Christmas came early

On Sunday I got a call out of the blue from my rod making teacher, saying that he was on the way to my place.  Well it turned out he had built for me, from scratch, a wooden box for curing urushi lacquer, which is now ready for use.    Despite his stern teaching methods and rather uncompromising attitude, I am always struck by his kindness and generosity.

Now all I have to do is buy some lacquer and I am ready to start.  Due to the use of synthetic materials, the dying out of the lacquer artesans and that everything is now mass-produced by slave labour in China, almost all traditional dealers in urushi lacquer have disappeared from Japan.  In fact, there are only two in the whole of Tokyo; fortunately one is very close to me, in Ueno, so I will make the trip some time soon.

Good day out

fishing for shirogisu (whiting) today.  I am getting more used to the action on my new rod and the weather was much better today compared to last weekend. So much so that I am rather sunburnt (and yes, I did slip, slap and slop) and have the overall countenance of a boiled prawn.  My nose, in particular, would outdo almost any alcoholic Bishop in its redness, and it’s times like this I wish I were a scientist like Tycho Brahe. 

I was lucky enough to take an aji, so my brekkie tomorrow is sorted!  As usual, I scaled the fish on board to save myself work at home, and so the fish don’t quite have the same lustre as the intact specimen would (shirogisu are actually a very beautiful fish).

Maybe, just maybe

Seeing as my pipe-dream trout fishing expedition to Chitral (with some pottering about in Lahore) is probably out of the question for the foreseeable future, this year there is a chance I will make it to north India, to go fishing for mahseer.  If so, it would be September – where we have a four or five day holiday here in Japan, so I could take the time off work easily – and I would fly out to Delhi (Air India has direct flights from Narita) and take in some history and culture for a few days before heading north, for guided mahseer fishing.  In Delhi herself I guess I would have to visit some of the usual suspects such as Lal Quila, Jama Masjid, and Humayun’s tomb, &c. but on the list would definitely have to be a trip to Nizam-ud-din’s shrine to listen to qawwali.  And if possible, a trip to see Johnny Nicholson’s grave (sorry, India) and have a look at Tughlaqabad.  Of course during my time in the city I would indulge the local specialties, the hotter the better.  And after the mayhem of Delhi what better way to relax than in the foothills of the Himalayas, fishing?  We shall see.

New Rod

did the trick.

I would have smiled more, but the strong southerly wind was basically driving rain right into my face and eyes. 

More Rod Stuff

Here is another shot of the action on the rod. The tip is pressed hard against the floor of my teacher’s workshop: if you kind of tilt your head 45° to the left, so that both eyes are looking down the length of the rod, you can see the joint of the fibreglass and the bamboo (about the fourth guide along from my hand)  is almost seamless, just right!  The rod is much stronger if the bamboo takes the strain as well.

Buffing the rod down with wax.  My teacher said the guide wraps could use another couple of layers of lacquer to really bury the feet of the guides and make a smooth wrap, but since I wanted to use the rod this weekend, and it is hardly a high-end work, he said the three layers I did would suffice.  “It’s not like you are going to sell the rod to a customer, eh” he noted dryly, over his after-work cigarette.

Close-up of the lacquering and the reel seat (made by Fuji). 

Check back in a few days for a report on its first test at sea!

Shirogisu Rod

My teacher oiled the wrapped parts earlier today, so all that was left for me to do was to wax the whole rod and now my first homemade fishing rod is ready!  It comes in a little less than six shaku (approx.180cm), its original intended length, but it feels nice in the hand and when I got home and put a reel on it, the balance was pretty good.

The last thing to do is check the action of the rod on the ceiling.  It looks okay for shirogisu.  I really hope the weather holds out on the 21st (it’s absolutely chucking it down here in Tokyo now), as I can’t wait to use it.

And I’m Done™

After a couple of hours’ work tonight, the shirogisu rod is now complete, it just needs a night in the lacquer-curing chamber and it is ready for use.  After work tomorrow I am going in to the workshop to pick it up.  It will get a coat of vegetable oil (and a lick of horse grease on the inner side of the joints) and a good buffing with cotton cloth, then into the bag and I will next have it in hand when I am fishing on Sunday the 21st.  Actually, the rod will not be 100% complete until after its first fishing trip.  Much like the gears on a car or the thin coat on a wok or karhai, it takes a bit of use, with fish getting snagged and landed &c., to break the rod in properly, putting tension on certain fibres within the bamboo that haven’t been strained before, and pressure on the joints, and the rod may change shape slightly during its first use.  After the first fishing trip, the rod is cleaned and thoroughly dried, and then straightened into shape over a fire, for the final time, and it is ready.  Check back tomorrow or the day after when I post some pics!

Nearly, nearly there

Nine hours at work followed by four hours in the workshop; ’twas a long day, made all the less amusing by the fact I didn’t have a homemade tiffin for lunch to sustain me, so I had to eat at my workplace canteen.  Considering I’ve eaten English boarding school meals (on which the school spent almost nothing, and was largely on a 7-day, 14-meal rotating menu), British Army 24-hour rations and even Japanese Buddhist temple food (deliberately designed to be flavourless and not “inflame the passions”) without complaint, theirs was an exceptionally poor effort. 

Anyway, work as usual was not particularly amusing, and the rod making was moderately demanding.  The lacquer I put on the silk thread to wrap the reel seat and guides had thoroughly cured, so I then flattened it out by sanding with very fine, wetted sandpaper (these are the dull, pale patches you can see) and put on another layer of lacquer, this time red. I also did the all-important red bands (fukurin) bordering the main joint and the tip/bamboo joint.  It then needs another sanding, and another layer of transparent lacquer, and the rod is complete! I can’t wait to use it next Sunday.

Sichuan Cooking

One of my expat friends introduced me to a fantastic Sichuan Chinese restaurant here in Tokyo, but sadly it is quite a way from my place.  So there was no alternative but to cook it myself.  Being utterly addicted to chillies and hot cooking, it is quite an acceptable addition to my pantry.  I imposed upon one of my Chinese colleagues to buy me some spices – like the indispensable Sichuan pepper – when she was visited home, and found a Chinese store here that stocks most of the essentials like ‘Facing-Heaven Chillies’.  Whilst I have been experimenting with classics like mapo tofu and dan dan mien, tonight I made a cold dish called ma la ji pian, which is simple to put together and suitably stimulating.

More Rod Making

I have finally got to the stage of wrapping the guides on my shirogisu rod.  It was four or five hours of fiddly work in my teacher’s studio, which is not air-conditioned and it was very hot and humid today.  Luckily I was in the adjoining room but when he had his stove going, to work on straightening some rods, the sweat was quite running in rivulets down his face.  Once the guides were wrapped on with silk thread, the rod is held in a vise to check the alignment and then they are lacquered.  This is done with the windows shut, to stop dust or wood shavings getting blown onto the wet lacquer; this is a very good way to keep the rod clean but again, it got very hot inside.  It will take 2-3 more coats of lacquer on the wrapped guides, then the rod is ready!