"No katsuo, no life." The words emblazoned on Takahiro Tanaka's T-shirt are more than just a catchy slogan; they are the literal truth. Without katsuo (skipjack tuna), life would be very different for him and the rest of the fishing folks in the port town of Kure, Kochi Prefecture.
Tanaka runs a bustling little fish shop, Tanaka Sengyoten (Kure 6382, Nakatosacho, Takaoka-gun, Kochi; tanakatuo.ocnk.net), in the scenic Kure Taisho Town Market. Of the score or so businesses that line this narrow, covered pedestrian arcade, more than half deal in wet or processed fish, or run simple, down-home shokudō (diners) specializing in seafood.
