Overview

Feeding the ear means accepting the word of others at face value without bothering to confirm for yourself. Here, a man eating fish with his drink tries to taste it through his ear instead of his mouth. Using his own particular brand of humor, Baishi criticizes those who act like know-it-alls but in fact are ignorant. Suma Yakichirō praised this work as having “a Song-like flavor,” and even copied it himself.