakai city.
His third daughter Miyabi was already 16 years old and was decided to marry her to Wagoro Kamenari who ran a cafeteria, Kamenoya, in Shinano. Kamenoya that was located along Nakasendo Highway was popular among travellers at the beginning of this business. However, now a days, many different cafeterias came into the same business around Kamenoya and the visitors to Kamenoya became less and less as the time goes by. In order to give a solution to this situation, Wagoro as the master of the cafeteria, he thought some special products was necessary.
One day, Miyabe made a suggestion to Wagoro who was distressed with the matter.
“I know there is a fish that is supposed to bring luck called Tako( octopus ). You can eat it raw, boiled or grilled. Anyway of cooking, it is delicious. But the appearance is nasty that is why people kept a wide distance from Tako. Ordinary people do not even know its existence except for those who live in Sakai city. Is it not possible for you to create some special menu using Tako even for travelers ?”
Miyabe, always stayed with her father and was cherished by him, had inherited the good sense of business. Soon after the talk, Miyabi asked the father to send Tako to her and she tried and tried to develop a special Tako menu without sleeping for three days and nights.
After her trials and errors, she reached a new food. A cut octopus was covered with wheat flour and grilled to a ball. The name was Takoyaki. * The above story is a fiction.