UPDATE: Contest Winner(s) at the end of the post
What does tenkara mean to you? (Contest)
There are a couple of tenkara contests going around at the moment, like the one at Karel’s tenkaraonthefly.net, where you can tell your tenkara story for a free line holder.
To celebrate the enthusiasm of tenkara anglers, and the introduction of our new fly boxes, we decided to get in the contest bandwagon and give away one of our awesome new boxes.
How do you win it? Simple:
The word tenkara is often taken to mean “from heaven” (“ten” = “heaven” and “kara“=”from”. But because of the way it is written no one knows for sure what the original meaning was. It is relatively open to interpretation.
If you were to give the term tenkara a meaning, what would it be?
Please post your response here in this format: 2-4 words for the meaning, with a 3-4 sentences on why you decided on that meaning.
My wife will pick the winning response based on: its philosophical meaning, likelihood that it could actually be used in relation to fishing, the logic expressed to indicate that likelihood or personal reason. She will not be given the name of the author of the response.
Contest ends on March 15th at midnight.
CONTEST WINNER
There were a LOT of great responses, and it was very difficult to pick them, but my wife had to pick one winner for the bamboo box. Margaret ended up also assigning a second winner for the thoughtfulness in the response, so Judy Cole will be receiving a copy of The Fly Fish Journal for the poem she wrote.
DAVID:
Synergy of simplicity and skill
Tenkara fishing simplifies the equipment needed to the basics. With skill the more you know the less you need. Synergy exist when two or more agents interact to produce a combined effect that is greater than the sum of the their separate effects. Simplified gear combined with skill creates a fishing experience that is delightfully satisfying or even heavenly that is greater than expected once experienced.
Judy Cole:
Tenkara – Joy in the High Country
Up the dappled trail
Through pine-scented air
On any day of our summery season
With packs so light, they can hardly be felt
A mere trifle on our backs
On still lively legs, we crest the moraine,
And view a sudden meadow
Vivid with riotous, lush colors of flower and grass that
Snatch our breath
We celebrate in the dancing, lambent light
sparkling off the meandering stream
Quicker than a marmot can steal your pack off a summy rock,
The rod is out and the fly on the water,
my husband already rejoicing, “First one of the day!”
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Tenkara= from the heaven/from the Sky
Tenkara = Fly fishing, simplified.
Tenkara simplifies fly fishing by removing the extras (reel, excess of line and the need to manage that line), and, by encouraging the angler to concentrate on technique, to reduce or even eliminate the issue of fly selection. This allows the angler to devote ones attention to the overall experience of spending time on the water — catching fish (of course), the sounds of the stream as water flows by…nature.
Tenkara = Women’s Wrath or Nurture
When you invest time to share, patience to slow down and commitment to see things through, rewards are at your feet. But when rushed, ignored or abused will yield a unwavering tangled mess.
To me Tenkara truly means, Less is More.
To simplify any endeavor, be it fishing or life, brings one to a state of clarity. Unclouded by the trappings of ‘too much’ you are free to see what is in front of you and focus on what is really important. Tenkara goes way beyond fishing for me… It’s a word that can bring balance to your whole experience.
Tenkara = acheiving the state of flow
Being in Tenkara is being completely in the moment: one stream, one rod, one fly
Simplicity equals sucess. The ability to fish without being distracted by you’re tangled line it reel…it allows you continuously devote you’re time to making that perfect cast, which may result in the perfect fish.
Tenkara = Elegant Simplicity (or Elegantly Simple)
I was looking for a simple, yet elegant way to describe Tenkara while trying to preserve the imagery of being “from heaven.” Then I realized that, by simply pondering the question, I answered it. And as a bonus, it works to describe Tenkara gear too (e.g. I hope I win that elegantly simple bamboo fly box.).
Tenkara is removing all the meaningless things from traditional fishing that makes the process enjoyably and allows one to be fulfilled both physically and emotionally with their fishing experience. Tenkara is Enchantment… of the purist level.
Ty, if you were to put it into 2-4 words what would it be? Enchantment?
Tenkara = Zen Fishing
Zen invokes meanings of enlightenment, self-realization, absorption, and meditative state. For me, tenkara carries a heavy dose of similar meaning for anyone who experiences it. I think it embodies the simplicity of getting out with nature and simplifying the process of doing something so enjoyable!
