On the one hand, this story is generally interpreted as the host's apology to say, 'I cannot entertain you with anything more than bubu zuke today, so please come on the other day, if you like,' but at the same time this is considered as a kind of communication rules to express the host's intention without giving bitter feelings, that is a special custom available only in such closed society as Kyoto.
一般に「今日はぶぶ漬け程度の粗食しかおもてなし出来ないので、日を改めてまた来てくれ」という意味に解釈されているが、角が立たないように自分の意思を伝える一種の取り決めごととも言えることで、京都という独特の閉鎖的社会だからこそ成り立った習慣である。