So after reading about tenkara I am thinking its alright. But probably not for me. I do however keep seeing the claim it's hundreds of years old. As old as standard traditional euro fly fishing. That being said, where is this documented? Aside from the guy who sells the tenkara rods I haven't been finding much in the way of historical evidence. Now mind you whilst your blood boils. Im fine with it and it reminds of me young cane pole fishing. I'm nostalgic about it. Im just trying to understand what historical evidence about claims if there is any available and why.
Some questions about tenkara
- Thread starter Vulpes
- Start date
GrtLksMarlin
Well-known member
So are you looking to learn or just something else? Have you performed a web search on the subject and do you consider the same style of fishing by other names to still be the same?
For all intents and purposes, call it by whatever name you want, yet this style of fishing with flies, braided lines, and long rods/poles is thousands of years old. "Tenkara" itself in my singular brief search recognized specifically 430 years ago, and fly fishing in general in Japan back to the 9th century B.C........Fly fishing, with poles noted as far back as 2,000 B.C..
In fact, I would suspect that fishing with a fly would very likely be your first artificial lure, naturally on hand lines....Fixing that line on the end of a stick, reed, bamboo, cane pole the next step for all cultures.
B.E.F.
For all intents and purposes, call it by whatever name you want, yet this style of fishing with flies, braided lines, and long rods/poles is thousands of years old. "Tenkara" itself in my singular brief search recognized specifically 430 years ago, and fly fishing in general in Japan back to the 9th century B.C........Fly fishing, with poles noted as far back as 2,000 B.C..
In fact, I would suspect that fishing with a fly would very likely be your first artificial lure, naturally on hand lines....Fixing that line on the end of a stick, reed, bamboo, cane pole the next step for all cultures.
B.E.F.
Last edited:
I could have started this thread a billion different ways if I was interested in trolling. Actually Im trying to learn a bit about it. Im curious, as it's just kind of randomly popped up from a guy who sells it. So I of course don't mean to offend anyone who is fond of it by asking questions about it's authenticity. Personally I find life to be an interesting adventure of knowledge collection. I learn as much as I can about the world and try to make sense of it.(Mind you not that I'm successful by any stretch). But to answer your questions. I spent about 2 hours yesterday on google. Using my googlefu. Which I'm at least a brown belt in googlefu. the only info I was able to find is that there is no info and even the japanese don't even really think much about it. Which is why I'm skeptical and curious.
Ps. I could have swore I seen a late model suburban last night that said great lakes marlin on a sticker on the back window.
Ps. I could have swore I seen a late model suburban last night that said great lakes marlin on a sticker on the back window.
I just spent about 5 secs in google and found numerous references. This should get you started -
The currently accepted earliest written reference to describe tenkara-style fishing comes in 1878 from Sir Ernest Satow’s diaries (A Diplomat in Japan, Part II: The diaries of Ernest Satow 1870 – 1883). This British diplomat was a keen mountaineer who spent over 20 years in Japan. He describes the capture of Iwana (white spotted char; Salvelinus leucomaenis) from mountain streams by the use of bamboo rods and flies dressed with rooster feathers. It is instructive that it took a visitor to Japan, rather than a local resident, to set down these observations – as it speaks to the peasant origins of this method of harvesting fish from steep mountain streams.
Some more -
In Japanese written history, there have been 2 schools of traditional freshwater fly fishing dating back in the feudal time. One is commonly known as tenkara using single soft hackle fly to catch mountain creek trouts such as yamame and iwana. Another school is known as dobu using group of nymph-like wet flies in a sinker rig to catch ayu or variety of minnows. Tenkara was remotely practiced as practical fishing of woodsman living near mountain creeks covered by forest. Dobu grew to the level of artistic recreational fishing by swordsman class and merchants practiced in wide open river.
Traditional tenkara uses bamboo hand rod, yarn of horse tail hair for taper line, and line of silk for tippet. Fly patterns were soft hackle which cover mostly beneath the surface film.
