Kobudai Known For Large Size, Distinctive Faces 
By Yasuyuki Yamada / Yomiuri Shimbun JP Source: yomiuri 9/7/2024
Yasuyuki Yamada / Yomiuri Shimbun
Credit: Kaname Yoneyama / The Yomiuri Shimbun
In the small settlement of Kitakoura in northern Sado Island, Kenkichi Nanto greets some familiar faces.

“Mr. Nanto, how are you?” asks one visitor.
 

“Ah, you’ve arrived,” Nanto replies. Nanto, 85, is the oldest skipper of the recreational fishing boats that take divers from the settlement to a diving spot called Akaiwa about 500 meters off the coast. The divers come here hoping to glimpse kobudai fish living in and around Akaiwa, which is about 20 meters below the surface.

 
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