The Nagara River, one of Japan's best protected rivers, extends for some 160 kilometers. Seki is located about midway downstream and has historically been associated with the age-old tradition of ukai, or cormorant fishing. In this traditional method of fishing, practiced at night from mid-May to mid-October, a usho or master cormorant fisherman uses 8 to 10 cormorants to catch fresh water trout, a sweet-smelling and tasty fish that feeds only on algae. Because these trout are extremely sensitive to light and sound, the usho first stirs them up by hitting the side of his boat and shining his torch on the black surface of the river, then releases the cormorants to snatch them out of the water. The beauty of cormorants swooping down in the stillness of the night, their unique cries, hoa hoa, and the swift expert movements of the cormorant fisherman, make for a typical and fascinating summer night scene on the Nagara river. .
The technique of cormorant fishing has always been protected by the court and the state. In the past government officials especially designated by the court would go fishing in performance of some ritual or just for the fun of it. It is no accident that the Japanese ideogram for fresh water trout combines the character for fish with the character for divination. According to legend, on the eve of a battle to unify her country the 4th century empress Shinkô took one piece of thread from the robe she was wearing and made the following wish: "If I can win the battle, let me catch a fish with this thread." She is said to have caught a fresh water trout.....
The present day ushô wears a black robe, a kazaori eboshi (a hat with bent brim) and a mino (a skirt of straw) that date back to the Heian Period (794-1192). The skills and secrets of cormorant fishing on the Nagara River are painstakingly handed down from father to son, ensuring that this noble tradition lives on in future generations.