A bit more -
Accurate records on the origins of Tenkara are few and far between. Archeologic research suggests fishing methods involving bamboo rods and artificial lures existed as early as 9th century B.C. Japanese historic records confirm the presence of artificial flies as early as the 17th century, while the earliest known account of Tenkara in English appeared in the 19th century.
Despite this paucity of information, the history of Tenkara retains a utilitarian value to the modern Tenkara angler. An understanding of the origins of Tenkara proves very useful, if not indispensable, in the employment of Tenkara on the water.
Taken together with lessons in Tenkara Technique and Philosophy, we hope the following account of the origins of traditional Tenkara highlights this utilitarian value. We begin with a description of the geography and early culture that gave birth to Tenkara as we know it.
Tenkara equipment, technique, and philosophy originated in the high mountain regions prominent on the main island of Japan. Mountain streams in these prefectures are a reflection of the geologic violence that formed their mountains. Flowing over a bed of volcanic rock and sediment, they are steep, turbulent, and fast moving. Compared to the fabled English chalk creeks or the nutrient rich tailwaters found in North America, these mountain streams are ecologically poor. As a consequence, trout and char species inhabiting them are both opportunistic and relatively small in size.
Pasture land was less abundant in the mountains, and their inhabitants relied on the mountain stream to supplement their diet. Necessity dictated that equipment and methods of fishing must be efficient and economical, with the goal of providing food for the table. Anything extra could be sold at market. Equipment was dependent on materials readily available in the region, and these materials had a great influence on the development of Tenkara.
A variety of lightweight bamboo was readily available to the Japanese fisherman. Rods were constructed by combining varieties with desired flexion characteristics. Nodes were reamed out such that sections might nest within each other, protecting delicate distal sections from damage during ascents. Lightweight bamboo allowed rods to push 15-20 feet, improving presentation through reach and precise casting in turbulent, pocketed water. Once Tenkara developed further as a commercial endeavor, this precision proved even more important as anglers individually targeted fish whose size brought premium pricing at market.
The furling of readily available fibers such as horsetail created lightweight lines. Traditional flies, known as kebari, also relied on readily available materials such as plant and animal fiber, sewing needles bent in the shape of hooks, and yard bird hackle. A relatively Spartan affair, the kebari does not seek to imitate any one insect. Rather, its simple form might suggest many items in a trout’s diet. The success of this style of fly was likely aided by the ecologically poor nature of Japan’s volcanic mountain streams and their opportunistic inhabitants. Thus, the concept of the One Fly was not the result of any pursuit of sport. It was born of more practical considerations.
Traditional Tenkara anglers developed additional items such as silk garments coated with pitch to improve water resistance, sandals designed to improve traction in water, woven creels, and the distinct net shaped from a single branch we now know as the tamo.
All of this was designed to allow the early Tenkara angler to move quickly and efficiently, covering distances to fill his creel in as economic a fashion as possible.
The currently accepted earliest written reference to describe tenkara-style fishing comes in 1878 from Sir Ernest Satow’s diaries (A Diplomat in Japan, Part II: The diaries of Ernest Satow 1870 – 1883). This British diplomat was a keen mountaineer who spent over 20 years in Japan. He describes the capture of Iwana (white spotted char; Salvelinus leucomaenis) from mountain streams by the use of bamboo rods and flies dressed with rooster feathers. It is instructive that it took a visitor to Japan, rather than a local resident, to set down these observations – as it speaks to the peasant origins of this method of harvesting fish from steep mountain streams.
Some more -
In Japanese written history, there have been 2 schools of traditional freshwater fly fishing dating back in the feudal time. One is commonly known as tenkara using single soft hackle fly to catch mountain creek trouts such as yamame and iwana. Another school is known as dobu using group of nymph-like wet flies in a sinker rig to catch ayu or variety of minnows. Tenkara was remotely practiced as practical fishing of woodsman living near mountain creeks covered by forest. Dobu grew to the level of artistic recreational fishing by swordsman class and merchants practiced in wide open river.
Traditional tenkara uses bamboo hand rod, yarn of horse tail hair for taper line, and line of silk for tippet. Fly patterns were soft hackle which cover mostly beneath the surface film.
