[Baien Gyohin Zusho] (27) Tuna (Maguro)

Kinsogyo (Golden Spear Fish) - Hatsu - Maguro (Tuna)

"Zajibo" (Miscellaneous Character Dictionary) says: Kinsogyo - Hatsu - Maguro - Edo.
"Shiryogyo" (Dietary Therapy Sutra) says: Wei (Tuna), Japanese name 'shibi', also known as 'yellow-cheek fish'.

"Erya" (Approaching Elegance) says: Large ones are called 'wei', small ones are called 'shuwai'.
Shuan's 'shuwai' is the ancient 'mikuro'.

* "Nanryo" is another name for the eighth month of the lunar calendar.

Showai (Small Tuna) - Komaguro

Showai - Komaguro - Edo.
Called 'meshikakatsuo'. It is difficult to determine the origin of the name 'katsuo' (bonito).

In the commentary on "Erya", Guo Pu's theory divides tuna into three grades by size.
In our country, these are the 'o-maguro' (shibi), 'shu-maguro', and 'soda' (mejika), etc.

In the western provinces, they are caught in large numbers at Goto and Hirado. In the western lands, tuna is called 'shibi'. The flattest ones are called 'maguro'. The smaller ones are called 'mejika'. Fishermen process them as 'shiomono' (salted fish) and send them to distant places. They are called 'shiokatsuo' (salted bonito).

In Edo, they are all called 'sodakatsuo'. There is also a type called 'sodakatsuo'. One type has the same shape but different markings. Its shape is different from the tuna. There are also 'mebachi' (bigeye) and 'bincho' (albacore).

* "Guo Pu" was a writer and diviner of the Western and Eastern Jin dynasties.
* "Goto" refers to the Goto Islands in Nagasaki.
* "Buko" refers to Edo, in Musashi Province.

O-maguro (King Tuna)

Maguro - Edo
Shibi - Western Provinces
Hazu - Osaka

O-maguro and 'xun' fish are the same thing. 'Maguro' is the same name.
The 'xun' fish is what is called 'kajiki-maguro' (marlin/swordfish) in Edo. In the western provinces, it is called 'ashinami', and in Tosa Province, it is called 'kajiki-toshi'. It is said to pierce boats with its head.

Tuna caught in large numbers in Izu in the autumn are three to four shaku long and fat; others caught in Hirado are five to six shaku long.

In Nanjing, China, it is said that those over a zhang long are highly poisonous.

This small tuna is salted and often sent by merchants from far away. It is sold by fishmongers as 'salt bonito'. The fresh version is called 'kiwada'. It is explained in the section on small tuna in the second volume.

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Author's Note: 'Baien Gyohin Zusho' is a fish encyclopedia by the late Edo period naturalist, Mouri Baien. The explanatory text is primarily in classical Chinese style, so it contains many kanji that cannot be displayed on a computer, as well as kaeriten (reversion marks) and okurigana. For readability, kanji that cannot be displayed on a computer are represented as □, and in the case of names, they are shown as [■ is 〇+〇] whenever possible.

Additionally, the kaeriten and okurigana for the classical Chinese text are written in katakana and Chinese numerals, while furigana and okurigana are written in hiragana.
For the literature cited in this work, please refer to this note. → [Baien Gyohin Zusho] Literature Summary

● represents characters that could not be deciphered. I will update this as new characters are deciphered or if I notice any typos or misreadings. For more details, please read the 'Self-Introduction/Disclaimer' section. 📖