Japan Kebari: Dr. Hisao Ishigaki

During my stay in Japan I was lucky thanks to the intervention of my friend Kazumi Saigo of Dr. Hisao Ishigaki meet with whom I did fish an afternoon on the legendary Itosihro. It was of course a very good experience and a joy to meet one of the most notable ambassadors of tenkara.

Ishigaki-sensei and I exchanged some of our kebari after fishing.

We all know the Ishigaki sakasa kebari and most of us have tied this pattern in their tenkara beginnings but the original tied by Ishigaki Sensei are very different from western versions  which in most cases show excessive attention to details.

The tenkara technique of Dr Hisao Ishigaki is based on a rational observation of salmonid behavior, especially their sense of vision.

If the details in the pattern may be important for the fisherman they have none for fish which, because of the quasi-spherical and rigid lens of their eyes are myopic. 

Made of tying thread and a cock hackle feather a tenkara angler who considers his technique more important to meet success than the choice of a particular pattern will use this kebari as a dry, an emergent or a wet fly. When Ishigaki sensei opened his box to give me some of his kebari he took two other models that have no name.

Both kebari are tied on Varivas barbless hooks, they are of great simplicity and flawlessly efficient in fishing. The movements of their hackle on and under the water surface is certainly no stranger to their efficiency.

Ishigaki Sensei has developed a downstream wet fly fishing technique called "Tomezuri". This technique is very effective and allows successful downstream fishing at short distance. I was initiated by Ishigaki sensei himself and I can state that these kebari tied with long supple hackles perfectly work. Not only in Japanese mountain streams but on any stream.

As the masters of tenkara Ishigaki sensei has demonstrated during his career that while remaining faithful to the principle of simplicity of tenkara he was able to develop a range of effective techniques based on rational observation of salmonids.

John and Paul of Discover Tenkara have released an excellent video starring Ishigaki sensei that you can watch by clicking here.

Learn more about Ishigaki sensei and his tenkara experience in the very interesting interview he did with Adam and that was published on the Tenkara Fisher forum. 

My encounter with Masami "Tenkara-no Oni" Sakakibara (Part 3)

The next day we did fish the same torrent but a little bit further upstream.

I have watched videos on the  web and seen a lot of pictures of Japanese anglers fishing at the foot of dams and this time it was my turn to try this exercise in style. There is indeed some iwana at the foot of the waterfalls but it is not easy to reach them with a kebari. After a few tries I managed to sink my kebari in the depths and got a strike. The fish unhooked itself when  emerging from the water but Masami-san congratulated me because it is very difficult to feel the strike of an iwana in a such violent current.

We slowly ascended the banks of the river, exploring one by one all the spots likely to harbor these very discreet fish are that are iwana. 

The Iwana being a fish that does not move a lot it is to you to get your kebari convincingly drift in its field of vision. Masami-san never insists on a post, if the fish does not react when fishing upstream, he goes up the river a few meters and may try the same spot fishing downstream. His approach of the fish spots is stealthy and it pays off because he excels at catching fish at very close range.

A discreet approach, accurate and delicate casting and drift control are the keys to success in tenkara. I was also pleased to take another Yamato Iwana before we arrive at the highest point of our adventure. Having not the necessary gear we could not climb the waterfall that was in front of us when we came down in the valley.

We did find a river whose water was well cleared, the level still seemed a bit high to Masami-san but it probably seemed correct because he invited me to fish.

This time I was the only one to fish and it was my great pleasure and privilege to practice on this stream under the watchful eye of my friend and master.

I did catch some beautiful  amago that were in great shape. I was satisfied with this result and the water level being a little bit high was a good thing for the amago. They were in great shape and were a lot of fun to fish.

The weather that had been sullen and capricious turned to great weather as we were leaving the mountains. All good things come to an end and I had to return to Tokyo to take the plane that would bring me back to Paris. I thanked warmly Masami-san and Coco for their hospitality and for sharing with me their vast knowledge and experience of tenkara. Bye my friends!

My stay in Japan was a great moment in terms of fishing of course but above all a great human experience because I met simple, welcoming and generous people. And I have no doubt that this trip where I had the chance to meet some of the best connoisseurs of this fishing technique will have a great influence on my own experience of tenkara.

My encounter with Masami "Tenkara-no Oni" Sakakibara (Part 2)

The typhoon had striked the area and made plenty of damages as we were seeing at the TV news in the morning. But it also meant that we would now have warmer weather and we would gather our tenkara gear before leaving Masami-san's home  to go north to fish a river he likes a lot.

