Pacific saury Coloring Pages

A Fish That Represents Autumn

The Pacific saury is a long, thin, silver fish that comes to the seas near Japan when autumn arrives.
In Japanese kanji, its name is written as 「秋刀魚」. This name means a fish that shines like a sword (刀) and is caught in autumn (秋).
They grow to about 30 centimeters long, which is about as long as two adult hands placed side by side.
Their bodies are only about one-tenth as wide as they are long. Compared to other fish, they have a very slim shape.

Let's Find the Secrets of Its Body

The tip of the Pacific saury's mouth is pointy, and the lower jaw sticks out a little farther than the upper jaw.
The fin on its back and the fin on its belly are small and lined up together near the back part of its body.
Behind those, there are 5 to 7 tiny fins called finlets that look like small teeth in a row.
Fast-swimming fish often have these fins. You can also see them on mackerel, skipjack tuna, and tuna.
Try counting these little fins on the first coloring page!

A Journey From Cold Northern Seas to the South

The Pacific saury is a fish that travels across the big Pacific Ocean.
During the summer, it eats lots of tiny creatures like krill in the cold northern seas and gets plump.
When autumn comes, they form large groups and swim south toward the coast of Hokkaido and the Tohoku region.
That is why autumn is the best season for Pacific saury in Japan, making them juicy and delicious.

Two Coloring Pages

The first coloring page shows a single Pacific saury from the side, based on a photo. The shape of its mouth and the places of its fins are drawn just like a real one.
The second coloring page shows a huge group of Pacific saury swimming near the ocean surface in autumn. Dozens of fish overlap each other, from a big Pacific saury up close to tiny ones far away.
If you want to color a cooked fish, check out the Salt-Grilled Pacific Saury article and compare them!

Pacific Saury on the Autumn Dinner Table

The Pacific saury has been a favorite fish on Japanese dinner tables in autumn for a very long time.
The most popular way to eat it is salt-grilled, served with grated radish and sudachi citrus.
In Meguro, Tokyo, a fun festival called the "Pacific Saury Festival" is held every autumn, where cooked fish is shared with everyone.
This festival comes from a funny classic Japanese story called "Meguro's Pacific Saury," about a prince who eats Pacific saury for the first time and falls in love with how yummy it tastes.
Other fish that get delicious in autumn are salmon and mackerel.

The Back is Blue and the Belly is Silver

Color the back of the Pacific saury with dark blue or blue-purple.
If you color the belly below the side line with light gray or silver, it will look like a real Pacific saury!
If you do not have a silver colored pencil, color it with light gray and leave some white spots. It will look shiny and bright!

Blend the Lines to Make It Look Pretty

Try blending the line between the blue back and silver belly by making the blue lighter and lighter toward the belly.
Instead of a sharp line, it will give your Pacific saury a shiny body just like a real fish!

Add Color to the Beak and Eyes

Add just a little bit of yellow or orange to the tip of the beak.
For the eyes, color around the pupils with dark gray to bring your Pacific saury to life!
Color the fins with light gray or light yellow.

Use Sky Blue Shades for the Ocean on the Second Page

For the ocean on the second page, use bright sky blue near the top and blue near the bottom to show how deep the sea is.
Leave the rays of light white, or add a light yellow.
If you leave the bubbles white, it will look just like real water!

Change the Colors Slightly for the School of Fish

If you color the Pacific saury far away on the second page with a lighter blue than the ones up front, they will look like they are swimming far away.
Make the big Pacific saury up front the main star by giving it the darkest blue back!

Pacific saury like light

Pacific saury love to gather around light at night.
So, fishermen shine bright lights from their boats into the dark sea. Then they scoop up the Pacific saury that swim over with a net!
This way of fishing is called stick-held dip net fishing.

A yellow mouth means...

If a Pacific saury at the store has a yellow tip on its mouth, it is a sign that it is fresh and tasty!
Clear eyes and a deep blue back are also good signs to look for when choosing a delicious Pacific saury.

How it got its name

One story says the name "Sanma" comes from "Samana," an old word that means "thin, long fish."
Another story says it means "a huge school of fish" because they swim together in big groups. Nobody knows for sure which story is true!

Fewer fish are being caught

Long ago, people caught a lot of Pacific saury in the autumn. It was cheap and easy to buy.
But lately, sea temperatures are changing. Fewer Pacific saury come near Japan, so fishermen cannot catch as many.
To make sure we can keep eating Pacific saury, countries that catch them in the Pacific Ocean are making rules together about how many fish can be caught.