FOR A GOOD CATCH: THE FLOATING PEACOCKS
The third of a three-part series looking at superstitions surrounding fishing in Yaizu, one of Japan’s most notorious fishing ports.
Fishing can sometimes take on mystical dimensions. In Yaizu, superstition is rife among sailors and their captains, affecting everything from the choice of bait (goldfish or plastic ocotpus?) to carrying a ‘fundama’ when you sail; a tiny box containing a lock of a woman’s hair, some dice, money and Sake- symbolic links to the fishermen’s ‘other’ lives on land. …»
FOR A GOOD CATCH:: EDIBLE MONUMENTS
The second of a three-part series looking at superstitions surrounding fishing in Yaizu, one of Japan’s most notorious fishing ports.
The main street of Yaizu is almost empty. Apart from a few old ladies flirting between shops, there are no physical traces of the street’s former life. Although back when it was a covered arcade and according to Miki Sakurai, an 80 year old Yaizu resident, “so crowded, everyday felt like a festival.” Helping that festival atmosphere, Yaizu had, up until the 1960s, more bars per capita than any other city in Japan. Exhausted fishermen returning from month-long voyages …»
FOR A GOOD CATCH: SHIRTS FOR FISHING
The first of a three-part series looking at superstitions surrounding fishing in Yaizu, one of Japan’s most notorious fishing ports.
Everything is packed away inside Enshuya, which is understandable- it’s winter. Through the sliding doors, vintage sewing machines rest on wooden tables, half hidden by the glass cabinets packed with cotton shirts. Kiyo Naito appears from a back room and darts over to greet us, sitting herself behind one of the metal sewing machines. She is now 86 years old, only four years younger than her shop, Enshuya. Naito is responsible for creating Yaizu’s most distinctive icon by hand, intricately patterned fishing shirts known as “u-o-gashi.” …»
