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HISTORY It came out of samurai's hobby The origin of Kaga's artificial fly fishing hook industry is unknown but fishing sweet fish was a privilege for the samurai class during feudal days. It was samurai that invented fly fishing hooks which looked like artificial flies. Lower class samurai moonlighted by manufacturing fishing hooks. Around the 7th and 8th years of the Meiji period, general public joined fishing, and selling fly fishing hooks became businesses. In the 23rd year of the Meiji period, Kaga's artificial fly fishing hooks were displayed at Industrial Expo and they were praised for their beauty. During the war, the demand declined as the luxurious hooks were despised, however in the recent years, the artificial fly hooks recovered popularity as fishing population increased. CHARACTERISTICS Pursuit of practical and lasting fishing hooks As the artificial flies should like baits, real feathers from wild birds are used. Silken guts are used for leading strings. The artificial flies are joined to leading strings with special glue (komyotan), lacquer and gold leaf. Silk yarn is used for tying feather to the hook. Because of these materials, the Kaga's artificial fly hooks are durable and practical to use. When handled with proper care, the artificial flies last long enough to catch 100 sweet fish. Craftsmen and fishermen often exchange information so as to make necessary improvements. |
