Buddhist Fish Symbol

Shachihoko

In Japan, gargoyle-like carp (shachihoko) often appear on opposite ends of the ridge of a castle roof to symbolise diligence and ecstasy.

These dragon-headed creatures have featured on important buildings since the Nara period (8^th century). Most buildings then, and still now, are predominantly made of wood; strong against most earthquakes, but weak against fire. Shachihoko's broad tail is always poised heaven-ward to ensure its belly can empty sufficient water to extinguish flames if building catches fire.

Feudal lords also installed shachihokos on the roofs of their houses, to emphasise their importance and authority. Another interpretation is that they are symbolic of the elongated eyebrows of the Buddha.

There's also a meaning of fertility with this pair since one fish is considered male and the other female.

Mokugyo

The fish effigy often seen in Japanese temples is the mokugyo ('wooden fish'), fashioned usually in a roundish shape from a solid block of wood. It is carved with fish-scales and often with a lion/dragon head.

Yet despite its peculiar appearance, its deep polish gives a warm consciousness. The mokugyo is hollowed out, so that when the priest strikes it with a leather-padded drumstick, the sound has a strange hypnotic effect on the hearer. This drum is often used to accompany a kyouten (sutra-reading).

Coincidentally, British 'sport' fishermen kill their catch by clubbing the salmon or trout with a drumstick called a 'priest stick'. But in the Buddhist temple, the priest is not ceremonially killing the mokugyo; just using it to generate sound.

The significance of this fish is its eyes. Because fish live in darker environments, their eyes tend to be relatively large. Also, because their eyes are always surrounded by water, they don't need to moisten them as we do when we blink our eyes, so most fish have no eyelids. These large, constantly open eyes of the mokugyo remind us that God is always watching what we do.

Other Japanese fish symbols

Kanji

The symbol for "fish" in Japanese is the kanji character.

There are two main pronunciations for this kanji, depending on how the word is used. The onyomi pronunciation (derived from the Chinese pronunciations) is gyo, and the kunyomi (original, indigenous Japanese) pronunciation is sakana or uo.

The previous section on mokugyo uses the onyomi gyo pronunciation.

Historically, the word sakana has meant any food served with alcoholic drink. Saka meaning "sake", and na meaning "side dish" (or something else accompanying drink). Since fish was a common side dish, its kanji was consequently pronounced sakana.

Somewhat confusingly, the current Chinese word for fish is pronounced yu. As with the English language, the pronunciation of words changes over time. There are plenty of online resources explaining the whys and wherefores of onyomi and kunyomi. This page is only showing the kanji which has morphed into its current design.

It is based on an earlier pictograph of the outline of a fish; a head at the top, scaled body in the centre, and tail fin at the bottom. Notably the fish character is vertical, rather than the usual horizontal swimming orientation. This suggests a fish hanging up to dry representing fish as food rather than something swimming in the sea or river, cf the kanji of a horse.

The sakana kanji on its own means fish in general. Specific breeds use the same kanji as a radical. For example, the kanji for eel comprises the fish radical plus the radical which means long/thin/extending.

Koinobori

In early May, tubular climbing carp streamers (koinobori) made of cloth fabric, paper or plastic, are flown all over Japan to celebrate Children's Day. They represent the fish's struggle to swim upstream and are flown high to show they succeeded. Japanese pray on that day that their children will be similarly successful, healthy and strong.

A festival in the Heian period, on the 5^th day of the 5^th moon in the Lunisolar calendar, was when women attached iris flowers to the roofs of their homes to protect the family from evil spirits. Irises often have sweet smelling roots and certain water purification qualities.

The shape of the iris flower petal, hana-shōbu, is similar to the shape of the samurai sword, and since shōbu is also the pronunciation for "fight", the samurai considered the iris to be auspicious. Therefore, when the samurai class took control of the government, that festival day was called Boys Day (tango no Sekku) which complemented the 15^th century Girl's Day (hinamatsuri) on the 3^rd day of the 3^rd moon. Instead of attaching irises to the roofs, the festival had horseback archery displays to repel evil spirits.

Later, in the Edo period, samurai households displayed flags with their family crests which were also the emblems of their military units on that festival day.

When Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1873, the Boys Day festival was celebrated on 5^th May each year and the flags took on the image of the climbing carp we see today. This follows the Chinese superstition that when a carp successfully swims upstream, becomes a dragon and flies to Heaven,

The name was changed to Children's Day in 1948.

Namazu

Then of course, there's the Japanese catfish who are believed to be especially sensitive to an earthquake's precursors and behave in a peculiar way, warning people to take pre-emptive action.

There's also a legend that a giant catfish named Ōnamazu lives in mud beneath the Japanese islands and is responsible for earthquakes in Japan. (more...)

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When East meets West

The Christian fish symbol is used in Japan but not as frequently as in the West. The Christian fish is associated with evangelism, and Christianity has always struggled to find a foothold in Japan. There are relatively few Christians in Japan, which makes even the Christian cross an uncommon symbol, with the exception of jewellery and wedding chapels.

Japan has a historical fear from Western colonialists using religion to replace Japanese culture. Evangelical Christians in Japan today are often regarded as cultists and rejected. Conversely, where Christians make a modest approach, their doctrine is at least tolerated if not welcomed.

Part of this softly-softly approach is reflected in Christian symbolism. The cross is recognised in Japan as Christian, and the fish remains Buddhist.

And in sushi restaurants of course.