Caught My Eye ("Cormorants Are Our Friends/Slaves")

Author: Tsuchiya Koitsu (1870-1949)
Title: Cormorant fishing at night at the Nagaragawa (river).
Description: ‘ban yoko-e size print published by Doi Hangaten in 1940 (Showa 15). Signed Koi more...

Estimate: € 75-100

Our Susquehanna River has been taken over by cormorants in the last few decades.

Fishermen lament the predation and the way they push other birds out of their ecological niches.

I hate to admit I know some wholesale slaughter has gone on, and I'm not quite sure much of it hasn't been tacitly countenanced by our state Fish and Game Commission.

The birds generally are hated.

The usual aspersion I hear among fishermen is "crow duck."

I don't think there's any racist crap in that.

The birds are sort of a melange of crow and duck.

I actually like them.

Although I know not to voice that opinion too strongly around those who live for the river.

Probably next it will be some new environmental poison or defertilizing/sterlizing compound that will backfire horribly (when don't they?)

Or else we'll throw yet another predator/competitor into the mix whose introduction will result in ecological disaster; although, what we could find of sufficient size to take out a cormorant and not also take out the occasional small human child as well is your guess as well as mine.

But look what we did with the wonderful snakefish.

Who is now enjoying the status of apex predator and prime extinction specialist in our state, even tonight.

Here's the irony of all this: the Japanese print is actually depicting the symbiotic relationship between Japanese fishermen and the cormorants.

You can read about this fascinating tradition and read two haiku Basho wrote on this here.



The following is a traditional homage sung by the Japanese people along the Nagara-Gawa to the cormorant in praise of its fish-swallowing skills. If only Celine would cover this it, it would be a huge international hit.

I believe the main Japanese lyric translates as "You eat; you puke; we love your shimmering puke, shining prince."

Something like that anyway.