In the 4th year of Bunroku (1595), Toshiie Maeda, who was in Fushimi, Kyoto, ordered 17 yellowtails from Himi-nadaura to be sent. This 'Declaration of Shio-buri (Salted yellowtail)' is considered to be the oldest historical document about Himi-buri (Yellowtail from Himi). In Himi-nadaura, which has such a long history, the Hamamoto family, who have been engaged in fishing for generations, are the current head of the family and the 17th generation.

It has been called 'Shirosa' because it has Shiro (good) at the beginning of its name, and 'Oyakata' because it is a head of fisherman.

 

The current building was rebuilt after the Great Fire of Tomari (Himi) in 1910 by the 14th generation Shirosaburo, who made a fortune from the late Meiji period to the Taisho period. Learning from the fire, it has a fireproof structure with earthen storehouse style(土蔵造り;Dozo-Zukuri), referring to the Ogino family in Unami area.

 

The mansion is long and narrow with a width of about 30 meters and a depth of about 80 meters, with a garden on the left hand side and three storehouses for miso production on the right hand side, with the central passageway.

 

A hedge surrounds the garden boundary, and garden rocks and garden trees are planted in front of the storehouse. The approach is through the elegant gate, and you can see the Shikidai entrance in the back.

The history of the Hamamoto family overlaps with the history of improvement and modernization of fixed net fishing in Himi.

 

Himi's set net fishing has a history of over 400 years. It was called daiami until the term ``set net'' was first used in the Fisheries Law enacted in 1901. Tainets are straw nets made from straw rope, and were laid for each of the three fishing seasons: sardines in spring, tuna in summer, and yellowtail in autumn.

 

Between 1907 and 1908, the traditional straw nets were arranged and integrated to create a new type of netting that used cotton and hemp dyed with persimmon tannin, which has a water-repellent effect, for bag-like nets for catching fish. So called Hidaka-style oshiki net was introduced. Large nets were laid at 25 locations in Toyama Bay. It is written that this year was an unprecedented bountiful catch of yellowtail, and that the town of Himi was hit by a great flood of yellowtail.

 

After a period of bountiful yellowtail fishing with set-net fishing using large-scaled nets, in the Taisho era, the large-scale net was improved by improving the mouth of the net, which was a drawback of the Hidaka-style large-scaled net, which allowed fish to easily enter but easily escape. A "Ueno-style conspiracy net" was introduced.

 

Furthermore, in the early Showa period, ``Etchu-style yellowtail nets (Oshiki nets),'' which were devised to prevent schools of fish from being let out, were laid.

 

In the 40s of the Showa era, the ``double drop net'' was devised, in which a new climbing net and a fine-mesh Koichiotoshi were connected to the tip of the net. The materials used for the nets also changed from cotton thread nets and straw nets to light and strong chemical fiber nets, and the three-season nets, which had been laid for each season until then, changed to seasonal nets. .

 

In addition, by introducing machines such as hoisting machines, net laying and retrieving work, which used to be done manually by more than 100 fishermen, can now be done by 30 to 40 people. .

 

In this way, Himi's set net fishing has continued to improve by constantly incorporating new techniques while preserving the long-standing tradition passed down from ancient times.

 

This is the result of the wisdom, research and steady efforts of our predecessors cultivated over many years, and is the spirit and pride of the Himi fishermen.