Kaga fly rods coated with lacquer
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Kaga fly rods coated with lacquer |
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HISTORY Martial art training by fly fishing rod As the largest clan un-allied to the Tokugawa Shogunate, Kaga did not want Tokugawa to suspect Kaga rebellious by training clan's men with martial arts. The clan, instead encouraged samurai to train themselves in outdoor sporting. For example, fishing sweet fish in the streams using heavy weights helped them acquire right timing of real sword fighting. Tenkara fishing was a good way to train samurais for short sword fighting and sickle and chain fighting. Ezashi fishing was good for training short spear fighting. Making fishing rods developed along the necessity. Rod manufacturers in the feudal days manufactured not only fishing rods, but also they manufactured bows and shakuhachi, or bamboo musical instrument. Making fishing rods became flourishing business after the Meiji period when fishing became popular sport of leisure. CHARACTERISTICS Artistic value is high as it is lac quer-coated Sweet fish fishing rods are made for samurai. They are sturdy and are of subdued appearance. Flax fibers and silk yarns were strung around bamboo rods and coated with abundance of lacquer. The rods are not simply for fishing but are regarded as handicrafts. Negoro-nuri and akebono-nuri are special lacquer coating techniques for the rods. Finishing a rod takes from 40 days to 500 days depending on the quality of the rod. The characteristic of the Kaga's rods are that they can be folded into two, making them easy to carry. Because Kaga's fishing rods were made as equipment for samurai, sturdiness and void of colorful decorations are also characteristic. |