Site 10: Fisherman and Woman
A fisherman and fisherwoman talk about what a hard life it is.
Themes:
1. FISHING INDUSTRY
2. history of wharf
3. Mrs. Tanaka
4. Yokohama
EXTERIOR: WHARF/FISHERMAN INTERVIEW
Professor Miyagawa sits in a quiet area and reviews his footage of the old fisherman interview, which plays in slow motion (without sound) while he makes the following AUDIO MEMO.
PROFESSOR MIYAGAWA
July 4; 6:44 am. Just interviewed a man who has been fishing for 50 years! Young people don't take up professions like fishing anymore; there are easier ways to make a living now. Traditions that have existed for generations have broken down in the short period since the war. They tell me this large catch is unusual. Fish is such a staple food in Japan, what happens if they run out?
PROFESSOR MIYAGAWA: Do you have any worries about you’re child’s generation?
MRS. TANAKA: No. She works for a company, so it’s not so hard. We hope for our children’s happiness more that our own. I wouldn’t want her to suffer like me. It’s O.K. now. But when I was younger I cried at night when no one was looking. This business is really hard. When a typhoon comes, you have to stop. human lives are more important than business.
PROFESSOR MIYAGAWA: What do you find most satisfying?
MRS. TANAKA: Everyday I wonder what will be caught and how much it will sell for.
FISH
Corky White writes about the fishing industry:
“Japan's catch has recently been the largest in the world. Social studies courses in Japanese schools all have a unit teaching children the importance of the fishing industry to national resource independence.
“The offshore fishing grounds, including both warm and cold currents provide copious amounts of fish of many kinds. Japanese also fish the North Pacific, the East China Sea, and the Atlantic.
“Even small villages in northern Maine have become acquainted with the Japanese fishing industry, and are also exporters to Japan of such north Atlantic delicacies as sea urchins and Maine lobsters. Fish is a very significant item in the Japanese diet, and the per capita consumption of marine products is the highest in the world, giving Japanese 50% of their animal protein intake.
“There are several different kinds of fishing -- and the Japanese do them all. Off shore fishing is done with smaller boats, using seines, trawls, drift nets and hooks and lines. Open sea fishing is done by huge factory ships, using trawls, seines and nets.
“There have been some self-imposed controls on the take in the open sea, because of the 200-mile limit imposed by the US, Canada and the former Soviet Union, after 1975. To compensate, Japanese fishing industry has established agriculture, or the breeding and growing of fish in contained areas, both inland and marine. Whaling, a traditional source of foodstuff and other products of the whale, has been controlled recently by international agreements.”
JAPANESE DIET
Corky White writes:
“Rice has been always considered the staple food of the Japanese people. Occasionally, Japanese eat noodles instead of rice. Recently, bread has become popular, particularly among the young in Japan.
“The Japanese diet is based on vegetables and fish. But since World War II, the Japanese people have been introduced to many Western styles of cuisines.
“Fast foods (also called instant foods) have become very popular in Japan. People buy ready-made meals at convenience stores, in addition to going to fast food restaurants. You can see many fast food restaurants—not only Western types of fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, but also Japanese types such as noodle stands.
“Department stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores in Japan also sell a wide variety of precooked and ready-prepared foods.”
MRS. MISAE TANAKA
The fisherwoman Shigeru interviewed at the wharf in Hiratsuka
Massachusetts Institute of Technology © 2006 Visualizing Cultures