A bit more -
Accurate records on the origins of Tenkara are few and far between. Archeologic research suggests fishing methods involving bamboo rods and artificial lures existed as early as 9th century B.C. Japanese historic records confirm the presence of artificial flies as early as the 17th century, while the earliest known account of Tenkara in English appeared in the 19th century.
Despite this paucity of information, the history of Tenkara retains a utilitarian value to the modern Tenkara angler. An understanding of the origins of Tenkara proves very useful, if not indispensable, in the employment of Tenkara on the water.
Taken together with lessons in Tenkara Technique and Philosophy, we hope the following account of the origins of traditional Tenkara highlights this utilitarian value. We begin with a description of the geography and early culture that gave birth to Tenkara as we know it.
Tenkara equipment, technique, and philosophy originated in the high mountain regions prominent on the main island of Japan. Mountain streams in these prefectures are a reflection of the geologic violence that formed their mountains. Flowing over a bed of volcanic rock and sediment, they are steep, turbulent, and fast moving. Compared to the fabled English chalk creeks or the nutrient rich tailwaters found in North America, these mountain streams are ecologically poor. As a consequence, trout and char species inhabiting them are both opportunistic and relatively small in size.
Pasture land was less abundant in the mountains, and their inhabitants relied on the mountain stream to supplement their diet. Necessity dictated that equipment and methods of fishing must be efficient and economical, with the goal of providing food for the table. Anything extra could be sold at market. Equipment was dependent on materials readily available in the region, and these materials had a great influence on the development of Tenkara.
A variety of lightweight bamboo was readily available to the Japanese fisherman. Rods were constructed by combining varieties with desired flexion characteristics. Nodes were reamed out such that sections might nest within each other, protecting delicate distal sections from damage during ascents. Lightweight bamboo allowed rods to push 15-20 feet, improving presentation through reach and precise casting in turbulent, pocketed water. Once Tenkara developed further as a commercial endeavor, this precision proved even more important as anglers individually targeted fish whose size brought premium pricing at market.
The furling of readily available fibers such as horsetail created lightweight lines. Traditional flies, known as kebari, also relied on readily available materials such as plant and animal fiber, sewing needles bent in the shape of hooks, and yard bird hackle. A relatively Spartan affair, the kebari does not seek to imitate any one insect. Rather, its simple form might suggest many items in a trout’s diet. The success of this style of fly was likely aided by the ecologically poor nature of Japan’s volcanic mountain streams and their opportunistic inhabitants. Thus, the concept of the One Fly was not the result of any pursuit of sport. It was born of more practical considerations.
Traditional Tenkara anglers developed additional items such as silk garments coated with pitch to improve water resistance, sandals designed to improve traction in water, woven creels, and the distinct net shaped from a single branch we now know as the tamo.
All of this was designed to allow the early Tenkara angler to move quickly and efficiently, covering distances to fill his creel in as economic a fashion as possible.
The first paragraph is EXACTLY what I was looking for. It's not hearsay from a distributor of a product and not a questionable source. I didn't find that earlier. Your googlefu is strong. Thanks for the writing. It's hard and people get awfully offended when the authenticity of their hobby is questioned. Or at least the claims of authenticity anyways. Wasnt my intention. Just curious.
ia_trouter
Senior Member
The following is based on fishing one for a day or so, and then watching a friend do so on other occasions. Here's my two cents. The rig I used was traditional in the same sense that a Sage One = a hundred year old bamboo rod. The rod I used was telescoping, was about 12ft long and weighed perhaps 2 ounces. In travel mode it was probably well under 2ft long and you could carry it from a nipper lanyard or even tuck it above your ear like a big pencil if you wanted to. I could understand why a minimalist backpacker might be fond of it whilst wandering the woods or mountains in search of a small stream. Not that you asked but there is also a similar version of Tenkara where live bait is used. I'll probably butcher the spelling but it is called Kebari or something like that.
