Ooka Tadasuke

From Freepedia

Ooka Tadasuke (大岡 忠相 Ōoka Tadasuke, 1677 - 1752) was a Japanese judge in the reign of Tokugawa Shogunate.

He was highly respected as an incorruptible judge whose achievements included the first fire brigade in Tokyo.

In addition, the figure has taken on a legendary status in a number of stories about his wise and imaginatively unorthodox legal decisions. One of the most famous stories is called "The Case of the Stolen Smell" where he heard the case of a paranoid innkeeper who accused a poor student of literally stealing the fumes of his cooking by eating when the innkeeper was cooking to flavour his dull food. Although his collegues advised Ooka to throw the case out as ridiculous, he decided to hear the case. The judge resolved the matter by ordering the student to pass the money he had in one hand to his other and ruling that the price of the smell of food is the sound of money.

References

• Edmonds, I.G., Case of the Marble Monster and Other Stories, ISBN 0590080245, a collection of stories about Ooka Tadasuke, for younger readers.