[Baien Gyohin Zusho] (68) Anglerfish

■-navel fish (■ is 蕐-人人)

"Ningbo Prefecture Gazetteer": Marine product, scaleless, ■-navel fish (■ is 蕐-人人). Also known as Old Woman Fish, also known as Ribbon Fish.

"Wudu Fu" says: Biwa (lute) fish. Its belly has a band like a cape attached to it, hence it is named Ribbon Fish. Its shape is like a tadpole, and the large ones are like a plate. It is also called Biwa fish because its shape is like a biwa.

Toad fish. Commonly known as Anglerfish (Anko). In common parlance, small ones are called 'Kutsuan'.

* "■-navel fish" is the Anglerfish. It refers to the anglerfish.
* The kanji for "tadpole" might be misread. Reference: "English-Chinese Dictionary (tadpole)", "English-Japanese Vocabulary: With Phonetic Illustrations (tadpole)" (National Diet Library Digital Collections)

The anglerfish is a fish of the winter season, contrasting with the bonito of the summer months, and is highly prized. Its price is very high. There are two whiskers above its mouth. These are called fishing rods. They are always worn on the forehead, and when they extend, they resemble a dangling fishing line.

* "Whiskers" refers to the chin beard.

Its nature is to drift quietly, and it does not run like other fish. Therefore, it is not easy for it to find bait. When hungry, it extends and moves that fishing rod, waiting for small fish to come. Small fish, seeing the whiskers move, think there is plenty of bait and come near. It is said that it then catches and eats those small fish.

The aforementioned fishing rod is something it habitually uses to lure prey. Although there are many in the East Sea, they are especially numerous in Sagami, Izu, and Hitachi provinces. Its skin, meat, fins, gills, bones, guts, and liver are all eaten. Its nature is warming, nourishing, and non-toxic, and it is not contraindicated for any illness, as stated in the "Ningbo Prefecture Gazetteer".

* "Although" means even if.
* "□ in" is thought to be "especially".
* "Sagami Province" is Sagami Province.
* "Izu Province" refers to Izu.
* "Hitachi Province" is Hitachi Province.

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Author's Note: "Baien Gyohin Zusho" is a fish encyclopedia by the late Edo period naturalist, Mōri Baien. The explanatory text is mainly in classical Chinese, so there are many kanji that cannot be displayed on a computer, and there are reading marks and auxiliary particles. For readability, kanji that cannot be displayed on a computer are marked as □, and in the case of names, they are shown in the form [■ is 〇+〇] as much as possible. Also, the reading marks and auxiliary particles for the classical Chinese are written in katakana and Chinese numerals, and the furigana and auxiliary particles are written in hiragana. Please refer to this note for the literature cited in this work. →


[Baien Gyohin Zusho] Literature Summary● indicates characters that could not be deciphered. I will update as appropriate when new characters are deciphered or when I notice typos or misreadings. For details, please read the "

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