Ancient Art Uses Bird to Snare Prized Catch

On a moonless night the hungry black cormorant dives from a boat to catch fish that might find their way to the emperor’s table.

Six Imperial master fishermen practice the ancient art of fishing with the birds on the Nagara River in the central Japanese city of Gifu.

They set out at night with their long-necked cormorants in boats with a lantern on the bow during the season from May to October.

Each man has 12 of the birds with long leashes around their necks to prevent them from swallowing the sweet ayu fish, which they disgorge from their beaks for their handlers.

Serve Imperial Household

“We serve the Imperial household with fish eight times a year,” said Hideo Sugiyama, one of the six masters.

“I am told the emperor has eaten it,” he said. That is likely because Emperor Hirohito is known to dislike meat.

The men are the latest in a long line which, according to ancient chronicles, stretches back at least 1,200 years.

“Cormorants can move so quickly that they don’t usually miss the target. Catching fish is their intrinsic nature. To encourage them, they are not fed earlier,” Sugiyama said.

Full Moon Aids Fish

“But the ayu can beat the cormorants on the night of a full moon because it’s too light,” he said. There is no fishing when the moon is full.

Fish caught in a cormorant’s strong beak die instantly. “So ayu caught in this way taste much nicer,” Sugiyama said.

Dietitians say the flesh of animals and fish killed when they are at ease is more tender than that of creatures caught under stress.

The masters wear formal costume of conical hat, rice-straw skirt and straw sandals; each keeps a team of about 20 birds.

3 to 5 Years of Training

The masters say it takes three to five years to train a 1-year-old, wild cormorant to become a full-fledged catcher. Some of the birds, however, rebel and never want to learn.

Sugiyama, a cormorant master for 23 years, said the most difficult part of his profession is to determine how tightly or loosely each bird should be leashed around its neck.

“Too tight would hurt the birds, but too loose would allow them to eat the catch. We have to make adjustments daily, taking into account the conditions of individual birds,” he said.

But the masters also believe their art has been diminished by the modern world. The emperor’s servants have become a tourist attraction.