Uji City - Cormorant Fishing; Ukai 宇治市の鵜飼

Scooped from the depths
For some, not quite far enough
Others, still too deep

So this is one of the greatest things I have ever done!  I'm serious.  None of my Japanese friends have ever seen this.  I had never heard of it.  And I almost passed it up because I'm a cheapskate!

During my June visit to Uji I somehow learned about the Cormorant Fishing.  Ukai is performed in a boat on the Uji River.  For about 20 dollars a person you can sit in an adjacent boat and watch.  Because of the price I nearly gave up my seat and watched from the shore... Wow! I'm so glad I spent the money.  We could literally reach out and touch the birds.

So what is this all about?
 
Ukai is a phenomenon.  Here's how it works; A group of cormorants are skillfully tied to individual ropes.  The birds are tied in a harness around there bodies, then a loop is tied around the neck.  The birds aren't held to the handler by the neck, but the rope restricts the bird from swallowing its prey.  The Ukai (or fisher(woman) holds all the birds' ropes in one hand.  The birds swim out into the river and each take turns diving under the surface.  When a bird catches a fish is surfaces and tries swallowing.  The Ukai is able to see that it has a fish and reels it in.  A little fancy finger work and the handler removes the fish from the cormorant's mouth.

I was really surprised with how many fish  the birds would catch.  They were almost always successful in there dives.  A basket full of burning wood is suspended front the boat out in front of the birds.  Many times the birds swim to where they are nearly scorched by the fire... Lucky for them they are covered in water!

Ukai is a seasonal event,  I'm not sure exactly when the dates are, but I think they are active throughout June.
In subsequent posts I will try to explore the history of Ukai and get into the special clothing the Ukai wears.  I'll also post an amazing video I took of the process.

I think there are other cities in Japan that have Ukai fishing.  It is surely a rare and dying art.


One thing to note; I shared the boat with some seriously drunk Japanese.  I mean, more drunk than the average evening train passenger!  Yeah, these guys were wasted!  It was a great time!!!

Normally I'd feel bad for the Cormorants... But after the show they all get fed pretty well.
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The looming JLPT 3
 
So I'm studying for the JLPT in December.  I've been studying vocabulary and grammar like a fool.  Recently I've been taking older tests as practice.  Who knows how I'll do on the real thing.  I took it a year ago and was 1.5 percent away from passing!  This year I'm feeling a lot more confident, but who knows.  I always dread the listening comprehension... Oh, and the particles!

For anyone interested in or in the process of learning Japanese,  I STRONGLY recommend
Japanesepod101.com  Try out the free membership, and free pod-casts.  J-pod101 is a great place to get exposure to a variety of Japanese- Basic grammar, Kanji, Kansai-ben, advanced listening.  It really is a great resource.  I've been prowling the web looking for good Japanese study aids and this one is by far the best.

I just hope it helped!

So, off to Seattle in two weeks.  Going to stay at my friends new condo in Bell town overlooking the bay.  Should be a good time.  I'll make sure to stop in at Uwajimaya and Nomisake.  Maybe I'll see you at the test!  Good luck!


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No throwing pebbles in my pool of zen.