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A T-shaped Interdisciplinary Approach to Cormorant fishing Culture in Japan

Research period:2020.10-2023.3

UDA Shuhei

Keywords

cormorant fishing,wildness, T-shaped Interdisciplinary Approach 

Objectives

The objective of this research project is to conduct a comparative analysis of new cases of cormorant fishing culture in Japan based on a methodology called a “T-shaped interdisciplinary approach” (described below), and shed light on the overall situation of cormorant fishing culture by examining said cases.
T-shaped interdisciplinary approach is a methodology for analyzing the outcomes gained from diachronic, synchronic, and natural science approaches in an integrated manner. Specifically, we will examine: 1) haniwa clay figures, historical documents, paintings, haiku and tanka poetry, art, and costumes related to cormorant fishing from a diachronic perspective, 2) folk techniques and knowledge, social organizations, and material culture related to cormorant fishing in different areas from a synchronic perspective, and 3) the ecology of cormorants (Japanese cormorant and great cormorant), the ecology of fish they prey on, and the nutrients of sweetfish sushi from a natural science perspective. These cases have been confirmed by the coordinator in his continuing research on cormorant fishing, but have not been discussed as a whole so far. In this project, we collectively call the above three approaches a T-shaped interdisciplinary approach.
Then we will shed light on the overall situation and local characteristics of cormorant fishing culture in Japan by conducting a comparative analysis of individual cases and contrasting them with cormorant fishing in China. In this effort, we will do analysis in terms of wildness and power. The reason is that in the over 1,300-year history of cormorant fishing in Japan, mainly wild cormorants have been used, and it has been carried out under the protection of the person of power at the time. This is a phenomenon not seen in cormorant fishing in China.

Research Results

The aim of this project was to analyze cormorant fishing in the Japanese archipelago using an interdisciplinary approach incorporating archeology, history, ethnology, ornithology, ichthyology, art studies, food science, clothing studies, and other disciplines, and to bring together the findings yielded through this approach to shed light on the overall situation of cormorant fishing culture.
Over two and a half years beginning in October 2020, the project held a total of eight workshops, including two outside the Museum, featuring research presentations on a total of 20 topics including the historical development of cormorant fishing, features of the material culture of cormorant fishing such as boats and equipment, types of artistic works pertaining to cormorant fishing and how they have changed over time, and the appropriateness of cormorant fishing techniques in terms of the ecology of species such as the Japanese cormorant, the great cormorant, and the ayu sweetfish. At the beginning of each workshop, the coordinator shared the findings of the project to date with the entire project team. Through this research process, the project achieved outcomes including (1) confirmation of the oldest extant works in categories such as textual materials, pictorial materials, and formed objects related to cormorant fishing; (2) compilation of a history of cormorant fishing over 1,500 years from the tumulus period through the early modern period to the present day, and production of a chronological table thereof; (3) verification that the contemporary method of using wild individuals has been in continuous use since at least the Heian period (794 to 1185 CE); (4) identification of the reasons the technique of conducting cormorant fishing with handheld ropes at nighttime developed in Japan, from the perspective of both the predator—great cormorant and Japanese cormorant—and prey—ayu sweetfish; (5) classification of cormorant fishing techniques in Japan into three types based on fishing seasons and intended catch.
Based on these outcomes, we identified matters such as the reasons why cormorants have not been domesticated in cormorant fishing in Japan, and why emphasis is placed on the Japanese cormorant above other cormorant species, revealing a distinctively Japanese approach to animal use not observed in China, as well as the background to its development. We plan to compile these outcomes in a volume (in Japanese) comprising 20 chapters, tentatively titled, Ukai no nihonshi: Yasei to kenryoku hyosho wo meguru 1500 nen (T he history of cormorant fishing in Japan: wildness, power, and representation over 1,500 years). Moreover, the project’s content has featured in periodicals including Gekkan minpaku (Minpaku monthly) and Yacho (Wild birds) published by the Wild Bird Society of Japan, and also shared with the public at a photography and moving image exhibition (at the National Museum of Ethnology, June 30 to August 2, 2022), and through Minpaku Seminars, public lectures , and other events.