Cormorant Fishing "UKAI"
|I. Cormorant-Fishing on the Nagara River|
Those methods by which man carries on hunting or fishing with the help of animals or birds, have long been practiced in not only in
Cormorant Fishing "UKAI"
|I. Cormorant-Fishing on the Nagara River|
Those methods by which man carries on hunting or fishing with the help of animals or birds, have long been practiced in not only in Japan, but in various places throughout the world. Here in Japan, cormorant-fishing and falconry are the most popular.
Cormorant-fishing originally was a form of fishing in Japan. Books written many years ago reveal that this form of fishing was practiced in various places in Japan. With time, this practice gradually dwindled, and today, the Nagara river in Gifu is the only example of this kind of traditional fishing to survive. According to the old record book ”Wamyo-sho”, Mino Province, the old name of the southern part of Gifu prefecture, had seven villages where cormorant-fishing was practiced. It is only natural that cormorant-fishing has its foundation there, situated among big rivers, the Kiso, the Nagara and the Ibi.
Besides this favorable geographical condition, Nobunaga Oda, a feudal lord, supported the cormorant-fishermen, giving some of them the honorable position of “U-Sho”, Master-Cormorant-Fisherman, and helping fishing industry to develop.
In the days of the Tokugawa Shogunate it was brought under the direct control of Owari-Han, a feudal clan, one of the three descendants of the Shogunate. A rice fare of 10 ryo (2,500dollars) was issued to the twenty-one master-cormorant-fishermen (fourteen of them were from the Nagara, seven from the Oze) and ordered them to send fresh-water-trout-Sushi(pressed boiled rice with fish) packed in four pails to Edo Castle(Shogunate’s place) once a month from May to August every year. The quantity of fish varied according to the circumstances of each year. The success of the cormorant fishing was promoted through the fishermen’s privileges over the rivers given by the feudal lord.
The cormorant fishing at first was under the protection of the feudal lord. With the Imperial Restoration of 1868, and the system of government being changed, the 300 year-old protective policy of the Tokugawa Shogunate came to an end. The cormorant-fishing met many difficulties never before experienced, but has managed to survive with its long tradition. It has been maintained and protected by the Emperor since 1890, under the direct control of the Imperial Household Department.
This original style of fishing has long been preserved in its purest form, and its technical skill refined to the utmost extent. All the utensils used in cormorant fishing are now regarded as important cultural goods or historical materials. The origin of the cormorant fishing can be traced back as remote as 1300 years ago. It is worth mentioning that cormorant fishing fostered under the policy of the feudal lords, has actually experienced vicissitudes of fortune. This traditional form of fishing, particular to Japan, has been preserved generation after generation in the Nagara, through the strenuous efforts of master-cormorant-fishermen.
Such being the historical background of cormorant fishing, the Japanese and people from other countries visiting Japan enjoy the chance to appreciate this classical style of fishing. Night after night, year after year, the bonfire of the cormorant-fishing is seen, reflected in the waters of the Nagara.
|II. The Cormorant|
The cormorant fishing here at the Nagara river uses a “Sea Cormorant”. Cormorants are found all over the world, except in the Middle Pacific. There are four kinds of cormorants in Japan:
1) Phalacrocorax corbo hanedae (Japanese name, Kawa-U, river-cormorant)
2) Phalacrocorax capillatus (Japanese name, Umi-U, sea-cormorant)
3) Phalacrocorax Pelagicius Pelagicus (Japanese name, Hime-U, princess-cormorant)
4) Phalacrocorax urile (Japanese name, Chishima-Ugarasu, island-cormorant)
Here at the Nagara river, sea cormorants are used exclusively. In China the
river-cormorant is used. Sea cormorants are bigger than river cormorants, so the sea
cormorant can catch bigger and more fish than the river cormorant.
Sea cormorants can endure long hours and, being mild-tempered, do not compete with one another for food. River cormorants however, are small, hot-tempered and therefore, much less preferable as fishing cormorants. Sea cormorants have anoth