7) You were at the European summit of Tenkara 2015 which was held in the Basque country and you met Misako Ishimura can you tell us more?

I was lucky to be on vacation in the Basque country while this 3rd summit was held in St Etienne de Ba?gorry. I would also like to thank the organizers, Maxime Miquel and Yvon Zill.
This allowed me to get to know Misako I had read the book she co-wrote: Tenkara Radically Simple.

She gave us a very documented presentation on the history of Tenkara as discovered by the English diplomat E. Satow, posted in Japan in the 19th century. His guide was a professional fisherman: Shinaemon Toyama. Its lines, flies and its bamboo cane are preserved in the museum of Omachi .

Misako showed us braided sandals of rice straw, similar to those that Shinaemon had to use to avoid slipping into the torrents; Her presentation was rich in interesting documents.

Misako was a teacher of traditional Japanese dance, this adds a natural grace to its wearing. One might think oneself in Japan if there were no pointed bell-towers, no?

Do you have an anecdote to tell us?

Since fishermen are often liars, I will not tell the story of big trout ....

A little anecdote told to me: Misako told us that professional fishermen in Japan worked mainly for the innkeepers who lodged the pilgrims going to the temples lost in the mountains. These innkeepers required trout from the fishermen that were all of the same size (to avoid complaints from customers who would have been upset by seeing their table neighbor eat a larger one than theirs ...) Not only should they be identical in size , They also had to be SMALL, so that customers would eat them quickly and free the space.

On this point, I think I am the perfect fisherman in tenkara: during this first season that I was able to get out was small fish!

But as you know, in Tenkara even small fish defend themselves, so I also took a lot of fun.

CONCLUSION of the interview: Thank you Eric for your involvement in the promotion of Tenkara in France;

I hope that many others will join us and practice their Tenkara, the one that is best adapted to their river and their fish. And even if they do not take record fish, they will have fun!

In my personal case, the initial goal is achieved, I was able to catch my little son fly with Tenkara cane.
He went out alone in 2015 for trout in tank and he almost took in river, here on Bourne, but that day they did not rise.

I think next year on it will bring a wild one on his fly .... And will release his tamo.

Full circle is achieved his great-grandfather would have been happy!

A big thank you to Jean for concenting to this interview.



My hope is that you have enjoyed reading this interview.
D