【Reading】いわな

【English Name】Char (Iwana)

Iwana is a freshwater fish belonging to the char genus (Salvelinus) of the salmon family, also written with the kanji "岩魚" or "嘉魚." It inhabits the clear uppermost reaches of mountain streams with water temperatures of 15°C or below, and is a strongly carnivorous fish that eats a wide variety of organisms such as aquatic insects, freshwater crabs, frogs, and small fish.

Looking at its range on a global scale, Japan is the southern limit where iwana can live. Most individuals are the landlocked type that spend their entire lives without leaving the river headwaters, but in some areas north of the Hokuriku region, populations of the sea-run type have also been reported. Variations in body color and markings occur by region, and they are organized into regional populations such as amemasu, Nikko-iwana, Yamato-iwana, and gogi. The spawning season is mainly from October to January, and while the lifespan in the wild is about six years, cases of long lives of nearly 30 years have been recorded in captivity.

As a sushi topping, it sometimes appears on the table as nigiri or sashimi that makes use of its light, delicate white flesh. It has long been enjoyed as a material for mountain-stream cuisine such as salt-grilling and kotsuzake (bone sake), and is also firmly favored by mountain-stream anglers through fly fishing and other methods.