Kendo Ishii; Kendo’s Rules of Fishing

Kendo Ishii was a writer, who wrote a lot of science books for children. During his career as a writer and an editor in the Meiji era, Taisho era and  beginning of Showa era (between 1888 and 1944,) he had written a lot about fishing. 

Japanese fishing tends to be catch and eat style, but in his writing, we can see the joy of fishing (not necessarily catching,) and the pleasure around fishing.

He wrote a short passage called “Kendo’s Rules of Fishing,” in 1906. This blog is translating it into English, to know the attitude for fishing around 1900 in Japan.

Kendo’s Rules of Fishing

Humans have leisures to work well, and it is not that they work for leisures. For this, you need to have discipline to prioritize things when you go fishing.

The off of Sundays is for the reward from working for 6 days prior to it, and not for the spare for the coming 6 days. It means that, when you savor yourself in fishing before you work hard,  fishing can be harmful as the excessive drinking and playing with girls.

Do not wish to catch more fish, wish to have more pleasure.

The purpose of fishing is conceptually to catch fish, but the true goal is in the pleasure in the act of fishing, not in fish itself. Therefore, you can reach this goal if you try your ideal way of fishing, with the fine tuned baits on a good fishing rod, in the preferable weather and water conditions.  Why shall you ask the quantity and the size of fish?

Fishing must be only for the good of your mind. If it does harm to your mind, it is not the right way.

Listening to irritating words and looking at repugnant things do harm gods. Taking dangerous risks is not good for your life. Fishing in the smelly places, in dirty areas, in prohibited lands, fighting for your own results, being in the sea without knowing the weather, riding on the boat getting wet from night autumn dews, fishing from the shore in the sunlight of summer, grabbing the oar without safety cord, and fishing on the old boat with loosened nails. All of these are not the correct ways of fishing.

Stingy way of fishing does not save money.

When you buy a pack of bait for 12 cents, you can enjoy one day of shore fishing. If you go every day, 100 times requires only 12 yen. Some say that there is no other leisure which can be done so cheaply. However, this calculation is foolish. It can be a whisper of the devil to make your business collapse and to encourage the fall. What I emphasize is the big damage made by forgetting your work, and not the cost of bait or boat. Even when you spend 12 yen for one time fishing, as long as you enjoy only on the day with a restrained attitude, the gain of mental happiness is huge and its cost becomes extremely low. The cheap cost is the cost that does not have proper values.

Do not go out fishing unless you are sure it is a good day for fishing.

The color of water, wind direction, temperature, atmospheric pressure. On the day that all of these are matching with your wish and that you have no doubt for the good result, you can go out far to fish. Even then, you may face the bad unexpected weather and end with failure. Even more so on the days that you are not sure of your results. In this case you will not have enough pleasure, just spending your time and money. Therefore, wait for your day and have the best pleasure in fishing, to become the man of out-worldly calmness, to relax your body, to restore your soul and to the true meaning of long life. 

Comments

Yes. I want to go fishing only on the best day!

But in reality, I can only go on the weekends (limited days among 50 weekends in a year.) When I go fishing and start getting fish, you cannot stop fishing, searching for next and next. If I visit fishing shops, I try to buy the lures sold at the lowest price. 

I want to be an angler who goes fishing only for the pleasure of fishing (not catching). But the bite makes my attitude change… 

Original passage in Japanese can be found in the link below.

https://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/001252/files/46573_24655.html