Tai Sea Bream

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. Amulets and toys with animals .
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Sea bream (tai)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Animal

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Explanation

Bream is a general term for a number of species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera. The term sea bream is sometimes used for porgies (family Sparidae) or pomfrets (family Bramidae).



His name includes the TAI, connected to MEDETAI 目出たい ... used on auspicious situations and therefore a fish dish with TAI is very important. It is also used as an offering for the Deities, expecially in Sawachi Food.
Also because of its auspicious red color, it is an auspicious food item.


Some varieties well known in Japan :

amadai 甘鯛 "sweet tai" tilefish
Lopholatilus chamealeonticeps
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Blauer Ziegelfisch
kigo for all winter


asahidai 旭鯛 アサヒダイ "morningsun sea bream"
Pagellus bellottii
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


chidai 血鯛 チダイ "blood sea bream" crimson sea bream
Evynnis japonica
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


fuedai ふえだい snapper
Lutjanus stellatus
Schnapper


hedai 平鯛 ヘダイ "flat sea bream"
Sparus sarba


hirekodai 鰭小鯛 ヒレコダイ
Evynnis cardinalis


ibodai 疣鯛 wart perch, japanese butterfish
Psenopsis anomala
Japanischer Butterfisch


kichinu 黄茅渟 キチヌ yellowfin porgy
Acanthopagrus latus
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
. Tsuriyuki anzen 釣行安全　safety when fishing .


kidai 黄鯛 キダイ yellow sea bream
Dentex tumifrons
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




kurodai 黒鯛 クロダイ black sea bream
kibire 黄鰭（きびれ）、honchinu 本ちぬ（ほんちぬ）
kaizu かいず、keizu けいず,
chinchin kaizu ちんちんかいず、chinchin ちんちん、
tsuyu kaizu 梅雨かいず（つゆかいず）
chinutsuri ちぬ釣（ちぬつり）fishing for black sea bream
..... kaizu tsuri かいず釣（かいずつり）
Acanthopagrus schlegeli
dunkle Meerbrasse
kigo for all summer



madai 真鯛 マダイ red sea bream
Pagrus major
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Rote Seebrasse, (Rote Meerbrasse)


minami kurodai 南黒鯛 ミナミクロダイ "Southern black sea brass"
Acanthopagrus sivicolus
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


nanyoo chinu 南洋茅渟 ナンヨウチヌ "South Sea progy"
Acanthopagrus berda
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


oshirenko ホシレンコ (dedai ヂダイ)
Cheimerius matsubarai
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


sakuradai 桜鯛 サクラダイ cherry sea bream
Sacura margaritacea
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Taiwandai 台湾鯛 タイワンダイ "sea bream from Taiwan)
Argyrops bleekeri
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Let us look at some kigo with the sea bream !



kigo for late spring

Sakuradai 桜鯛 red sea bream
Sparus species and sometimes also applied to "red snapper" Lutianus species.
Literally the name means "Cherry Blossom Bream", because of the delicate pink meat.
During the Flower viewing season, they are called
Cherry blossom-viewing sea bream, hanamidai 花見鯛

nokkomidai 乗込鯛（のっこみだい）"pulling sea bream in the boat"
sugatami no tai 姿見の鯛（すがたみのたい）
ikadai 烏賊鯛（いかだい / イカダイ）



taiami, tai-ami 鯛網 net for fishing sea bream
different types of nets:
tai katsura-ami 鯛葛網（たいかつらあみ）
gochi-ami 吾智網（ごちあみ）
tai jikogi-ami 鯛地漕網（たいじこぎあみ）
tai shibari-ami 鯛縛網（たいしばりあみ）



ukidai 浮鯛 (うきだい/ 浮き鯛 ) "floating sea bream"
sea bream coming up on the high tide in spring, they look like floaters.


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kigo for all summer

arai tai 洗鯛（あらいたい）"washed sea bream"
prepared as sashimi


. mugiwara dai 麦藁鯛 (むぎわらだい) "straw sea bream" 　


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kigo for late autumn


ochidai, ochi dai 落鯛 (おちだい) sea bream coming down
When it begins to get cold, the fish seek deeper seawater, which is warmer.


