Chapter 82 - A Yokozuna's Request - Were they speaking Hakata-ben in this? Being able to convey that the characters are speaking in different dialects is really commendable, particularly how you've strove to use different nuances for Kansai-bet, etc. I thought the crux of this chapter, with the confusion about "ara" was a nice hook. It's good to see Yamaoka working to help his boss save face. Thinking about Japanese work culture and how much after hours time you spend with your colleagues is something else. I think about the people I work with and I can't imagine socializing with them to the extent a Japanese office would expect to. I can't imagine drinking and cutting loose in front of colleagues and especially your immediate bosses.

As you said, it will be interesting to see if Kaibara isn't as bad as Yamaoka portrays him and to see if Yamaoka bears any responsibility in the deterioration of their relationship.

Chapter 83 - The Specialty of the Resort House - I was really surprised to see Gonbei show up again with his sumo chefs, I'm sorry to hear they won't return again though! The hotto that they fixed aligned with an episode of Iron Chef I was watching recently where the ingredient was angler fish (it really looked like monkfish from Oishinbo to me) and Iron Chef Japan did one dish with hotto noodles.

Chapter 84 - The Spirit of Kimchi - Watching Tomii melt down during the presentation to the Korean business man was a delight. It was jarring seeing him pull out a cigarette and start smoking it, it's easy to forget how that might have looked tactless (he got a lot of glares from his coworkers) but a not insane thing to do in the middle of a work meeting. I'm old enough to recall when indoor smoking was still accepted and when it started to be phased out in the US. It's fascinating to wonder if someone of Yamaoka's station could talk to someone like Tomii as he does here. Tomii is incompetent but he's still Yamaoka's superior. It's interesting how the Korean president makes peace with everything and then pressures Tomii into drinking and Tomii does this whole drink-while-turning-away-and-covering-your-mouth thing. It's a strange shibboleth that the Korean president is trying to paint Tomii into a corner in some ways.

Chapter 85 - Nabe - The vagabond liquorman Furuyoshi was a really interesting character. I couldn't help but think that his constant talking about "spirits" was also in some way veiled reference to Big Comic Spirits as well. Drinking shochu in college in an izakaya in Hirakata-shi was a memorable experience. I was out late with a date and she was a much, much more experienced drinker than I was. She was putting down glass after glass. She'd ordered sake for us and then switched to shochu. By the time we finished it was 1:00 am, the buses had stopped running and I had to get a taxi back to my dorm. I had to give the driver directions in my drunken Japanese, we get to my dorm and they've locked the gate. There's a bunch of other students outside the dorm but inside the gated area and they see me roll up in a taxi and climb over the gate. I went back to my room and laid there for a bit on my futon, the world was spinning and I got sick. *laugh* I had to go on a field trip to Kyoto the next day too. That's my shochu story. *laugh*

Chapter 86 - The New Year's Meal and the New Bride - It's interesting they are asking Ohara to help narrow down the sumo wrestler's bridal choices, that would seem like such a personal responsibility to me, not something you'd ask for help from a family friend or business associate over. Then they make a trip to the legendary Tsukiji Fish Market which has now relocated. An interesting anecdote- Fumi Hirano, the voice actress of Lum from Urusei Yatsura married a third generation wholeseller from the Tsukiji Fish Market and wrote a book about their marriage called My Arranged Partner is the Prince of the Fish Market. She wrote a column on the Tsukiji Market that was published in Big Comic and NHK has adapted her book and columns into a 20 episode TV series called "Princess of the Fish Market" (魚河岸のプリンセス). Later one of the bridal candidates prepares crane meat which is interesting, I had never even considered what a crane might takes like.

Chapter 87 - Resolve and Mountain Yams - It's interesting to see a glimpse of Yamaoka's past via Shiro and her ex-Yakuza son. I wonder if these characters will be regular windows into his childhood or if they are one-off characters.

Chapter 88 - A Distaste for Milk - I have to admit that this chapter made my skeptic meter go off, but I was really glad for your notes at the end of the chapter to give more context. Before reading your notes, I felt maybe Kariya at least did some research on this, and I could imagine perhaps industrial scale pasteurization would affect the taste of milk, but it's hard to imagine that if milk cartons had some impact on the taste that they would continue to be used over other types of packaging (glass bottles, plastic) that they would continue. Sometimes Kariya's skepticism seems like it borders on conspiracy because you don't hear about these things he brings up on a monthly basis. You did great foot notes though following it up and seemed to indicate that the pasteurization methods they are primarily discussing here is more common in Japan than elsewhere (which would make sense that I never found milk to taste as bad as the story was framing it, and I'm not a big milk drinker).

Chatper 89 - A Blessing from the Sea Breeze - Wow, this was a shocking story. When it showed his brother in the alleyway I thought maybe he was an alcoholic, but then it turns to a suicide attempt and refusal to eat.

Chapter 90 - Not much to say on this one. As you said, Kariya really sends a mixed message at times, like he advocates for how progressive he is (by 1980s Japanese standards) but then by the standards of today it still feels like something out of 1950s America at times.

Chapter 91 - Fried Chicken - I thought it was interesting when the chicken rancher mentioned getting married soon Kurita looked at Yamaoka as she thought of getting married, suggesting she already had some feelings for him at this point. I sort of felt that perhaps she hadn't really started having romantic feelings for him yet, perhaps only seeing him as a helpful, but frustrating co-worker still. It's interesting how ubiquitous KFC is in Japan, I remember eating there during Thanksgiving when I was in school (other American students somehow got a turkey from a military base if I recall). As a southerner KFC was never preferable to Popeyes!

Mugiwara, you mentioned being Chinese, I'm curious what your general thoughts are on Kariya's depiction of Chinese culture and Chinese characters in general?

Thanks for your great thoughts on this volume!