Tenkara = Perfect
Everything has its place, and in the places I like to go Tenkara is “Perfect”.
Mastery through Simplicity.
Synergy of simplicity and skill
Tenkara fishing simplifies the equipment needed to the basics. With skill the more you know the less you need. Synergy exist when two or more agents interact to produce a combined effect that is greater than the sum of the their separate effects. Simplified gear combined with skill creates a fishing experience that is delightfully satisfying or even heavenly that is greater than expected once experienced.
Tenkara = Just me and a fish!
Tenkara = Fishing simplicity, functional beauty
Tenkara simplicity provides freedom to focus on fishing, unencumbered by unnecessary gear or equipment. The beauty of the technique is such that anyone can quickly become functional with no prior experience.
TENKARA …. A Path To
becoming one with the environment
being not in the river but of it / in the here and now
valuing intuition
being predator but respectively so
leaving it better than it was before you arrived
Small is Beautiful. During the late 60’s a minimalist movement captured our imagination. To me, nothing better depicts that concept than the Tenkara rod.
Tenkara = sound of water.
The places where tenkara exists, for me, are inseperable from the sound of water. With tenkara, that sound is not spoiled by the sound of a reel or the sound of a fly line. It is only the sound of water.
Tenkara to me = the currents of nature
I feel more in tune with the environment that I am graced to be in.
Tenkara = the lack there of
a lot of japanese art and culture revolves around the beauty of what is “not pictured” wether it be calligraphy, sushi, bansai or flower arangement. for me the beauty and enjoyment of tenkara comes from what is “not” involved. And thats not just a reference to a reel
its simplicity allows me to convert mere mechanic, into an artform. something that japan has a passion for doing.
TENKARA Clarity of fishing
A simplified way achieve what trout fishing was meant to be
From the Heavens…for fish and man. Nothing else need be said.
Tenkara means to me: “Without complications” it is a minimalist form of fly fishing that brings man closer to nature. It is a humbling approach to fishing my favorite High Uinta Mountain streams. Simplicity that still requires a great deal of talent.
Opps. Looks like I don’t read instructions very well. I forgot to add the reason for the choice I submitted.
Synergy of Simplicity and Skill.
Tenkara fishing simplifies the equipment needed to the basics. With skill the more you know the less you need. Synergy exist when two or more agents interact to produce a combined effect that is greater than the sum of the their separate effects. Simplified gear combined with skill creates a fishing experience that is delightfully satisfying or even heavenly that is greater than expected once experienced.
I added the reason to your first response to make it easier to keep track of it.
TENKARA=Fluidity in Motion
Everything about Tenkara simplifies what I have been trying to achieve while doing conventional or Western style flyfishing. That is to simplify my cast and gear so that I may enjoy and maximize my time on the water and ultimately do what we all want- Catch fish! Ease of use and the ability to move freely without extra gear is why I became intereted in Tenkara.
Assimilation into the nature.
Tenkara is not just an effective way of fishing but a way through which I can make myself part of the nature.
Tenkara = Heavenly Fishing
For a fisherman what would “heavenly fishing” look like? For me, it would be placing your hand in a cool mountain stream and watching as a beautiful trout swims right into your hand. Tenkara is as close to this experience as most of us will ever achieve with rod, line and fly becoming the bridge between fish to hand, thus heaven to earth…
Tenkara = Fishing with a fly.
Learning from current.
Over gear, master the technique.
On rod, line, fly. Fish.
Tenkara = tenkara
Thanks to our efforts it has become an English word meaning a historic Japanese means of fly fishing. All fly fishing can be beautiful and meditative. Many societies have used long poles without reels for fly fishing. Originally for gaining food and now for enjoyment as well.
“From the Sky/Heaven.”
