Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 December 1902 — Gifu Fishing in Japan. [ARTICLE]

Gifu Fishing in Japan.

“At Gifu we were entertained with one of the most curious sights I have ever wltnesdM,” said a St. Louis traveler In the Globe-Democrat. “Thia was the famous Gifu fishing, of which all travelers in Japan love to relate. We went with the natives In open boats, near midnight, in a mountain stream. At the prow waa a wire basket filled with flaming wood. One of the fishermen was near this. He held In his hands strings, to which were tied live birds, a species of duck. “The glare of the torch attracted the fish to the surface of the water. When one of the birds sighted a fish it would dive after it and usually succeeded In capturing and swallowing it. When a duck had swallowed several fish and its neck appeared fat with them the fishermen pulled it Into the boat. Then one of the men would destrously squeeze the duck’s neck so that It would vomit the fish, still alive, into a large basket. “The fish captured are a species of trout and are Considered a great delicacy. The Japs eat their fish boiled in a kind of soup, and half raw. We encountered this dish, also numerous other Japanese dishes, which we found far from savory. Americans, as a rule, do not take kindly to the native dishea of Japan. Nearly everywhere, however, it la possible to get what one Wants. In going Into a Japanese restaurant It Is customary to stop in the kitchen and select the viands one desires to have cooked for his meal.”