Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-29
FISHING WITH CoRMoRANTs.
A Curious and Ancient Industry in
Japau

From the National Geographic Magazine
The origin of cormorant fishing in Japan
is lost in very remote antiquity. AT least
a thousand years ago 1t Is known to have
f1ourished and there is a tradition of It's
existence upward of two thousand years
ago. Much romance and history are con-
nected with the fishery in the early days,
and the names of some of Japan's greatest
warriors and statesmen are associated with
1t. While a commercial enterprise, it does
not, however, give employment to many
people and is not conducted in many places
1t is confined to rivers and the most ex-
tensive, interesting and famous fishery is
that In the Niagara river and the most
noted of the cormorant fishing villages is
in the outskirts of the large city of Gifu.
AT the time of my visit, the chief cor
morant fisherman, whose ancestors for
many generations had engaged in this fish
cry in the same locality, attired himself
in the peculiar dress Of the profession for
the purpose of exhibiting his birds and the
methods of handling them. Later he and
all the other fishermen on the river went
to rendezvous and gave a practical dem
onstration of cormorant fishing.
The cormorants are controlled by means
of slender cord, which passes around the
birds breast and Is tied in the middle of
the back. The cord is made of woody fibers
of the cryptomeria tree, with the exception
of a short section next to the bird, which
consists OF WQaleDOne. mere is a supple
mental cord tied around the neck at the
lower end of the gullet for the purpose of
preventing the fish from passing far
that they cannot be recovered The tying
of this cord is delicate operation for if
too tight it may injure the bird and if too
loose it will allow the fish to be swallowed.
The fishery is conducted from boats,
which are of special type, being long,
narrow dug-outs, propelled primarily by
paddles, but when en- route to the fishing
grounds often provided with a sail. Each
boat has a crew of four men and COM
plement of sixteen cormorants. Late in
the afternoon the boats start for a place
in the river where fishing will begin the
cormorants being slowed away in pairs in
bamboo baskets. The fishing grounds cover
many miles, and operations are confined to
successive sections of the river nightly In
accordance with law. Stretches several
thousand yards in length are set aside as
imperial preserves, on which no fishing is
permitted.
AS soon as darkness prevails a blazing
fire of pine wood is kindled in the iron bas-
ket overhanging the bow of the boat. and
the boats drift downstream together, some
times in a mixed group, sometimes in
line extending across the river, each guided
and propelled by two men. The captain,
standing near the bow, manages twelve
cormorants and his assistant four, the cords
being held between the fingers and fire.
quently shifted the birds move about.
With the cormorants diving and darting in
all directions, those of different boats often
mingling, 1t is a wonder that they do not
soon become fneXtricably tangled. but so
skllfully are they managed that the lines
rarely become fouled. In a short time the
cormorants' outlets begin to bulge with
ayu; when they are well filled the birds are
pulled up to the gunwales one by one and
their catch is gently squeezed into baskets.
This continues for several hours, and each
cormorant may fill its gullet fifteen to
twenty times.
Spectators usually go to the fishing
grounds in kind of barge, Illuminated by
lanterns, and eat their dinner on board
while waiting at convenient point for the
fishing boats to arrive During the even
ing when / witnessed the fishery the seven
boats in whose operations l was particu-
larry interested averaged 700 to SEQ fish
apiece, and the aggregate catch was worth
S150-a very respectable sum to Japanese
fishermen
The fishery is prosecuted with enthusiasm
by both men and cormorants and the
shouts of the fishermen, the hoarse croak-
ing of the birds. the rush of the mountain
stream. the splashing and creakng of the
paddles, the Kissing of the embers as they
fall into the water, the weird lights and
shadows combine to make a performance
which westerner is not likely soon to
forget