Begin Japanology (2008) : 4x41

The red sea bream is one of Japan's favorite fish. People have been eating it since ancient times. Long considered a lucky fish, red sea bream is essential to Japanese festivities and rituals, from New Year's feasts to the ceremonial meal that babies eat on the 100th day after their birth. Historically, red sea bream's popularity really took off when the samurai gained power. Its barbed fins and tough scales evoked samurai armor. Veteran fishermen still catch red sea bream with hand-pulled lines, but actually, 80 percent of the red sea bream consumed in Japan are farm-raised. Farmed red sea bream have long been considered inferior to wild ones. But fish farms have begun breeding sea bream that can hold their own. One key is keeping the fish from getting sunburned! On this edition of BEGIN Japanology, our theme is the red sea bream. We'll find out how this fish became so important in Japan's cuisine and culture.