三次の鵜飼 2023年

Fishermen balance precariously atop slim wooden boats, deft pushes with a long wooden pole propel the team through the river, lantern light shines deep into the water, and sleek black birds dive down under the surface, again and again, to retrieve small freshwater fish and earn their keep. The Japanese tradition of ukai (鵜飼) fishing with the help of a team of cormorants is now a rare sight in Japan, overtaken by industrial fishing methods and the legal restrictions that followed, but it's a practice that has continued in the small town of Miyoshi for over 400 years. And while it doesn't provide the town with much of its fish supply, the few ukai teams still found in Miyoshi spend each and every day building strong bonds with their birds to keep the tradition alive, and they put on fishing demonstrations each summer to show off their cultural heritage. Don't miss this unique performance this summer!