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In this corner, we will have a Kesennuma citizen appear as a teacher.Rias Ark Museum of ArtThe theme of this talk is the history and culture of bonito, the fish most familiar to the people of Kesennuma.
Thank you very much, Professor Kayaoka!
Speaking of Kesennuma...
Hello everyone, nice to meet you! My name is Kayaoka and I am a curator at the Rias Ark Museum of Art in Kesennuma. I research and record the history and culture of the region and communicate it to people through exhibitions and other means. I look forward to meeting you.
I'm sure there are many people who have watched "Okaeri Mone" and thought, "I'd like to try Kesennuma oysters!" Kesennuma oysters are really delicious. However, if we are to talk about Kesennuma's seafood from a "local's perspective," there is something that you should definitely check out from now on.
▲Kisennuma bonito sashimi
▲Illustration: Hiroyasu Yamauchi (same below)
That is, SkipjackThat's right! For those who don't know much about Kesennuma, this may not ring a bell. "When you think of bonito, doesn't Kochi Prefecture come to mind?" you may be hearing this. But in fact, Kesennuma is the place where the most fresh bonito is landed in Japan. What's more, this record has remained the highest for 24 consecutive years! In this article, we'll be looking at the relationship between Kesennuma and bonito, while also touching on its history and culture. (We'll also be covering oyster farming in Kesennuma later, so stay tuned!)
Why is bonito caught in Kesennuma?
Bonito are born in the warm waters of the south, and in spring they travel north on the warm Kuroshio Current, passing near the Pacific coast of Japan. The bonito caught at this time are "ascending bonito", which are in season from early summer. The bonito that travel north eat plenty of food off the coast of Sanriku and Hokkaido, where there is an abundance of food, build up fat, and then return south in the autumn. This is called "returning bonito", and is in season in the autumn. Kesennuma is located just offshore, where good fishing grounds where bonito migrate, and is also located in a place where fatty bonito that have just begun to travel south can be landed fresh.
The history of Kesennuma and bonito
One of the turning points that made skipjack an important fish for Kesennuma was its encounter with pole-and-line skipjack fishing. Old documents handed down by the Suzuki family of the Karakuwa Peninsula record that in 1675 (Enpo XNUMX) during the Edo period, Kan'emon of the family called in fishermen from Kishu (present-day Wakayama Prefecture) and taught the local fishermen how to fish with a pole-and-line. This is thought to be the beginning of pole-and-line skipjack fishing in the Kesennuma region. There was some opposition from local residents, but Kan'emon was a visionary who proactively introduced new technology to enrich the region.
Thus, skipjack became a specialty of Kesennuma. Intellectuals who visited Kesennuma during the Tenmei era (1781-1789) were amazed at the thriving port, the skill of the skipjack fishing, and the cheap prices at which fine skipjack were sold, and left written accounts of their experiences.
How are you catching it?
Here we will explain about pole and line fishing. Pole and line fishing for skipjack tuna is a heroic fishing method in which you find a school of skipjack tuna, scatter live sardines (bonito bait) to attract the skipjack tuna, and then reel them in with a single fishing rod. Not only live bait but also artificial bait (bake) is used.
A distinctive feature of this artificial bait is that it has no barbs. In the past, most bonito was processed into dried bonito flakes, but damaged bonito would fall apart when boiled. For this reason, to avoid damaging the flesh, fishermen would hold the caught bonito under their left armpit and remove the hook with their hands, and so hooks without barbs were used to allow the hook to be removed quickly. In the past, artificial baits were made by each fisherman using antlers, chicken feathers, and other materials, and each fisherman would use his own ingenuity to create them.
Processing bonito into flakes is no longer mainstream these days, but bonito caught by line fishing has less damage to the fish and is transported to the port chilled while still fresh, so it's really delicious!
Bonito and Spiritual Culture
For Kesennuma, bonito is important not only economically but also culturally. In the Karakuwa area, there is an annual event during the Little New Year where children walk around handing out bonito-shaped crafts and fish-shaped paper cutouts to each house. This is an event that mimics a large bonito catch, and is held to pray for a large bonito catch. Furthermore, the "tairyo utaikomi," a song sung when there was a large bonito catch, has been passed down as a traditional performing art, showing just how important bonito was to this land.
▲ A bonito-shaped sculpture. Children distributed it to each house. This event is no longer held. (Permanent exhibition at the Rias Ark Museum of Art)
▲"Tairyo Kanban": A special dress given to crew members by ship owners to celebrate a big catch. It has a picture of a bonito on it. (Permanent exhibition at the Rias Ark Museum of Art)
A town that lives with bonito
In Kesennuma, various efforts have been made since ancient times to eat bonito more efficiently, for longer, and in a more delicious way without waste.
▲ Sun-drying bonito flakes (late Showa period, Namiita area, Kesennuma city)
In fact, most of the boats currently landing bonito in Kesennuma are not from Kesennuma. Fishermen choose Kesennuma to land their bonito because the systems and techniques for bonito distribution, processing and consumption have been established over a long history. The town thrives with the many people who support bonito fishing, including market workers, box makers, ice sellers, shipyards and restaurants that entertain the fishermen. Bonito is deeply rooted as a "culture" in Kesennuma.
Final thoughts
This is a very simple introduction to the relationship between Kesennuma and bonito. When bonito season arrives, newspapers report on the catch almost every day, social media is flooded with photos of bonito, and people feel the change of seasons with their tongues by the fattiness of the sashimi. Bonito is a fish that is historically, culturally, and spiritually important to Kesennuma. It is truly the "soul fish" of the people of Kesennuma.
▲Fatty returning bonito!
Before coming to Kesennuma, I had only ever eaten raw bonito in the form of seared tuna, but when I tried the fatty bonito sashimi in Kesennuma, I was shocked by how delicious it was, and since then, my ranking of the best delicacies has been completely rewritten. If you are coming to Kesennuma in the coming season, please try the bonito. When you do, it may taste even better if you think at least a little about the history, culture, and many people involved in bonito fishing, as introduced in this article.
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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