Fresh from the Sea:

Tairyōbata and the Culture of Fishing in Japan

Items in the exhibition fall broadly into two categories:

	equipment used in the harvest of the sea’s bounty and its preparation for consumption,
	and
	articles that are not directly related to the act of fishing but which nevertheless use imagery derived from it in their design or surface decoration.

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Articles With Imagery Derived From The Act Of Fishing

 

Fishermen typically fly large, colorful banners or flags called tairyōbata, or ‘large-catch banners’, from their vessels during occasions of celebration. The banners are symbolic of the desire of fishermen to bring in bountiful hauls of fish, and are commissioned by well-wishers to give as gifts to the owners of the fishing boats. A ship will typically fly numerous banners at a time making the visual impact of banners flying from a several fishing boats lined up in the harbor quite impressive.

Inscriptions and pictorial elements on the banners usually follow a formula. At the top are three characters reading “iwai” (celebration) and “tairyō” (large catch), giving the banners their name. This example is typical, with the character reading “iwai” placed between those reading “tairyō”. Emblazoned across the center of the flag is the name of the fishing vessel for which it was made, in this case, Shun-maru. The ship’s name is usually either two or (more often) three characters, the last of which, -maru (literally, ‘round’), is the same on every banner. -Maru is the customary suffix for a ship’s name in Japan. An inscription in smaller characters at the bottom of the flag names the well-wishers who commissioned it and gave it as a gift to the owner of the vessel.

This banner also depicts a bundle of noshi, dried strips of the deep-water shellfish called awabi (abalone in English). Strips of noshi, or representations of them, are invariably found on gift envelopes used to present money for celebratory occasions. The word noshi is a homonym of another word meaning extending or stretching. The auspicious connotation of images of noshi, then, is the wish that happiness or good fortune be long-lasting.

 

This banner congratulates an entertainer with the professional name of Jijunojo associated with an establishment called the Seiryutei, probably an ochaya, or tea house, where geisha entertain clients. The banner is a gift of a textile dye shop, perhaps one that Jijunojo uses for the garments he/she wears professionally, called the Nishikyo-Ho Some Kojo (West Kyoto Dye Shop). Although the banner has nothing to do with fishing per se, it uses auspicious or congratulatory imagery drawn from the harvest of the deep.

Behind the greatly enlarged sake cup the banner depicts noshi, or dried strips of the meat of the deep-water shellfish called awabi (abalone in English), which female divers, or ama, collect. A homonym of the word noshi means extending or stretching. The auspicious connotation of images of noshi, then, is the wish that happiness or good fortune last a long time. The sake cup is an image drawn from Jijunojo’s own profession as an entertainer, usually in a banquet setting where sake is consumed freely and used to offer up congratulatory toasts. The presence of the elfin creature called a shōjō serves as another reference to sake; the shōjō is known principally from a nō play of the same name in which the creature grants a man an inexhaustible supply of drink.

 

The sea bream, or tai, is a favored dish for celebratory occasions in Japan and a commonly invoked emblem of good fortune. Although the red or pink hue of its skin link it to notions of life affirmation, the auspicious connotations of its name are the most important reasons for its high regard among Japanese. “Tai” is associated phonetically with “medetai”, a word meaning congratulations or felicitations. For celebratory dinners tai is usually baked and served on its back, its head intact to avoid inauspicious connotations of separation or incompleteness, As a favorite dish for wedding receptions, tai served in this manner suggests the hope that the marriage union be long-lasting. This painting was probably hung in a tokonoma (decorative alcove) in observance of the New Year.

 

Buddhist Temple ’s Fish-Shaped Sounding Board (Gyoban)
probably Ehime Prefecture (western Japan ) Meiji Period, early 20th century

In many Japanese temples, a board carved in the form of a fish serves as a device for communication. Visitors may strike the board with a mallet for that purpose to announce their arrival, or such a board may be used to signal calls to prayer or meals. Such sounding boards are not used for liturgical purposes, however.

