【Reading】はつがつお

【English Name】Hatsu-Gatsuo (First Bonito of the Season)

Hatsugatsuo is a seasonal name referring to the first landings of skipjack tuna (katsuo) that ride the Kuroshio Current northward from spring to early summer. Belonging to the family Scombridae, the benchmark is around April to June in Kochi Prefecture, where catch volumes are large. It is characterized by a light, refreshing taste with little fat, allowing one to enjoy the inherent flavor of the lean flesh. Grated ginger and garlic are often paired with it as condiments, and tataki (seared) is also a standard. The "modori-gatsuo" (returning skipjack) that heads south in autumn is fatty, presenting a contrasting taste. In the Edo period, under a culture that prized the season's first produce, it was an object of common people's yearning, and there are records of a single fish fetching a high price of about 200,000 yen. Yamaguchi Sodo's haiku "Me ni aoba / yama hototogisu / hatsugatsuo" (Green leaves to the eyes, a mountain cuckoo, the first skipjack) is widely known as a seasonal word (kigo) of early summer.