Japanese Blue and Green #7 "Chinu and Tai" (Part 2)

Japanese Blue and Green #7

This is the final installment of 'Chinu and Tai.' To explore how black sea bream and red sea bream were perceived and valued, I investigated further into their naming conventions.

◆First Mention of "鯛(Tai, sea bream)" 

This section examines the earliest documented reference to "Tai." The first recorded instance appears in a poem dating to approximately 700 CE, composed by Naga no Okimaro in the Manyoshu anthology.

醤酢尓 蒜都伎合而 鯛願 吾尓勿所見 水ク乃煮物
(hishiosu ni, hirutsukikatete, tahinegau, ware ni mieso, nagi no atsumono)

It means: "I'd like to eat "Tai" with crushed garlic in vinegar soy sauce. I don't want any Mizuaoi (water hyacinth family) soup."

Monochoria korsakowii /Mizuaoi

While this may seem like an odd poem, it was titled "A Poem Including Vinegar, Soy Sauce, Garlic, Tai, and Mizuaoi" and was apparently composed in response to a theme given at a banquet. Its inclusion in the Manyoshu anthology suggests it was well-received.

This dates back to 700 CE, which means the term "Tai" existed during the compilation of the Kojiki. However, this character does not appear in the Kojiki. It seems unlikely that Ō no Yasumaro was unaware of the character "Tai," suggesting he deliberately avoided using it in pursuit of historical authenticity.

The character for "鯛(Tai)" must have gone through a period where only its pronunciation existed. Given that it was familiar enough to be used as a theme at banquets, while its popularity among common people remains uncertain, the designation "Tai" likely existed around the middle of the Asuka period.

Moreover, we can see that "Tai" was considered a delicacy. Furthermore, the mention of vinegar soy sauce with garlic strongly suggests that it was likely eaten raw.

Though it was most likely red sea bream, since both black sea bream and red sea bream can be eaten as sashimi, there remains a possibility that the "Tai" mentioned in this poem was actually black sea bream.

black sea bream sashimi	red sea bream sashimi

Apparently, both black sea bream and red sea bream bones have been found in shell mounds from the Jomon period, though their relative proportions are unclear. This shows that Japanese people have been eating both species since ancient times. One wonders how the Jomon people referred to these fish.

According to findings, cooking methods can be determined from excavated bones, with bones becoming more durable and likely to be preserved when the fish was grilled. While bones from raw or steamed fish tend to be poorly preserved, red sea bream bones are robust enough to survive regardless of the cooking method.

◆ Red Sea Bream and Black Sea Bream

Regarding the etymology of "Tai," the most widely accepted theory suggests it derives from "平魚(flat-shaped fish)" → "平ら(flat) = taira (tahira)" → tai (tahi).

However, the primary evidence for this comes from the Engishiki (a book of laws completed in 927 CE), which lists "平魚(flat fish)" as an alternative name for "鯛(Tai)." This seems rather weak evidence, and it's natural that there would be various theories about the etymology.

This raises the question of whether "Tai" primarily referred to red sea bream, but this etymology doesn't help us determine that definitively.

This suggests the possibility that "鯛(Tai)" may have originally been a group name. There are 13 species of sea bream in Japanese waters (with six relatively common ones: red sea bream, crimson sea bream, yellowback seabream, black sea bream, yellowfin black sea bream, and goldlined sea bream). Any of these could have been called "Tai." Even today, crimson sea bream and yellowback seabream are often referred to simply as "Tai."

Further, there might have been different meanings depending on whether the word was written in Chinese characters or hiragana.

However, even today, I have never seen black sea bream referred to as "鯛(Tai in Kanji)" or "タイ(Tai in Katakana)." Looking at black sea bream and red sea bream, given their significant visual differences, it seems unlikely that people would have been content using the same designation for both. This suggests that "Tai" must have referred to fish that were at least red in color.

black sea bream	red sea bream

Since black sea bream has a designation "Chinu," it must have been distinguished from red fish since ancient times. At least in the Kinki region, "Tai" primarily referred to red sea bream, while "Chinu" meant black sea bream.

Incidentally, the designation "真鯛(Madai)", meaning "genuine Tai", seems to have emerged during the Edo period. This makes sense, as there were many other fish with "Tai" in their names.

◆First Mention of "黒鯛(Kurodai, black sea bream)"

The first appearance was in the Wamyo Ruijusho, a dictionary-like literature written in the Heian period, where it appears as "久呂太比(Kurotahi)." Interestingly, "Chinu" also makes its first appearance in this text, written as "海鯽(Chinu)."

However, it's unclear whether this refers to the black sea bream we know today. Scholars seem to have been confused about the designation of black sea bream for a long time. For more details, please see the section Confusion in Black Sea Bream Recognition.