Takamatsu Doll Depicting Ebisu and Sea Bream

signature: Miyauchi Fusa kyūjū-nana-sai (age 97 years)

Fusa Miyauchi (1883 – 1986)

Ebisu is a popular god of abundance and good fortune who originated as a guardian who watches over the fortunes of fishermen. He is usually depicted holding the red-skinned sea bream, or tai in Japanese, an emblem of good fortune and congratulations based principally upon a phonetic association of its name. Fusa Miyauchi, the maker of these toys, is responsible for bringing her own charming and whimsical style to the centuries-old Takamatsu papier-maché folk toy tradition.

 

Takamatsu Doll Depicting a Dog with a Sea Bream 

signature: Miyauchi Fusa hachjū-san-sai (age 83 years)

Fusa Miyauchi (1883 – 1986)

The Takamatsu folk toy-making tradition was one of Japan ’s oldest, said to date from the early 17th century. According to local custom, such toys were included in a young bride’s trousseau, to distribute among the children of the neighborhood of her new home. For nearly a quarter of the tradition’s history, a span of over 90 years, Fusa Miyauchi was engaged in making Takamatsu toys. Her involvement was for such a long period of time that her own whimsical style came to characterize the tradition as a whole, and in 1966 she was recognized by the government of Kagawa Prefecture for her contributions to regional culture.

Sea Bream Cart (Tai Guruma)

 

Shell-Matching Game (Kai-Awase)

Kai-awase, a game of matching shells, enjoyed wide popularity among Japan’s elite for many centuries. Clam shells painted with images from works of Japan’s classic literature such as The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari), a 10th century novel of court life, were laid face down on a playing surface. Contestants would then alternate in overturning pairs of shells to find matching images (if images did not match, the shells were again turned face down). Since many images were similar, the true test of a match was whether or not shell halves fit together.

  

 

Shell-Matching Game (Kai-Awase)
Lacquered Wood Container

The lacquered wood container for storing the shell game pieces points to the wealth of its owner, and may have been part of the trousseau of a young bride. Two family crests adorn the container, which is otherwise decorated with a scrolling vine motif; the two crests, representing a plum blossom and two ginger cloves, may represent the families of the bride and groom respectively. Inside the lid is a stylized representation of Horai-jima, the isle of eternal life according to Chinese lore, a common motif among trousseau items.

 

Shell-Matching Game (Kai-Awase)
Detail of Base

The base has realistic representations of clam shell game pieces for kai-awase built up in relief with a thick paste made from ground pumice and lacquer, then sprinkled with fine gold powder. 

 

 

Blowfish Lantern (Fugu Chochin)

The blowfish or pufferfish (fugu) inflates itself like a balloon when threatened, but also protects itself as a species with the deadly toxins in its liver and ovaries. Despite this, pufferfish is eaten as raw sashimi fillets in some parts of Japan, especially west of Tokyo. Chefs specializing in fugu must be specially trained and licensed, as amateurs kill themselves and others at the rate of about 200 per year. Restaurants featuring fugu often hang such lanterns outside their doors.

 

 

Such molds are used for making cakes served at wedding receptions or other celebratory occasions. For this reason their motifs carry appropriate auspicious connotations. The sea bream, a fish called a tai in Japanese, suggests the word for congratulations, or medetai. Cakes formed in such wood forms are made from a dough of sugar, syrup, and barley and rice bran. The dough is pressed by hand into the mold, then popped out to dry. Sometimes cakes may contain fillings of sweetened bean paste. They are not baked.

Haori are jacket-like garments worn over kimono. Outwardly, men’s haori favor dark, muted colors and conservative patterns, but their inner linings, of which this framed textile is an example, typically display wonderful woven, dyed, printed or painted pictorial motifs. The propitious gods of good fortune Daikoku (left) and Ebisu (right) are the subjects of this haori lining. The two popular deities are often depicted as a pair. Here, they robustly shoulder oversized versions of their usual attributes.

