Miyagi city marks 350 years of bonito fishing method

Japan Times

a day ago

It has been 350 years since fishermen from present-day Wakayama Prefecture sailed more than 1,000 kilometers north on the Kuroshio Current across the Pacific Ocean to Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, bringing an 'industrial revolution' to the port city with a new fishing method for bonito.
Today, Kesennuma has developed into one of Japan's top fishing ports, boasting the nation's highest annual catch of fresh bonito for 28 consecutive years.
In the Shibitachi area of Kesennuma's Karakuwa district, there stands a stone monument inscribed with 'The birthplace of the pole-and-line bonito fishing method in the Sanriku region.'
Fishermen from Miwasaki in the Kishu region (present-day Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture) are said to have landed 350 years ago in what was then the village of Karakuwa and introduced the prototype of today's pole-and-line bonito fishing method.
'People's lives became more prosperous thanks to this method. We are grateful to our ancestors,' said 81-year-old Shintaro Suzuki, a descendant of Kanemon, the fifth head of the Suzuki family who welcomed the Kishu fishermen.
According to historical documents passed down by the Suzuki family, the 'revolution' in Kesennuma's bonito fishing occurred in the summer of 1675, during the early Edo Period (1603 to 1867).
One morning, five large fishing boats docked at the family's landing site. About 70 fishermen from Kishu were aboard, bringing in nearly 1,000 bonito. Kanemon and his fellow villagers, who had only managed to catch about 50 fish per boat, were astonished by the sheer volume.
The Kishu fishermen were using a technique called tame-tsuri: They caught live sardines using stick-held nets, stored them in buckets on board, and scattered them near schools of bonito to lure them close. Then, they caught the bonito all at once through pole-and-line fishing using artificial baits — a groundbreaking method at the time.
This was in stark contrast to the villagers' 'waiting' technique of catching bonito only when they came close to shore.
Workers at seafood-processing company Maruyama make katsuobushi manually using a traditional method. |
Kahoku Shimpo
Kanemon, who was a village leader, negotiated directly with the Kishu fishermen, asking them to teach the village the new technique. He welcomed them with meals and huts to sleep in. The Kishu fishermen were catching bonito along their voyage up north and processing the fish into katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) at each port they passed through.
Some villagers protested, saying the new method would harm the village's fishing industry or that feeding the Kishu fishermen would drain villagers' food and firewood. But Kanemon persisted and sought their understanding, arguing, 'This technique will increase our catch and lead to the village's development.'
Eventually, villagers adopted the new technique and actively pursued the fish offshore, leading their catch volume to increase fivefold.
According to the Suzuki family, their ancestors originally migrated to Karakuwa in 718, during the Nara Period (710 to 794), when a divine spirit of the Kumano Gongen deity from Kishu was brought there to be enshrined in Murone Shrine in present-day Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture. About 960 years later, by welcoming fishermen of the same roots, the prosperity of the small fishing village began, they said.
The Kishu fishermen not only brought the tame-tsuri method, but also techniques for processing bonito into products like katsuobushi.
'It was the Kuroshio-borne bonito and the fishermen from Kishu that laid the groundwork for Kesennuma's prosperity,' said local historian Norio Kato, 83.
Processed bonito products such as namaribushi (smoked and half-dried fish) and shiokara (salted fish guts) were shipped to Sendai Castle and even Edo Castle, rapidly increasing the village's income. The new fishing technique dramatically boosted catch volumes and stimulated related industries.
By 1788 — about 100 years after the introduction of tame-tsuri — Edo Period geographer Furukawa Koshoken described the Kesennuma region as a 'famous place for bonito' in his work 'Toyu Zakki' ('Miscellaneous Notes from an Eastern Journey.")
As the tame-tsuri method spread, sardines became essential as bait for bonito fishing, and a new class of fishermen specializing in sardine fishing appeared. Sardines were also processed into shimekasu, a type of fertilizer made from fish meal, which became a vital commodity for Kesennuma's shipping merchants.
Members of a cultural preservation society perform 'Tairyo-utaikomi' during an event in Kesennuma. |
Kahoku Shimpo
During the late Edo Period, katsuobushi processing underwent further innovation. Initially, katsuobushi made from bonito caught off the Sanriku coast with a high fat content was poorly rated as a processed product. However, thanks to the teaching by katsuobushi craftsman Yoshida Yohei, who had learned processing techniques in the Tosa region (present-day Kochi Prefecture), the quality of the product improved significantly.
In the Taisho (1912 to 1926) and Showa (1926 to 1989) eras, over 50 bonito processing factories lined the streets of Kesennuma. While mechanization has since reduced their numbers to just a few, a traditional method of making katsuobushi manually is still practiced at Maruyama, a seafood-processing company in Karakuwa.
The development of bonito fishing also gave rise to new cultural traditions. One local performing art is 'Tairyo-utaikomi,' where men riding a model boat strike their oars on the floor while shouting powerful chants. Originally, this was a 'big catch song' used to announce fishing results as boats returned to port.
Today, two cultural preservation societies in Karakuwa continue to perform it at events and celebrations.
Aiming to strengthen the relationship with the Kishu fishermen's original place, Kesennuma signed a partnership agreement with the city of Shingu in 2018. In July this year, representatives from both cities gathered in Kesennuma for a symposium to pass down the history of bonito fishing and the Kumano religious beliefs to future generations.
'We must never forget our origins,' Kato, the local historian, said.
This section features topics and issues from the Tohoku region covered by the Kahoku Shimpo, the largest newspaper in Tohoku. The original articles were published July 11 and July 12.