From the sky…from heaven…fishing…feathered haired hook…all terms we know synonymous with the activity we call Tenkara. It is a simultaneous dual meaning word: 1) from the sky is the art, 2) from heaven was the enjoyment of Tenkara. Considering who was doing the fishing: 1) men 2), it was their livelihood. I think that the concept embodies the idea of the simplicity of all aspects coming from heaven or within heavens provision to supply the means to catch the trout for provision. Heaven provides the streams, the fish, the trees for the net, the flora for the flies the whole concept is that it is all from the sky and they approached as respecting what or Who from the sky they associated with the ability to put food on the table and enjoy the activity so much. The latter may be the most important to the fishermen the enjoyment of the actual activity of fishing in this manner that they actually did this for a living was from heaven.
Tenkara = Simple
Gods Gift
Tenkara has been the simplest and easiest thing for me to learn so I could catch fish. It’s simplicity leaves me more time to enjoy what I love to do, fish. I have only been Tenkara fishing a year but it has brought me closer to family and friends, the real gift.
Tenkara = From heaven.
The tranquility and perfection of heaven delivered by the simplicity of fishing. When everything is made simple it is easy to lose yourself and flow with the water. Delicate delivery of the fly with accuracy through timing is rewarded with a fish. At that moment everything works as it should and there is heaven on earth.
Tenkara=Freedom
For me it’s the perfect Sunday rest. Follow a small stream into the woods, bringing your tenkara rod. It’s you, and the stream, and the forest. So peaceful, so contemplative, so relaxing. It’s the core of freedom.
Tenkara=a gift from heaven
This gift comes in the form of wild water, wild country, and wild trout. It touches my soul and gives me peace and strength. It teaches. It’s uncluttered and it’s true.
Clarity of Mind
Tenkara= Divine Healing.
In a world encumbered with technology we are losinging our skills. Tenkara teaches us to rekindle and hone our natural skills. We can use these skills to travel further with less, see & do more, and leave smaller footprints.
Tenkara = soul extension
We all come from water. Born from a womb filled with water, it is our life’s passion to commune with water in some way. Fly fisher people (especially people that utilize Tenkara wisdom) intuit the need of the soul to return to water.
Tenkara – the essence of fly fishing
The origins of fly Fishing are lost in the mists of antiquity in both the eastern (Japan) and western (European) traditions, but both share the same basic foundations – a rod, a line and a fly. Modern tenkara represents the essential elements of fly fishing in both traditions. Tenkara is not fly fishing simplified. It is the true, original style of fly fishing as developed independently in the east and west. TenkaraUSA marks a return to our fly fishing beginnings in the west and a continuation of the eastern Japanese tradition with all its advantages of simplicity, grace and skill.
Tenkara – Joy in the High Country
Up the dappled trail
Through pine-scented air
On any day of our summery season
With packs so light, they can hardly be felt
A mere trifle on our backs
On still lively legs, we crest the moraine,
And view a sudden meadow
Vivid with riotous, lush colors of flower and grass that
Snatch our breath
We celebrate in the dancing, lambent light
sparkling off the meandering stream
Quicker than a marmot can steal your pack off a summy rock,
The rod is out and the fly on the water,
my husband already rejoicing, “First one of the day!”
Tenkara – Fast and Effective
“Quick, the Tenkara!”
Alpine creek flashing with trout
Ahh, one takes the fly
Tenkara=Serendipity
An angler may look to tenkara to catch more fish or fish in a different manner but in the end it breaks down some of the barriers that connect us in a deeper way with Nature and the objective we are pursuing, which are the fish. Simplifying how you fish allows you to observe and understand the connections going on all around you and you will eventually find things you never thought to look for.
Tenkara = Fun!
I was on the several streams today and the word “fun” came to me because it was just that. One fly on two different streams and fish caught on both streams by my 8 year old who asked to use a Tenkara rod instead of spinning gear! A proud dad moment for sure!
Hey Dale,
Thanks for the reply. The contest has closed but I appreciate the response.
Daniel
Contest closed but we’d love to continue hearing what tenkara means to you.
Please thank Margret for choosing Synergy of Simplicity and Skill. I look forward to receiving the bamboo kebari box. It is not often that I win anything. However, sometimes the timing is perfect for something good to happen and the timing is perfect today.
I spent an emotional weekend in Ohio expecting my Mother to pass away at any moment. She died this morning about 14 hours after I left to return to my home in WV. So, on a grey day thank you for the sunny Tenkara Smile. : – )
David, so sorry to hear about your mother.
The box will be on its way shortly.
Daniel