After all this, I am going to guess truly traditional Tenkara was done with a one piece rod similar to bamboo with silk line. Or maybe I should read the links posted before I make such a statement.
After all this, I am going to guess truly traditional Tenkara was done with a one piece rod similar to bamboo with silk line. Or maybe I should read the links posted before I make such a statement.
Not that it has any relevance to anything, but I find it interesting that if you do a google search on a guy named Izaak Walton, you'll find several hundred clubs, organizations and other miscellaneous stuff named in his honor.
Guess what? He didn't use a reel either.
Guess what? He didn't use a reel either.
ia_trouter
Senior Member
The Wright Bros didn't use a jet engine from GE for their historical flight either, but they just might if they made it again today.Not that it has any relevance to anything, but I find it interesting that if you do a google search on a guy named Izaak Walton, you'll find several hundred clubs, organizations and other miscellaneous stuff named in his honor.
Guess what? He didn't use a reel either.
I meant that in fun.
Actually, that's exactly the point. When you look into it, you find that the development of fly fishing is very similar between east and west in terms of the time frames and the types of equipment used.The Wright Bros didn't use a jet engine from GE for their historical flight either, but they just might if they made it again today.
I meant that in fun.
There is nothing particularly mystic or zen about using a fixed-length line set up. If the goal is state of the art GE jet engine, get a bass boat and start flinging whatever the latest body bait is.
If that's not your cup of tea, it just comes down to where you want to end up along the sport fishing time line continuum.
Actually thats a pretty elitest attitude. I know some bass and walleye guys that are tremendous anglers; and not because the use a reel or a painted lure.Actually, that's exactly the point. When you look into it, you find that the development of fly fishing is very similar between east and west in terms of the time frames and the types of equipment used.
There is nothing particularly mystic or zen about using a fixed-length line set up. If the goal is state of the art GE jet engine, get a bass boat and start flinging whatever the latest body bait is.
If that's not your cup of tea, it just comes down to where you want to end up along the sport fishing time line continuum.
You seem to be looking for an argument, sorry I can't oblige. I appreciate the fact that there are a wide variety of skills and interest in the way folks want to fish. My point was there are a wide variety of choice in terms of the amount of technology available. It's different strokes for different folks which I totally encourage and embrace.
scorpion1971
Well-known member
- Messages
- 94
- Reaction score
- 1
It is actually called Keiryu. Kebari refers to or means fly.
rsagebrush
Well-known member
I took up Tenkara style fishing in 2011 and wasn't all that impressed at first. Then I did it a lot in 2013 and since. It is fast, effective, handy and a bloody ball. I have hooked and landed fish in excess of 18 inches maybe bigger with the method.
On small water I don't think anything can compete with it. I use rods from 8 feet to 14 feet on creeks and have no problems with it. You definitely cast the fly, but you could Dap too if you want to. I can dance a fly and get incredible drifts that I could never get with Western gear.
On Bigger water I use 14 to 20 foot rods but 10 or 12 footers work well too. For drifting Yuk Bugs in fast water it is really effective. People do a lot of this short lining with Western gear to but the rods are way too short.
I like Western fly fishing too and even get a kick out of baitcasting but I like to fish. By the way the Japanese are fanatical fishermen and there is a lot to learn from them.
You can be up and running in almost no time and collapse and move to the next juicy spot in a heartbeat. If you like fishing it's a ball.
Just saying.
On small water I don't think anything can compete with it. I use rods from 8 feet to 14 feet on creeks and have no problems with it. You definitely cast the fly, but you could Dap too if you want to. I can dance a fly and get incredible drifts that I could never get with Western gear.
On Bigger water I use 14 to 20 foot rods but 10 or 12 footers work well too. For drifting Yuk Bugs in fast water it is really effective. People do a lot of this short lining with Western gear to but the rods are way too short.
I like Western fly fishing too and even get a kick out of baitcasting but I like to fish. By the way the Japanese are fanatical fishermen and there is a lot to learn from them.
You can be up and running in almost no time and collapse and move to the next juicy spot in a heartbeat. If you like fishing it's a ball.
Just saying.