ÅöFishing with cormorants,"ukai"

Once, Matsuo Basho wrote,"omoshirote yagate kanashiki ukai kana."That means"It's interesting, but soon, I feel sorrowful,ukai."
Ukai is an annual event in Gifu city in the summer.It has a long history of 1300 years.With the patronage of historical power,like Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, ukai has come down until this day.
Ukai is one of the methods of fishing. Usho,fishermen of ukai,light a fire on their boats to attract fish,especially ayu (sweetfish). And cormorants which have been trained for fishing take those.
In this connection,the person who gave fishermen of ukai the place of usho is Oda Nobunaga.Today,ushos are Government employees.They belong to the Imperial Household Agency.Their pay is high,but most of it is spent for the keeping of cormorants.

This picture shows the yakatabune,a boat that people ride on to watch ukai.The number of yakatabune in Gifu city is the greatest in Japan.