Today, I received a painting in the mail by Kiyoshi Ishihara. Ishihara-san is a prominent Japanese tenkara angler and a member of the storied Harima Fishing Club (of which, I’m probably the most deadbeat member in the club’s history). It was an extraordinarily generous gift from another very prominent tenkara angler back here in the U.S.–John Vetterli of Tenkara Guides.
This watercolor is very simple-scorning unnecessary clutter with a lot of white space where your mind and aesthetics can calm and focus (just like tenkara itself).
I actually had the opportunity to meet Ishihara-san at the 2012 Tenkara Summit and since he speaks very good English, we were able to have some great conversations. I really enjoyed what little time we had to spend together and this painting will be a constant reminder of how amazing of an experience that was.
From left to right: Dr. Ishigaki, Eiji Yamakawa, Mr. Ishihara, Masami Tanaka, Jason Klass
I can’t thank John enough for this wonderful gift. I’m going to get it framed and proudly hang it in my fishing room among my other prized tenkara art. Now, the only question is…
Nice!!!
I know what species it is because Kiyoshi told me when he gave it to me, I’ll not ruin the game for everyone else.
Glad it survived USPS.
Hey John, it was a USPS Catch & Release!
Yamame
It’s a species I’d like to have for DINNER!
Very creative interpretation of a Salmonidae; Could be a Rio Yaqui trout if you count the parr marks and forget the stripe.
Yamame
Since there are no red spots but prominent parr marks