Taiyaki Fish Rubbings: 37 Varieties of "Wild-Caught" Taiyaki on the Verge of Extinction

Taiyaki no Gyotaku: Zetsumetsu Sunzen "Tennennen-mono" Taiyaki 37-shu (Fish Rubbings of Taiyaki: 37 Endangered "Wild-Caught" Taiyaki) is a book published in 2002 in which photographer Yasuhiko Miyajima visits taiyaki shops across Japan, collecting and recording taiyaki made using the traditional single-mold method as "gyotaku" (fish rubbings).

Miyajima first made a fish rubbing of a taiyaki in 1983. It began when he was making rubbings of fish he had caught and decided to apply ink to a taiyaki he had on hand and press it onto paper. Following this, as he visited shops like Naniwaya Sohonten in Azabu-Juban and Yanagiya in Nihonbashi, he became interested in the traditional single-mold method of baking. He began collecting these rubbings, referring to taiyaki baked one at a time as "wild-caught" (tennen-mono) and those baked several at once as "farm-raised" (yoshoku-mono).

This book contains 37 types of "wild-caught" taiyaki collected from Tokyo, as well as Fukushima, Iwate, Aomori, Nagano, Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Tottori, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka, Saga, Hokkaido, and other regions. Alongside each rubbing, the book introduces the shop name, location, length, price, and anecdotes related to the shop and the mold used. It also includes 16 pages of photographs by the author.

Miyajima held the "Taiyaki Fish Rubbing Exhibition" in 1990, and, prompted by the response, continued his collection based on information sent in from all over the country. The book serves as a record of single-mold taiyaki, which were disappearing due to increased efficiency, likened to endangered species. It can be read as a cultural chronicle that conveys everything from the design of the molds and regional variations to the craftsmanship of the people who run these shops.

[Title] Taiyaki no Gyotaku: Zetsumetsu Sunzen "Tennennen-mono" Taiyaki 37-shu
[Publisher] JTB
[Publication Date] February 1, 2002 (First edition)
[Page Count] 78 pages
[Dimensions] Approx. 189 × 218 × 14 mm / Actual weight 393g
[Format] Hardcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] Taiyaki no Gyotaku Zetsumetsu Sunzen Tennennen-mono Taiyaki 37-shu
[Author/Editor, etc.] Yasuhiko Miyajima (Author/Photography), Jun Mimura (Book Design)
[Printing/Binding] Dai Nippon Printing (Printing)
[ISBN] 4-533-04029-2
[Condition] Used [6] Very good to Good (missing obi/spine band, cover: light fading on top edge, body: light foxing on three sides)
[Accessories] -
[Included in] -
[Related Exhibition] "Taiyaki no Gyotaku Exhibition" 1990

Yasuhiko Miyajima (1951–)

Born in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, in 1951. Began working as a freelance photographer in 1975. In 1981, he left Tokyo and moved to Okunikko at an altitude of approximately 1,500 meters, where he spent about five years.

In 1985, he won the Playboy Document File Grand Prize. After returning to Tokyo in 1986, he continued photographing and writing on subjects such as nature, animals, people's lives, and landscapes from across Japan.

His books include Kaba no Hakobune (Hippo's Ark), Dakara Kaba no Hanashi (That's Why It's a Hippo Story), Ki no Ryoshi: Kuroshio ni Katsuo o Ou (Fishermen of Ki: Chasing Bonito in the Kuroshio Current), Afurika Kaba Tanken (Africa Hippo Expedition), Hi no Mizu Tsuki no Mori (Lake of Sun, Forest of Moon), Ippon no Ki (A Single Tree), Oku no Hosomichi, Kaba KIBOKO, Nihon Kaba Monogatari (Japanese Hippo Story), Aozora (Blue Sky), Suiboon, Daremo Ikanai Nihon-ichi no Fuukei (The Best Landscapes in Japan That No One Visits), Nihon Retto Hotaru Zensen no Tabi (Travels Along the Firefly Front of the Japanese Archipelago), Sakuraji (Cherry Blossom Paths), and Hana Gyoki: 66 Hana-sen (Flower Pilgrimage: 66 Flower Selections).

< Related Figures >

Kajiro Yamamoto
Jun Mimura
Taiyaki
Gyotaku (Fish Rubbing)