Long ago in some forgotten corner of Iwate there was an inn, and the keeper of this hostel was a most covetous man indeed, so much so that anything left behind by guests became the man's personal property. One day a traveler arrived at, goggle-eyed, well-dressed, with a striped bundle on his back.
"I'd like a room for the night," the man said.
"Welcome, please come in, you can have your pick of the rooms" said the innkeeper and, grinning ear to ear, showed the visitor to his room.
"He certainly looks prosperous. I wonder what's in that bundle of his? Aha, I have an idea. They say that myoga induces forgetfulness, so I'll just serve him up a dish of Japanese ginger for dinner," thought the innkeeper.
So he summoned the maidservant and explained that the guest had ordered ginger for dinner- and lots of it.
The guest tucked in to a dish piled high with the herb, exclaiming, "My, this is delicious". Before long the plate was clean.
Our innkeeper gleefully pictured to himself the mysterious bundle of the guest and the riches it must hold, which would undoubtedly be his come morning the next day.
On preparing to depart the next morning, the guest thanked the serving girl for the delicious dinner and set out on his way.
No sooner had he left than the innkeeper rushed into the man's room, fully expecting to find the forgotten bundle lying in plain view on the tatami matting. To his great surprise, however, it was nowhere to be seen. He turned over all the floor cushions and bedding and emptied the closets, all to no avail. Despite having eaten a heaping plate of ginger for dinner, the departed guest had forgotten nothing.
Perplexed and disappointed, the innkeeper remained lost in thought until he had a revelation: the guest had indeed forgotten something- to pay his bill.
The man rushed out and pursued the guest in the direction he had left, stopping passersby to ask if they'd seen a goggle-eyed man with a large bundle wrapped in a striped cloth. But the villagers knew the innkeeper well, and his inquiries were met with howls of laughter.
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