[Knowledge Expander!] A Three-Choice Quiz about Fish for Elementary School Students

want to

The sea bream, which often appears on celebratory occasions, is known for its distinctive red color. Besides its festive appearance, there is a theory that it came to be called a “king” because, in the Heian period, its body covered in hard scales was likened to a general wearing armor and a helmet.

Ito

The ito is found only in limited areas of Japan—rivers and lakes in Hokkaido. It grows over one meter in length and is known as the largest freshwater fish in Japan. Recently, due to declining numbers, it has been designated an endangered species.

mouth

There’s a saying, “left flounder, right flatfish,” referring to which way the fish faces when lying belly-down, and that can be one way to tell them apart. However, some flatfish face left as well, so the surest way is to look at the mouth. Flatfish (karei) have small mouths, whereas flounder (hirame) have large mouths with sharp teeth.

dolphin

I feel like none of them are fish or fish species, but the answer is dolphin. Whales and dolphins, when classified, are mammals just like humans. Fish are characterized by being born from eggs and breathing through gills.

sardine

Write the character for “weak” next to the fish radical and you get iwashi (sardine). Because sardines don’t keep well, the kanji meaning “weak” was applied to them. 鯖 is “saba” (mackerel), and 鰈 is “karei” (flounder). There are many similar-looking fish-radical kanji, and lots of them are hard to read, aren’t there?

How much

Since ikura means fish eggs in Russian, caviar—which comes from sturgeon eggs—is said to be called “black ikura.” Speaking of salmon eggs, in addition to ikura there is also sujiko. Sujiko refers to eggs that remain in the ovary membrane in clusters, while ikura refers to eggs that have been removed from the ovary and separated into individual grains.