The Kyoto Shimbun
  • Home
  • Kyoto
  • News
  • Videos:

    Usho Apprentice with "Same Blue Eyes" Debuts
    Arashiyama, Kyoto

    15 July 2017 - Kyoto//Tradition/Culture
    Photo= Corriveau facing actual cormorant fishing. She said, "Though there was poor visibility on the river due to rain on the previous day, the cormorants really worked well" (July 1, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto)

    Photo= Corriveau facing actual cormorant fishing. She said, "Though there was poor visibility on the river due to rain on the previous day, the cormorants really worked well" (July 1, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto)

    Photo= Senior Usho fishers place their expectations and confidence in her to handle the cormorants positively and without fear (June 15)

    Photo= Senior Usho fishers place their expectations and confidence in her to handle the cormorants positively and without fear (June 15)

    Photo= The moment of bringing a cormorant, which has just caught a fish, on board. She repeatedly practiced placing cormorants with their wings flapping onto the boat's edge (June 15)

    Photo= The moment of bringing a cormorant, which has just caught a fish, on board. She repeatedly practiced placing cormorants with their wings flapping onto the boat's edge (June 15)

    We followed Larissa Corriveau, who made her apprenticeship debut on July 1 as the first foreign, female "Usho," or cormorant fisher, around the Arashiyama region in Ukyo and Nishikyo Wards, Kyoto City.

    "When I saw cormorants, I felt we were friends. The reason was that we have the same blue eyes." She said this is what she felt on her first training day on the 8th of last month.

    She continued training under the strong sunlight. Her tense expression reflected on the surface of the water became livelier day by day, and her gaze as she followed the cormorants became sharper.

    Her harnesses became tangled up while handling the difficult movement of the cormorants.

    "I don't like solicitous concern by being told it doesn't matter if I can't do it because I am a foreigner. I have lived in Japan for six years now, and can do anything, just like Japanese people do. I want to do it."

    Under skies threatening rain, taping marks could be seen on Corriveau's hands during the actual cormorant fishing. Sending up a cloud of spray, four cormorant "friends" dived into the water with their blue eyes dyed orange from the flames. She said, "I have recalled the actual cormorant fishing many times before sleeping. I want to do it more successfully tomorrow." The next morning, her eyes seemed to stare fixedly onward at the challenge of the succeeding days.

    (Translated by Mie Hiuzon, Psyche et l’Amour, Inc.)
  • Also in Kyoto//Tradition/Culture:

    Biography of Jakucho Setouchi Written by Her Former Secretary
    Jakucho's Heart Revealed to People Close to Her
    13 March 2023

    Why New 500-yen Coins Cannot Be Used in Vending Machines
    Nor for Some Buses or Parking Lots
    13 March 2023

    Fermentation under way for new sake at Kyoto Pref. brewery
    14 February 2023

    Kyoto Sanga Ensures J1 Survival
    18,000 Spectators at 1-1 Playoff Final against Kumamoto
    6 December 2022

    Men in Their Prime Should Be Cautious about Binge Eating Disorder
    Doctor Warns Depression May Develop Due to Weight Gain
    6 December 2022

News Archive
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • December 2022
  • October 2022
  • August 2022
  • More...
Categories
  • Sightseeing/Events
  • Temples/Shrines
  • Tradition/Culture
  • Local topics
  • Education/University
  • Business/Company
  • Traffic
  • Gourmet
  • 1min Kyoto
  • Kyoto
  • Shiga
Web site
Introducing Privacy Policy Japanese Site
Copyright © 1995-2023 The Kyoto Shimbun Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
We use cookies for a number of reasons, such as keeping our websites reliable and secure, providing social media features and to analyze the performance of ads. Accept & continue Read More
Privacy Policy