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In this corner, we will have a Kesennuma citizen appear as a teacher.Rias Ark Museum of Art" This is Masamitsu Kayaoka, a curator in charge of historical and folklore materials at the Museum. Thank you very much, Professor Kayaoka!
The theme this time is ...
Hello everyone! This is Kayaoka from the Rias Ark Museum of Art. "Welcome Back, Mone" has come to an end. I have mixed feelings, feeling glad that I was able to see this wonderful story to the end, but also sad that it has ended... The Kesennuma arc in the second half was full of familiar scenes and industrial scenes that the locals are familiar with, which made it very exciting. Among them, "oyster farming" is one of the most important keywords when talking about this work. However, I think that many viewers of the drama are not very clear about what oyster farming specifically entails. So, this time I would like to talk about oyster farming in Kesennuma.
Are Kesennuma oysters delicious?
There are several types of oysters, but in Japan, oyster farming generally refers to magaki farming. Some people may have only heard of Kesennuma oysters after watching the drama. You may be thinking, "When you think of oysters, don't you think of Hiroshima?" (I think I wrote something similar in the article about bonito...). It's true that Sanriku oysters may not be as well-known or produced as Hiroshima oysters. However, Sanriku oysters are carefully cultivated, and oysters for eating raw are especially highly regarded. A local friend of mine who doesn't like oysters tried Kesennuma oysters and was shocked by their deliciousness, saying, "My image of oysters has been completely turned upside down."
The nature of the Rias and aquaculture
▲Illustration of aquaculture in Sanriku (Illustration by Hiroyasu Yamauchi)
The above illustration shows the relationship between the nature of the Sanriku region and aquaculture. The brackish waters that form at the back of the inlets of the ria coast are rich in plankton. The waters at the back of the bay (inner bay) have calm waves, but the waves get higher as you head towards the mouth of the bay and the waters outside the bay (open ocean). Aquaculture is carried out using a method that takes advantage of the characteristics of both the inner bay and open ocean fishing grounds. This region has a natural environment that is well suited to aquaculture.
How oyster farming works
When you hear the term oyster farming, many people probably imagine a raft floating on the sea.
▲ Oyster farming rafts floating in a calm inland bay
Indeed, there was a scene in the drama where they were working on oyster rafts. The image is of a raft made of wood or bamboo that is floated on the sea, and the oysters are dropped into the sea from the raft. However, the main method of oyster farming in Kesennuma is to drop anchors into the sea and stretch ropes.
▲Oyster farming using longline method
▲ Conceptual image of longline aquaculture (Illustration: Hiroyasu Yamauchi)
Why are there two types of aquaculture methods, using rafts and ropes? This is because it is necessary to use different facilities depending on the sea area where the aquaculture facilities are installed. Rafts are a method suitable for inner bays with calm waves, but they cannot be installed in places with high waves because they will break.20The longline farming facilities developed in the latter half of the 1990s were highly resistant to waves, making it possible to farm in the open ocean where the waves are strong and the tides flow well. Currently, oysters, scallops, sea squirts, wakame seaweed, kelp, and other seaweed are farmed using longlines.
How delicious oysters are made
① Seed clamp
Oysters spawn in the summer, and the larvae drift through the ocean and attach to any solid matter they find to become shellfish (seed oysters). In Mangokuura, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, scallop shells are sunk into the ocean during spawning season, allowing the larvae to attach to them and collecting seed oysters. In this area, these are purchased in early spring, and the scallops with seed oysters attached are placed between the twists of a rope and lowered into the ocean. In "Okaeri Mone," Mi-chan researched the industrialization of "home-harvesting," harvesting seed oysters herself instead of purchasing them from outside, as a high school student.
▲ Seed oysters are caught in the hanging rope. The small shells attached to the surface of the scallop shells are oysters. These will grow into big, beautiful oysters.
②Grows well!
Oysters do not need to be fed like fish when they are cultivated. Oysters grow rapidly by feeding on plankton in the sea. However, this does not mean that they can be simply left alone. For example, care must be taken to ensure proper growth, such as removing and thinning out attached organisms and repairing the cultivation facilities. In the Karakuwa region of Kesennuma, the hanging locations of the oysters are skillfully changed according to their growth, and the grown oysters are carefully separated from the clumps and grown, and finally placed in cages and hung in fishing grounds with good tidal flow to grow them, which allows them to grow large, meaty oysters. These oysters have been branded under the name "Momare Oysters."
②Hot water treatment
Hot water treatment is the process of eliminating mussels and other organisms that attach to oysters and inhibit their growth. Oysters are placed in water at a temperature they can tolerate, which kills other organisms that have attached to the shells, allowing the oysters to monopolise all the nutrients. It is hard work, carried out in midsummer, but it is this effort that helps produce delicious oysters.
▲The hot water treatment. The densely packed black shells are oysters. If the temperature or time is not correct, the oysters will die, so extreme care must be taken. (Interview cooperation: Yamayo Suisan)
③ Oyster peeling
▲ Oyster shucking work. In recent years, the shortage of workers has become an issue. (Interview cooperation: Toba Taira)
Oysters are landed in this area from around November until early spring. The task of peeling the shells is the job of women called mukiko. They insert a knife from the outside to remove the adductor muscle, open the shell, and then peel the oyster away without damaging the meat. Because the shape of the shell and the position of the adductor muscle vary slightly depending on the oyster, this must be done by hand rather than by machine, and is a seemingly simple but difficult "artisanal" task.
By the way, oysters are often thought of as a winter food, but spring oysters, which have stored up plenty of nutrients before laying eggs in the summer, are the tastiest and best of the year! If you have the opportunity to eat them, please do try them! (For more details, see this article:Kesennuma Sea Flavors and Mountain Flavors No. 7" Article link)
Other than oysters, other things are also delicious!
In this article we have mainly talked about oysters, but there are many other delicious things that are farmed in Kesennuma, each with their own secret to their deliciousness. The history, culture and techniques of aquaculture that we were unable to cover here are introduced in the permanent exhibition at the Rias Ark Museum of Art, so if you are interested, please take a look! (Various SNSThank you very much!)
▲Aquaculture corner of the permanent exhibition "Ark Diary"
Final thoughts
Aquaculture is an industry that this region can be proud of. You could say that our delicious oysters and wakame seaweed are the collaborative work of fishermen and nature. On the other hand, it can also be said that this industry will not be able to continue if the relationship between people and nature changes. Although this article did not mention it, the aquaculture industry in the Sanriku region has a history of change, with new technologies being introduced following the tsunami disaster. Also, in the 40s, some of the farmed oysters in the inland bay died out due to pollution. Aquaculture has highlighted the relationship between people and nature.
The sea, mountains, and people live together in harmony, even in times of disaster. People and other people, sea and mountains, and people and nature are all "meshed together." I believe that being able to experience this sensation is the greatest attraction of Kesennuma, and the future we should strive for (I personally interpret "Okaeri Mone" as a drama about this "meshing together"). This is the last of this series, but I would be very happy if it inspires someone to visit Kesennuma and "mesh" with something about this land. Thank you very much for reading this far.
We will have Kesennuma citizens appear as teachers.
You can view the "Teach me, Mr./Ms. XX!" series here.
https://kesennuma-kanko.jp/category/marumarusensei/
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