The confusion likely arises from the following reasons:

• There are too many fish species that end with "Tai" 
• The simple naming convention of "black + Tai" could easily apply to other fish species as well
• Black sea bream can vary in color depending on its habitat (some aren't actually black)
• Due to its wide distribution, it has many different regional names
• The widespread use of the common name "Chinu"

What makes this particularly mysterious is that between Wamyo Ruijusho and the emergence of Edo period literature, there are hardly any written records of "Kurodai." Even more notably, "Chinu" doesn't appear in the historical records at all during this period.

Black sea bream is abundant in Tokyo Bay. While the name "Kurodai" was frequently used during the Edo period, it's possible that coastal communities around Tokyo Bay had been using this name since ancient times. However, there is no evidence to support this theory.

◆ Ancient name for red sea bream

Next, we will examine the ancient names for red sea bream. While we know the fish was called "Tai" since the Asuka period, we will investigate what names were used even before that time.

◎Yamasachihiko and Umisachihiko

Let me introduce the story of "Yamasachihiko and Umisachihiko," which features "赤海鯽魚(red sea funa fish)." Almost the same story appears in the Nihon Shoki and is considered to be the origin of "Urashima Taro." As the character "鯛(Tai)" also appears in the Nihon Shoki version, I will present the key parts.

While there are various differences between the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki versions, the scenes featuring this fish are almost identical.

The older brother Umisachihiko (海幸彦, sea fortune Kami) and the younger brother Yamasachihiko (山幸彦, mountain fortune Kami) lived different lives. Umisachihiko hunted various fish, while Yamasachihiko caught various beasts. One day, Yamasachihiko suggested to Umisachihiko that they occasionally exchange their tools - the fishing hook and the bow with arrows. Although Umisachihiko was reluctant, he grudgingly agreed to the exchange. However, neither of them caught anything with the unfamiliar tools.

Having no success at all, Umisachihiko suggested they return to their original tools, but Yamasachihiko had lost the fishing hook, which greatly angered his brother.

Seeking a solution, he consulted a wise person and traveled to the palace of the sea deity located [far out/at the bottom of] the sea.

Later, when the sea deity heard about the hook and gathered all the fish, they learned crucial information: the [赤海鯽魚(red sea funa fish)/赤女(Akame:red female)] had [something stuck in its throat/had injured its mouth].


The Nihon Shoki provides a supplementary explanation: "Akame is the name for "鯛魚(Tai fish)." This annotation indicates that "鯛(Tai)" was already commonly known, and seems to suggest that "Tai" specifically referred to red sea bream. (After this annotation, the text inexplicably switches to using the character for "鯛(Tai)" in terms like "赤鯛(akatai, red Tai)" and "鯛女(Tai girl)," emphasizing that it was a female red Tai.)

However, despite "鯛(Tai)" being common, neither the Kojiki nor Nihon Shoki has any character speak the word "鯛(Tai)." The fact that "Tai" appears to be treated as a forbidden word indicates that this name was not used in ancient times.

In this part of the story, where the red sea bream is found with the hook causing its illness, the fishes are completely anthropomorphized. Other fishes even respond to the sea deity's questions.


Additionally, Yamasachihiko marries Toyotamahime, the sea deity's daughter, whom he meets at the palace. Three years pass as they spend their time pleasantly together. In the Kojiki version, these three years pass without him ever consulting anyone about the fishing hook he was searching for. While there are no "dances of tai and flounder," the story is filled with elements similar to "Urashima Taro."


As many may know, the Nihon Shoki has multiple versions. While there are several variations of the same story suggesting different possibilities, in what could be called Ver2.2 "一書 2(Issho 2)," the lost hook is found in a "口女(Kuchime, mouth girl)."

"口女(Kuchime)" refers to the mullet fish, which is now called "ボラ(Bora)," and being a genuine ancient name, has no annotation in the text.

Kuchime, mullet fish

The text also mentions that because of this incident, mullet is never offered as "御饌(Mike, sacred offerings)." This practice must still be observed today.

◎ Examining "赤女(Akame)" as a candidate for ancient name for red sea bream

Looking into "赤女(Akame)" further, I found it listed as "ancient name for red sea bream." While the Kojien dictionary defines it as "red-colored Tai," I couldn't find any examples of "赤女(Akame)" meaning Tai other than this instance in the Nihon Shoki.

In a story where fish are anthropomorphized, the very existence of an annotation stating "Akame is Tai" suggests that readers wouldn't understand this meaning otherwise. This makes me question whether it's accurate to call it "ancient name for Tai."

While it's possible that "赤女(Akame)" was annotated because it was an old word or dialect, the text states "Akame is name for 鯛魚(Tai fish) rather than "Akame is 鯛魚(Tai fish)." Therefore, I believe it was simply a role name given to a female Tai in the story.

By the way, if "赤女" were read as "Akajo" (the character "女" can be read as "onna," "jo," or "me") rather than "Akame," it would coincide with the name for blacktip grouper in the Goto Islands.

Akajo, blacktip grouper


One might wonder about using a name containing the character for "女(female)" even for males, but interestingly, all blacktip groupers are born female and change sex to male as they mature.