When we arrived in the coveted valley it was a scene of desolation that we had in front of us, the level of the river was very high and the water was muddy. So we do not have any other option but to go further to the north and the high mountains for a chance to find clear waters.

We did find our happiness rather quickly because Masami-san knows the area very well. The first fishes were caught pretty fast. This torrent is full of beautiful iwana and despite a very capricious weather I put to good use everything I had learned in Tadami, on the Itoshiro and of course Masami-san valuable advices. He is a first class guide who knows how to give you what you need to meet success. 

Thanks to Oni's advices and the casting lesson the day before I had the opportunity to really improve my technique. Success is based solely on technique. I will not say I "master" everything tenkara because it is a perpetual learning, but I think I have done credit to those who shared some of their knowledge with me.

Masami-san fished as well obviously, it was an opportunity for me to pause and learn by observing. We all know his honryu style of tenkara but his genryu style is also very effective. 

That first afternoon of tenkara fishing was obviously a memorable moment for me, fishing in the mountains with Masami Sakakibara as a guide was a dream that until recently I thought unachievable. I did not see hours passing by, totally absorbed by fishing which was really enjoyable. The light was beginning to fall when we left these majestic mountains to go back home. If Japan is the land of the rising sun is also that of the setting sun, night falls early even in summer.

The evening was an opportunity to meet Masami-san's friends who would join us the next day to fish. This was also the opportunity to taste the best okonomiyaki I've ever eaten. The atmosphere was really friendly as it was expected to be for the Team Oni. 

Tenkara on the Shō-gawa with Ajari and friends

After a restful night of sleep and a delicious breakfast prepared by Sasaki-san I did join my friends at their camp site where everyone was busy getting ready for the day that was going to be devoted to fishing. When I joined the conversation had no other topic, and it was a pleasure for me to make my friends discover the content of my kebari box and I must say that they seem to be surprised to see only Japanese kind of fly patterns as they were probably expecting more contemporary ones. 

It was already hot and it was barely 9:00 a.m when our band broke up, I saluted those who were leaving us and thanked them for the welcome they had given me the day before and then we were off to go fishing the Shō-gawa River, which rises in Mount Eboshi and then runs through the prefectures of Gifu and Toyama.

Arrived on the banks of the stream we did leave Tadani-san fish first and thanks to his excellent technique he quickly hooked a couple of iwana. Then we began to fish and catches did come at a good pace. We can roughly translate the name "Iwana" with "rock fish" and it is no coincidence that iwana is caught nearby stones, in the most quiet places of rivers, making your kebari drift as slowly as possible.

I walked a few meters and watched Ajari and Kura-san fishing and noticed that their successful technique  was very well established: accurate and delicate cast, no contact between line and water surface and perfectly controlled drift.

The first spot where Ajari, Kura-san and I did hook a dozen of iwana with different kebari without any common point but used in the same way, the good one!, will long remain in my mind. 

We fished like this all morning long only a few meters from each other exploiting all the "hot spots" of the stream. We fished every possible fish spot upstream and downstream and we were rewarded for it. This stream stretch has a very nice density of iwana. 

After a little over two hours of fishing we arrived at the mouth of a stream of about twenty centimeters wide. There were fly fishermen a few tens of meters upstream and we were hungry, the temperature had risen so my companions decided to stop fishing. They went up the bank then settled on the deck behind me and I heard Ajari then tell me he saw a beautiful iwana nestled against a rock at the mouth of the creek. I retreated a few steps to place me under the bridge and take advantage of its shadow to accurately locate the fish and said it was made when I deposited my zenmai-dou gently at its upstream. The iwana took it at its first drift. It was a beautiful yamato iwana.

This superb released fish, I collapsed my rod down, I  had the good days smile on my face and we left lunch. After the meal we did take the road to Ishigawa, another river lower in the valley where only yamame live. Once there we first spent a nice time to watch the fish from a bridge but we do not hang out because the very high temperature this afternoon let us think that fishing would be difficult. 

And it was difficult. This is again Tadani-san who caught the first fish. The yamame is a much more spooky fish that iwana and is very sensitive to vibrations in the water. Therefore it is advised when possible to fish from the bank.

Each of us caught a yamame which obviously made us happy but the warmth of the afternoon was goign to defeat our motivation. The fishes were not active on food and we decided to leave the river after two hours on its banks.

We quietly walked up the river and once returned to our starting point it was time to say goodbye to Kura-san and Tadami-san. I have been really happy to meet them after all this time only knowing them through Facebook. Ajari and I had were about to take the road to Takayama. I really had great time with the Itoshiro group. 

Bye friends! I will be back!