March 28 2010
Tenkara is NOT…
In the back of Dr. Hisao Ishigaki’s business card, there is a part that reads something like this:
“Tenkara is not tempura, it’s not karaage (fried chicken), it’s the Japanese style of fly-fishing”.
Dr. Ishigaki's business card
As Dr. Ishigaki’s humourous business card suggests, in Japan many non-anglers are not familiar with tenkara. It’s not their fault though, Japan has at least a dozen methods of fresh water fishing, and all these different styles – some of them very similar - cause confusion even among anglers. Take a look at this site for a funny illustration of all styles of fresh water fishing in Japan (in Japanese but illlustrated): http://www.yahagi-aqua.com/tsuri/tsuri.htm. In the US on the other hand, there are fewer styles of fishing, and tenkara has just been introduced, so there is no confusion; on the other hand, there are some misconceptions about tenkara.
The two main misconceptions some American anglers [who have not yet tried it] have of tenkara are: “it’s ‘high-tech’ cane-pole fishing” or “it’s just like dapping”. My next business cards will likely say this on the back:
“Tenkara is not cane-pole fishing. Tenkara is not dapping!”