ochikaizu, ochi kaizu 落かいず (おちかいず)
black sea bream coming down


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kigo for late winter

kandai 寒鯛 (かんだい) sea bream in the cold
fuyu no tai 冬の鯛（ふゆのたい）sea bream in winter


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kigo for all winter


amadai 甘鯛 "sweet tai" tilefish
Lopholatilus chamealeonticeps
Okitsudai 興津鯛（おきつだい）sea bream from Okitsu, Shizuoka
guji ぐじ



budai 舞鯛 (ぶだい) "dancing sea bream"
..... maidai まいだい
Calotomus japonicus)



itoyoridai いとよりだい【糸縒鯛】
.... itoyori 金糸魚 (いとより)
itoyouo, ito uo 糸魚（いとうお）"thread fish"
itokuri uo糸繰魚（いとくりうお）
kinsengyo 金線魚（きんせんぎょ）"Golden Thread Fish"
Nemipterus virgatus
A very expensive variety, with not so much fat




kinmedai 金目鯛 (きんめだい) Alfonsino, "Golden Eye Tai"
nishikidai 錦鯛（にしきだい） "brocade tai"
also sakurazushi 桜寿し sea bream sushi
Südlicher Kaiserbarsch, Nordischer Schleimkopf




WASHOKU
taiyaki　鯛焼き sweet waffles in the form of a sea bream
stall selling tai waffles, taiyaki ya 鯛焼屋（たいやきや）



taichiri 鯛ちり（たいちり）nabe
hodgepodge with sea bream
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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regional humanity kigo for the New Year
Kanazawa 金沢　



bendai 紅鯛 "red Tai"
sasa bendai 笹紅鯛（ささべんだい）
It is hung on a willow branch or sasa grass branch, together with other auspicious symbols like a silkworm cocoon, a koban gold piece, an auspicious hammer, the mask of o-Tafuku or an edifice of the god of riches and fishermen, Ebisu.
They are sold on the New Year market in Kanazawa.





買初の紅鯛吊す炬燵かな
kaizome no bendai tsurusu kotatsu kana

the first purchase
of a bendai hangs
above the kotatsu

Murou Saisei, Kanazawa

. Murou Saisei 室生犀星 (1889 - 1962) 　　



. Kotatsu, heatable table 　　


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observance kigo for the New Year


. kakedai 掛鯛 (かけだい) hanging sea bream decoration
..... kakedai / kaketai 懸鯛（かけだい）"hanging sea bream"
niramidai 睨鯛（にらみだい / 睨み鯛）"glaring at the sea bream"
tsutsumi-o no tai 包尾の鯛（つつみおのたい）sea bream with the tail wrapped




. suwaridai, suwari dai 据り鯛 (すわりだい) "seated sea bream"


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observance kigo for late summer
first day of the sixth lunar month

kaketai orosu 掛鯛下す (かけたいおろす)
taking the sea bream down
kakedai orosu

The dried sea bream from the New Year is taken down and prepared as a soup to ward off the summer diseases.



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The following are NOT KIGO !


Setonaikai 瀬戸内海 best for tai fishing, also the coast around Matsuyama, Shikoku.


Special sea bream dishes 鯛料理 tai ryoori
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


kurodai miso くろだい味噌 / 黒鯛味噌/ 黒鯛みそ
miso paste with black tai fish
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
from Hiroshima


tai-aji chirimen 鯛味ちりめん
small white fish simmerd with tai broth
from Hiroshima
. . . CLICK here for Photos !






taimeshi 鯛めし rice with sea bream
from Shimane and Matsuyama
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Reis mit Seebrasse


tai no hamayaki 鯛の浜焼き
sakuradai no hamayaki 櫻鯛の浜焼き
from Kasaoka Town, Okayama


tai no karamushi 鯛の唐蒸し
steamed sea bream with vegetables
Speciality of Kaga ryoori, Ishikawa
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
gedünstete Seebrasse mit Gemüse




tai senbei 鯛せんべい rice crackers with sea bream


Uwajima taimeshi 宇和島鯛めし rice with sea bream from Uwajima
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
from Ehime



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Proverbs with the TAI

ebi de tai o tsuru 海老で鯛を釣る to catch a sea bream with a shrimp
To have a great profit with little effort.
"To throw a sprat to catch a mackerel."
zooni de tai o tsuru 雑魚で鯛釣る
蝦蛄で鯛を釣る
麦飯で鯛を釣る


fugu ni atareba tai ni mo ataru 河豚にも当たれば鯛にも当たる
"you can eat poisonous globe fish, or bad tai sometimes"
You never know when bad luck will hit you.


iwashi no atama o sen yori tai no i ni tsuke
イワシの頭をせんより鯛の尾につけ
Better be the head of a small group of people than the tail of a large group.
or the opposite
tai no oo yori iwashi no atama 鯛の尾より鰯の頭



kusatte mo tai 腐っても鯛 "Even a rotten tai is worthwhile"
A great person retans his worth, no matter how the circumstances.


uchi no tai yori tonari no iwashi 内の鯛より隣の鰯
"Better the sardines from the neighbour than the sea bream in your own posession"
To be easily envious of anything of other people.



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way




Traditional Folk Toys
all sorts of Sea Bream dolls

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. tsurushibina つるし雛 / 吊るし雛 small hanging hina dolls .



