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[Baien Gyohin Zusho] (22) Eel / Loach / Takano Loach / Red Loach

mominaina
Source: National Diet Library Digital Collections "Baien Gyohin Zusho, Volume 1"


Eel (Unagi)

River fish category

From "Tashiki-hen (Scaleless fish category)": Eel (Unagi), Munaki, ancient name from the "Man'yoshu"

According to "Bencao Gangmu": "Shiming" says it is called Bai-shan, snake fish, and when dried, it is called wind eel.

Those caught in the inner moat, Tsukiji, Ryogoku River, and along the Kanda River are called 'Edomae'. Also, river fish caught in front of Honjo, Senju, and Takanawa are considered the highest quality.

"Man'yoshu", Volume 16: Otomo no Yakamochi says to Ishimaro, 'It is said to be good for summer fatigue, so take and eat eel.'

It is said to be a wonderful medicine for killing the worms of consumption and phthisis. It also appears in the Chinese book "Jishen Lu".

* "Rosai" refers to lung disease. Phthisis.
* "Denshi" is an old term for pulmonary tuberculosis. Consumption disease.

According to "Bencao": Eel (Onaki) - erroneous name; Unagi - current name; Hajikami-io - from "Wamyosho"; Kuchiboso - Hikone; Kanikui - same as above, refers to those with red mouths; Ochi-unagi - those that drift downstream in autumn.





"Tongzhi Lue": Eel; Eel fish - same as above. Shizhen's "Shiwu Bencao" says: River eel. From "Yiyu Tufei" and "Haiyan Xian Tujing": River eel. "Zhengzitong": Eel.



* "Yiyu Tufei" is thought to be "Yiyu Tuzan".

New Year's Day
In "Wamyosho", it defines eel as 'hajikami-io'. It defines 'zen-gyo' (eel) as 'munaki'. The character 'zen' is mistakenly called 'unagi' in common parlance. 'Unagi' is an eel. 'Zen-gyo' is 'fuka' (shark), a type of shark. Also, "Wamyosho" defines 'san-gyo' (eel) as 'ehi'. 'San-gyo' is an eel produced in the sea. 'Mizu-hebi' (water snake) refers to those produced in lakes, which is detailed.






Both types, caught on the last day of the sixth month of the Otsumi year, at the waterfall of Shinobazu Pond. Drawn from life.


Loach (Dojo)

20th day of the rainy season. Drawn from life.
River fish category

From "Tashiki-hen (Scaleless fish category)": Loach (Iu-gyo), Dojo; Mud loach - common name.

According to "Erya": Loach. "Yamato Honzo": Mud loach.


Takano-dojo (Spotted Loach)

March 22nd, Year of the Wood Horse, caught in Mikawa Shimabe, drawn from life.

The "Honzō" (Materia Medica) states: Takano-dojo (Spotted Loach)
Shima-dojo (Striped Loach) - Kyoto

* "Keishi" refers to Kyoto.


Gyogyo (Aka-dojo / Red Loach)


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

Additionally, classical Chinese reading marks are written in katakana and Chinese numerals, while furigana and okurigana are written in hiragana.
For 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 details, please read the "Self-Introduction / Disclaimer" section. 📖