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Story
January 4, 1897
The Copper Country Evening News
Calumet, Houghton County, Michigan
What is this article about?
A Japanese delicacy involves serving a living fish on a bed of seaweed and algae, where guests consume slices from its body while it remains alive and watches, with vital organs left intact until the end.
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A Fish That Watches Its Own Demolition
Is a Japanese Delicacy.
The most dainty dish to the Japanese
epicure is none other than a living fish.
This horrible delicacy is served as follows: Resting on a large dish is a mass
formed of rounds of glass held together
by plaited threads, on which is a living
fish with gills and mouth moving regularly. At its back rises a bank of white
shreds resembling damp isinglass, but
in reality a colorless seaweed, while the
fish itself rests on damp green alga. In
front is a pile of small slices of saw fish
garnished with a radiating tuft of variegated bamboo leaves. A portion of the
raw fish from the pile in front of the
living victim is now placed on a saucer
and passed to one guest, and so on with
the rest till the pile is consumed. Then
the carver raises the skin (which has
been already loosened) of the living fish,
and proceeds to take slice after slice from
the upper part. The creature has been
carved while still alive, the pile of fish
first served consisting of the lower half
of the body. This has been done with
such consummate skill that no vital
part has been touched. The heart, the
liver, the gills and the stomach are left
intact, while the damp seaweed on
which the flesh rests suffices to keep the
lungs in action. The miserable victim
looks on with lustrous eyes while its
own body is consumed, probably the
only instance of a living creature assisting as a spectator at its own entombment.--Cincinnati Enquirer.
Is a Japanese Delicacy.
The most dainty dish to the Japanese
epicure is none other than a living fish.
This horrible delicacy is served as follows: Resting on a large dish is a mass
formed of rounds of glass held together
by plaited threads, on which is a living
fish with gills and mouth moving regularly. At its back rises a bank of white
shreds resembling damp isinglass, but
in reality a colorless seaweed, while the
fish itself rests on damp green alga. In
front is a pile of small slices of saw fish
garnished with a radiating tuft of variegated bamboo leaves. A portion of the
raw fish from the pile in front of the
living victim is now placed on a saucer
and passed to one guest, and so on with
the rest till the pile is consumed. Then
the carver raises the skin (which has
been already loosened) of the living fish,
and proceeds to take slice after slice from
the upper part. The creature has been
carved while still alive, the pile of fish
first served consisting of the lower half
of the body. This has been done with
such consummate skill that no vital
part has been touched. The heart, the
liver, the gills and the stomach are left
intact, while the damp seaweed on
which the flesh rests suffices to keep the
lungs in action. The miserable victim
looks on with lustrous eyes while its
own body is consumed, probably the
only instance of a living creature assisting as a spectator at its own entombment.--Cincinnati Enquirer.
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
Extraordinary Event
What themes does it cover?
Misfortune
Nature
What keywords are associated?
Japanese Delicacy
Living Fish
Raw Consumption
Cruel Carving
Seaweed Presentation
Where did it happen?
Japan
Story Details
Location
Japan
Story Details
A living fish is presented on a decorative dish with seaweed and algae; guests eat raw slices from its lower body first, then the carver slices the upper body while the fish remains alive with vital organs intact, watching its own consumption.