Katsukawa Shunzan 勝川春山

In this fan-shaped print, a man practices a traditional fishing method known as ukai (鵜飼). Using a fire lantern at the front of the boat to lure the fish, he releases leashed cormorants to catch the fish as they rise to the water’s surface. Ukai demonstrations are still popular with tourists visiting the Nagara River today.

The poem at the top of the print echoes the image:

うかひ　たか瀬さしこす　ほどなれや　むすぼほれゆく　かがり火のかげ

The cormorant-fishing boat poled through the shallows, pitching in the flashes of fire

The motif of cormorant fishing was made famous in a poem composed by Fujiwara Teika (1162-1241), one of the most important and influential Japanese poet­scholars. Here, the well-known motif is accompanied by a new poetic verse, thereby renewing the spirit of the classical poem.