An important item for auspicious situations. With its red color, it will also ward off evil influence for the girl.

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. bonbori ぼんぼり / 雪洞 paper lantern - Introduction .



tai bonbori 鯛ぼんぼり sea bream lantern

They come on wheels, some are quite big and are carried around town.
They are a speciality of Murakami town and lighten the night to ward off evil in the summer months. A bit like the Nebuta floats of the Tohoku region.


. Niigata Folk Art - 新潟県　 .
Murakami town 村上市

ganman no tai 願満の鯛 sea bream for a fulfilled wish
Chiba, temple Tanjo-Ji 大本山 小湊 誕生寺 / in honor of Saint Nichiren　日蓮

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HAIKU and SENRYU





Matsuo Basho's Poetic Spaces:
Exploring Haikai Intersections
edited by Eleanor Kirkham

"What makes the 'Basho style' fundamentally different from those of other haikai schools is that it frankly expresses keijo (environment and emotion) just as it is. This certainly is Karumi's [lightness] season. The kei of keijo means scenery or landscape, expressing the concrete image of a thing just as it is, without clever artifice. In Chinese poetics we also find the phrase, 'unification of environment and emotion' (J. keijo itchi); basically it means expression in which landscape is depicted, charged with emotional resonance. Therefore, it is not a mere copy or sketch of a scene . . . expressions of environments that come to possess emotion of their own accord.

"Also, of course, many different qualities exist in the emotions that derive from the environments, but the one that Basho most emphasized in his last years was ordinary feeling, feelings that can casually emerge from everyday life. This is what is called 'zokutan heiwa' (lit., commonplace stories in ordinary language) --- writing verse about everyday things in plain, easy words.

塩鯛の歯ぐきも寒し魚の店
shiodai no haguki mo samushi uo no tana / shio dai

salted bream,
cold up to their gums:
fishmonger's shelf

(Komojishishu [Straw Lion Collection]. 1693


"This verse describes an impression of bitter cold from the gums of salted sea bream lined up in a fishmonger's stall. This is indeed one of the pinnacles of haiku as the poetry of ordinary people. In first touching on it, this quality of ordinariness was one of the things that Basho's disciple Kagami Shiko (1665 - 1731) most strongly emphasized as a way of teaching commoners; another was respect for the power of images, telling students to make the content of their verse just like a picture."

Horikiri Minoru
Basho's World of Poetic Expression
Translated by Cheryl Crowley

source : Simply Haiku, 2007


shio-dai no haguki mo samushi uo no tana

In the fish-shop
The gums of the salted sea-bream
Are cold.
Tr. Barnhill


The salted bream
Look cold, even to their gums,
On the fishmonger’s shelf.
Tr. Peipei-Qiu


FOOD haiku by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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俎板に鱗ちりしく桜鯛　
manaita ni uroko chirishiku sakuradai

on the chopping board
the fish scales are everywhere -
cherry sea bream
　　　　　　　　　　　
Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規


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安宿とあなどるなかれ桜鯛　
yasuyado to anadoru nakare sakuradai

no need to look down
at this cheap inn ...
(they serve) cherry sea bream　

Morita Tooge, Morita Toge 森田峠


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鯛網や浜街道は山に入り　　
tai-ami ya hama-kaidoo wa yama ni iri

net for sea breams -
the old beach road leads
into the mountains

Uchida Hyakken 内田百閒 (1889 - 1971)

Hamakaido is one of the old trading roads from Edo via Mito via Kesennuma in Miyagi to Hachinohe in Aomori in Northern Japan, along the Sanriku Beach 三陸浜街道.
In Iwate, by the Morioka clan, it was called 海辺道 umibe michi.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !
There are other old trading routes named like this, for example in Kishu.


Many harbors along the Sanriku Hamakaido have been destroyed:
. Japan after the BIG earthquake
March 11, 2011

I remember travelling this road by car. The road was high up above the cliffs, and you had to drive down to each harbor in a valley. They seemd to have known the dangers of tsunami in olden times.

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喪の家の焼いて縮める桜鯛
mo no ie no yaite chijimeru sakuradai

a family in mourning -
the grilled cherry sea bream
is shrinking

Ooki Amari 大木あまり (1941 - )


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Related words

***** ishidai 石鯛 (いしだい) parrot fish
lit. "stone tai"
..... shimadai 縞鯛（しまだい）
Oplegnathus fasciatus
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
kigo for all summer


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Sawachi ryoori 皿鉢料理 Sawachi cuisine, celebration food
Kochi


. WASHOKU - Favorite Sea Bream Dishes from Edo . 　


***** FISH AND SEAFOOD SAIJIKI

. Amulets and toys with animals .


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