#fish monger

Dray horse on break

So we bought fish off the boat today.Coho Salmon, halibut, lingcod and yellow eye rockfish. All fillets.

Is it okay if it's a fish?

I was passing by a fish monger in my neighbourhood and I couldn't help but feel a kind of power and take a picture. It was "Aramaki salmon". I felt that the power of "sacrifice", the power of "special events” at the end and beginning of the year" and the power of "the severity of winter" were all concentrated in this scene.

Originally, "aramaki" referred to salted fish wrapped in straw or bamboo bark for storage and preservation, and before the Muromachi period (1336-1573), the fish used were not limited to salmon. In modern Japan, Aramaki salmon is mainly used as a year-end or New Year's gift, but such a custom became common in the late Edo period. It was also one of the essential "preserved foods" for survival in the north.

When I got home and was looking at the "masterpiece of the day", I thought "wait a minute" and the dynamic stopped. This is a cruel sight indeed. A salted figure, hanging by the neck with a rope.

It is a moment that reminds me that we are all guilty of sin just by being alive.

And I simply thought, "Is it okay if it's a fish?“ Sometimes people boast that they eat fish, but not meat.

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this was the dinner table.

魚なら良いの？

近所のお魚屋さんの前を通りかかり、一種の迫力を感じて思わずシャッターを切ってしまった。新巻鮭である。それは「生け贄」の迫力と「年末年始の特別行事」の迫力と「冬の厳しさ」の迫力が、全部この風景に濃縮されているような気がしたからだ。

元々「あらまき」は塩漬けの魚を藁や竹の皮などで包み、貯蔵・保存ができるようになったものを指し、室町時代以前は使用する魚も鮭に限定されていなかった。近現代の日本では、新巻鮭は主に歳暮や正月の贈答品とされるが、そのような風習は江戸時代後期から一般化した。また、北国には欠かせない生き延びるための「保存食」の一つでもあった。

家に帰ってから「今日の傑作」を眺めているうちに「ちょっと待った」と躍動が止まった。これは実に残酷な光景なのだ。首を縄で縛られ吊るされた塩漬けの姿だ。

わたしたち人間は、生きているだけでも罪なのだと改めて実感する瞬間でもある。そして、シンプルに「魚なら良いの？」って疑問を感じた。時々「魚は食べるけど、肉は食べないのよ」とか、自慢する人もいるけれど…

Brits Fight Off London Bridge Attacker with Fire Extinguisher and Narwhal Tusk

There is something to be said about improvisation when it comes to fighting off an attacker. When Usman Khan, a convicted Islamic terrorist began stabbing people on the London Bridge yesterday, members of the public ran toward him in an effort to save lives. Just remember, Brits fight.

This makes me exceptionally proud to be British. pic.twitter.com/WS9W4s3H1z

— Martin Shapland (@MShapland) Nove…