Lot Essay
The most famous area for cormorant fishing is the Nagaragawa in Mino province. The fishermen called usho, usually wear eboshi-like headgear, straw loincloths and carry a burning torch. Twelve tethered cormorants at a time are used without entangling the ropes. The origins of cormorant fishing can be found in the Kojiki. During the Heian period and again in the Edo period, positions of rank were awarded to keepers of the cormorants. The subject has always been popular among painters and the literati.