GUJI. THREE STORIES, ONE NAME.

“So what's the difference between red and white?”

“Red is soft and delicate. White has firmer flesh.”

“Same tilefish, different textures.”

“Is the white one called guji, too?”

“In Kyoto, it's the red one. Names change from place to place.”

Utagawa Hiroshige　Aquatic Life: Wasabi, Tilefish and Grass Carp

Edo period, 19th century. Color woodblock print.

Collection of the Tokyo National Museum.

The red tilefish (Branchiostegus japonicus) has a distinctive silvery-white triangular marking below the eye. White tilefish (Branchiostegus albus) lacks this marking and is generally rarer in the market, often commanding higher prices.

“Different species. Now, about that name.”

“Guji. What does it mean?”

“Soft flesh. Guji-guji.”

“Some say it makes a sound when caught. Guji, it goes.”

“And there's the shape of its head. Angular. Once called kuzuna.

The word changed over time.”

“Three explanations?”

“All three have survived.”