Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii)
As a fish-based fertilizer, supported Japanese agriculture during the Edo period and the building of “herring mansions” in the Meiji period
The Pacific herring (nishin) is a fish of the Clupeidae family. Its name in Japanese, nishin, can be written with two different kanji characters, 鰊 and 鯡. It is also known as harutsuge-uo (the “harbinger-of-spring fish”). Regional Japanese names include kado and kado-iwashi. Pacific herring attain body lengths of over 30 cm. With flat abdomens, their dorsal and pelvic fins are situated almost directly across from each other. An arctic migratory fish of the northern Pacific from Ibaraki Prefecture north, they are often harvested in spring, when they approach shore to spawn. Able to withstand brackish freshwater and seawater mixtures low in salinity, they are sometimes found in lakes and marshes or venturing upstream in rivers.
Full-scale fishing of Pacific herring began in the Edo period (1603–1867), when it became an important industry of the Matsumae Domain. Since preservation methods such as freezing and refrigeration had not been developed at the time, the fish were often wind-dried whole. During the Kyoho era (1716–1736), cheaply priced fish-based fertilizer made with herring attracted notice as a solution to many regions’ increasing demand for fertilizer. As a result, herring scraps after removal of the meat and herring mash after poor-quality herring were pressed for oil were transported in great quantities on Kitamae cargo vessels to regions throughout Honshu (the main island).
When fixed fishing nets came into use in the latter half of the 19th century, the herring fishing industry ushered in its heyday, with catch yields reaching their peak toward the middle of the Meiji period (1868–1912). Around this time, large catches in Hokkaido led to the accumulation of fortunes, and towns like Otaru and Rumoi witnessed the construction of many “herring mansions,” famous for their extravagant use of massive pine and cypress timber. But catch yields began gradually to decline from the late Meiji period and reached a state of collapse in the decade spanning from 1955 to 1964.
Today, as food, fresh herring are eaten salt-grilled, and dried, smoked, and salt-preserved herring are also consumed. Herring roe is also relished as a delicacy. A similar-looking species, the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus), is found in the northern Atlantic. An important food fish, it too is referred to as nishin in Japan.
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北海道小樽市にある建造物。1897年（明治30年）積丹の泊村に建てられたものを移築復元した。小樽水族館が管理・運営している。
ニシン漁で栄えた青山氏の別邸。国の登録有形文化財に指定されており、「食事処」で食事もできる。
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2003年7月、北海道留萌市の「留萌市海のふるさと館」で開催された、展覧会「ニシン漁の船」の内容をまとめた日本財団による電子展示。留萌のニシン漁の歴史や漁に使われた船についての詳しい情報を見ることができる。