Daikoku carries a wealth-producing mallet that emits a shower of gold coins with every strike, while Ebisu holds a sea bream. The sea bream, or tai in Japanese, carries auspicious connotations because of the phonetic association of its name with the Japanese word for congratulations (medetai). Ebisu is a guardian figure for fishermen, but also a god of commerce for much of the rest of society. Daikoku and Ebisu are two of the most common Japanese emblems of good fortune.

This framed textile depicting cormorant fishing was originally the inner lining of a jacket-like garment called haori, worn over kimono. Subdued, even somber on the outside, men’s haori typically feature inner linings with lively decoration.

 

A bedding cover is a decorative panel that is sewn into the top center of the comforter that is part of the traditional Japanese bedding called futon. Japanese bedding consists of a thin mattress that is laid out on a floor of rice-straw mats (tatami) and covered with a comforter stuffed with cotton batting. This bedding cover was probably part of the trousseau that a young bride brought with her to her new household. The motif depicts dried strips of the meat of the marine snail called awabi, or abalone in English, a popular emblem of longevity often associated with weddings. The strips themselves are called noshi, a homonym of another word meaning extending or stretching. Applied to marriage, noshi symbolizes hopes that the union be long-lasting, with the knot signifying the strength of the marriage bond.

Equipment Used In Harvest Of The Sea’s Bounty

And

Its Preparation For Consumption 

 

Such a trap, no more than simple ceramic jar, take advantage of the octopus’ preference for small, enclosed spaces and the security they seem to promise. They are simply left on the seabed and gathered later after octopi have had time to occupy them.

 

Eel Trap (Korobashi)

Long, narrow containers such as these attract freshwater eels, which enter but cannot get out when the stopper is in place. Traps are positioned on the riverbed and weighted with stones, their mouths facing downstream. The snuggly fitting stoppers, with converging, sharply pointed inner ends, prevent eels from escaping. Placed in the river at night, the traps are retrieved the following morning, when trapped eels are removed to a holding basket.

 

Shellfish available in relatively shallow water may be harvested by fishermen who search for them underwater by leaning over the sides of their boats and looking through a glass. The quarry itself is plucked from the seabed with a pronged, long-handled tool for that purpose.
 

 

 

Trolling Tools (Hikoki)
Tosashimizu, Kochi Prefecture (western Japan ) late Shōwa Period, 1980s

Trolling tools called hikoki (literally, ‘airplane’) lure fish with their undulating movement that simulates that of the natural prey of such large salt-water species as bonito, tuna, swordfish, and marlin.

 

Such baskets were used to hold live eels or fish, each with a tightly fitted lid to prevent them from escaping. (This basket has lost its lid.) Restaurants specializing in river fish might have such a basket partially submerged in water to keep the fish alive until needed. Such a practice is especially common at restaurants that specialize in kabayaki, or grilled eel.

 

Dried Bonito Shaver (Katsuo-bushi Kezuri)
Shōwa Period, 1950s

The flesh of the bonito (katsuo), a kind of mackerel also called skipjack tuna, is dried by means of a complex process until it assumes the appearance and hardness of a petrified banana. Called katsuo-bushi, this dried bonito is shaved into flakes with the use of this specialized plane that used to be found in almost every kitchen in Japan. The shavings collect in the drawer beneath the plane’s blade and are used widely in Japanese cuisine for flavoring. Today it is far more common to purchase the shavings by the bag rather than to make one’s own.

 

In Japan today, this appliance is the most widely used equivalent of our Western oven range. The Japanese lack a tradition of oven cooking, hence the relative rarity in Japan of the same appliance that is standard in American kitchens. Beneath the burners is a smokeless grill that looks like an oven in miniature intended for cooking fish. Built-in ranges, instead of such countertop models, have begun to make an appearance in Japanese homes in recent years. They also feature such fish grills in place of or in addition to a conventional oven. Often, ovens go unused as anything other than additional storage space.

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