Additionally, both red sea bream and black sea bream are also unique, as they both exhibit juvenile hermaphroditism.

In red sea bream, all individuals are female until age one. By around age two, half of them develop testicular tissue alongside their ovaries, becoming hermaphroditic. Most of these transform into complete males by age three. The spawning participation rate is 50% at age three and 100% by age four, at which point the male-to-female ratio is approximately 1:1.

In contrast, all black sea bream individuals are male until age two. After that, most individuals develop ovaries, and by around age three, they become either mature males or hermaphrodites. The majority of those that become hermaphroditic transform into females by around age five.

While one might expect a much higher participation rate of females in spawning, it appears that balance is maintained because hermaphroditic individuals can also participate as males.



◎ Further examining "赤海鯽魚(red sea funa fish)" as a candidate for ancient name for red sea bream

"赤海鯽魚(red sea funa fish)" is also a possible ancient name for red sea bream, but it is hard to imagine that ordinary people would actually call one type of fish "Akakai umi funauo(red sea crucian carp)." It's too long.

"海鯽魚(sea funa fish)" appears in the story of Empress Jingu in the Nihon Shoki ( introduced here ).
This fish is probably black sea bream, but it could have been "Chinu" or "Tai."
In the case of the Nihon Shoki, I think the attitude was, "As long as the main points are understandable, that's OK."

However, even if it was called "Chinu," it would be easy to write "知沼(chi nu)" or something similar, and even if it was common knowledge that "海鯽魚 = Tai," it doesn't seem like it was that common, so it seems strange that there is no note.

I think it's highly likely that ordinary people called them "Umifuna(Sea crucian carp)" "Umi ni iru funa(crucian carp in the sea)," or "Umifunauo(Sea crucian carp fish)."

The Japanese word "Funa" existed before Chinese characters came to Japan, and the character "鯽(crucian carp)" was later assigned to represent this native Japanese word. Even today in Chinese, "鯽魚(funa fish)" refers to crucian carp. Adding "魚(fish)" simply follows Chinese linguistic patterns - regardless of how it's written, reading it as "funa" is appropriate in Japanese. In Chinese, characters with the "魚(fish)" radical are typically followed by the character for "fish." For example, sea bream is written as "鯛魚(Tai fish)" and sea bass as "鱸魚(Suzuki fish)."

Furthermore, given that "鯽魚(funa fish)" appears immediately after, it seems possible that even "umi(=sea)" wasn't pronounced. In other words, "海鯽魚 = Funa." I think the Chinese characters "海鯽魚(sea funa fish)" were assigned to represent what was originally pronounced as "Funa" or "Umifuna," rather than "Tai," "Chinu," or "Akame."

Let's take another look at red sea bream.
In the Kojiki's "Yamasachihiko and Umisachihiko," the addition of "赤(red)" to "海鯽魚(sea funa fish)" confirms that it refers to red sea bream. However, this expression "赤海鯽魚(red sea funa fish)" cannot be found anywhere outside the Kojiki.

Yet, the fact that the Kojiki uses "赤海鯽魚(red sea funa fish)" without any explanation suggests that readers of the time could have only understood it as red sea bream, and it would be natural to assume that common people used similar expressions.

Therefore, let us consider "Akafuna(red crucian carp)" or "Akaumifuna(red crucian carp in the sea)" as ancient names for red sea bream.

◆ Summary

Let's summarize the evolution of names for red and black sea bream.

Red Sea Bream:
Akafuna/Akaumifuna (ancient times) → 平魚(flat-shaped fish) → "Tai" (Asuka period) → 鯛(Tai) (late Asuka to Nara period) → 真鯛(Madai) (Edo period) → still 真鯛(Madai) today

Black Sea Bream:

• Kanto region: 海鯽(Funa, Umifuna) (ancient times) → Kurodai (smaller ones called Chinu) (period unknown) → Kurodai
• Kansai region: 海鯽(Funa, Umifuna) (ancient times) → Chinu (before Heian period) → still Chinu today

While we've gained some understanding of red sea bream's naming history, we remain uncertain about when the names "Chinu" and "Kurodai" came into use. The name "Chinu" might not have even existed when the Kojiki was compiled. We also cannot verify if the first appearance of black sea bream in the Heian period was correctly identified.

Black sea bream can be caught not only along the coast but also in river mouths and brackish lakes. The former Lake Kawachi (see previous article) might have had an environment similar to today's Lake Kawachi (see previous article) might have had an environment similar to today's Lake Hamana (a large brackish lake in Shizuoka), possibly teeming with black sea bream.
In contrast, red sea bream lives in deeper waters than black sea bream. Even if not as far back as BC, catching red sea bream must have been challenging and difficult. For survival, black sea bream, abundant near the shore, would have been the main target and likely the most familiar of the flat fish.

It seems inevitable that "海鯽(Umifuna)" came to be read as "Chinu" and maintained its central position for a while.