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Source Description
The scene depicted on this tsuba is of a fisherman using a cormorant bird to catch fish. As this activity has traditionally occurred at night, the fisherman holds a torch over the water to help the bird find the fish. In his other hand, he holds a rope attached to the bird. A ring is tied around the bird's neck to prevent it from swallowing the fish it catches. The bird with its head submerged can be seen at the lower left of the tsuba. On the back, a cormorant has emerged from the water with a fish in his mouth. While cormorant fishing is no longer a primary means of catching fish, the practice has continued as a tourist attraction in areas such as Gifu in central Japan. Cormorant fishing is a summer activity.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
5294
label
Tsuba with Cormorant Fishing at Night
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
3
Source metadata
id
5294
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Tsuba with Cormorant Fishing at Night
description
The scene depicted on this tsuba is of a fisherman using a cormorant bird to catch fish. As this activity has traditionally occurred at night, the fisherman holds a torch over the water to help the bird find the fish. In his other hand, he holds a rope attached to the bird. A ring is tied around the bird's neck to prevent it from swallowing the fish it catches. The bird with its head submerged can be seen at the lower left of the tsuba. On the back, a cormorant has emerged from the water with a fish in his mouth. While cormorant fishing is no longer a primary means of catching fish, the practice has continued as a tourist attraction in areas such as Gifu in central Japan. Cormorant fishing is a summer activity.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
18th-19th century (Edo-Meiji)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Arms & Armor
tsuba
sword components
imageCount
3
pageCount
3
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
7.6
height
6.9
depth
0.6
dimensionsRaw
H: 3 × W: 2 11/16 × D: 1/4 in. (7.6 × 6.9 × 0.6 cm)
Source extras
cul
Japanese
inscriptions
[Signature] 常光; [Translation] Tsunemitsu
med
sentoku (copper-tin alloy), copper, shibuichi (silver-copper alloy), gold
creator_ids
3816
collection_ids
JMA
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
fbd7ef99cf85adbf
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
364bae5f8f7db9ee
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
694ee97573a77382
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no