''Pagrus major'' or red seabream is a fish species in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Sparidae. It is also known by its Japanese name, madai. The fish has high culinary and cultural importance in Japan, and is also frequently eaten in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Range and habitat

Red seabream is a marine subtropical oceanodromous demersal fish, found in the Northwest

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

from the northeastern part of the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

(

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

excluded) northward to Japan. Adult fish live near the bottom of reefs at 30–200 meters deep, and are often solitary. Juveniles live in shallower waters.

Physical description

Large specimens of red seabream can grow up to 120 centimeters long, although they are usually smaller. The scales range from pinkish red to purplish brown, with blue spots across the body. Juveniles have five stripes that disappear upon maturity.

Life cycle

Red seabream spawns between February and August, when they swim from deeper waters to shallower areas. Eggs and juveniles float freely in the ocean, and are not protected by parents, which makes them easy prey for larger fish. Habitat preference is genetically coded in juveniles, which helps them to choose the optimal microhabitat in a fluctuating environment. Habitat preference is only observed in juvenile fish up to the age of 30 days, while adult fish do not show any habitat preference. Both adults and juveniles feed on small crustaceans, such as shrimp and

crabs Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

, as well as smaller fish and

sea urchins Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...

. The fish's average life span is between 20 and 40 years.

As food

In Japan, ''Pagrus major'' is known as madai (真鯛 "true sea bream") or simply tai (鯛 "sea bream"). It is prized for its

umami Umami ( from ja, 旨味 ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It has been described as savory and is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and ...

flavor and considered a luxury food, often served at festive events such as weddings, and during

Japanese New Year The is an annual festival with its own customs. Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year, . However, some traditional events of the Japanese New Year are par ...

. It is also the most commonly eaten fish in

. In

, the fish is called domi (도미) or chamdom (참돔), and is moderately popular as food. Red seabream can be broiled, grilled, baked or eaten raw, such as in

sashimi is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce. Origin The word ''sashimi'' means "pierced body", i.e. " 刺身" = ''sashimi'', where 刺し = ''sashi'' (pierced, stu ...

. File:Supplies for New Year's Day, Japan; January 2020 (05).jpg, Red seabream prepared for New Year's Day File:121222 Baishokaku Nagasaki Japan02s8.jpg, Red seabream baked in a shell of salt File:Sashimi-dish Red seabream01.jpg, Red seabream

File:Red sea bream sashimi (27992669723).jpg, Sashimi File:Madai-fried-tokyoarea-sept23-2016.jpg, Fried red seabream File:Suimono by sunday driver in Kyoto.jpg, ''Suimono'' (clear soup) with red seabream File:HSY- Sushi, Tai.jpg, Red seabream

sushi is a Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice," also ...

File:Domi-gui.jpg, Korean ''domi-gui'' before baking

In culture

''Pagrus major'' is important in Japanese culture, where it is associated with good fortune and abundance, and eaten on special occasions. The red scales are considered auspicious, and traditionally believed to ward off evil spirits. Public figures such as politicians or sumo wrestlers are often photographed holding up a red seabream after a victorious event. Ebisu, the god of fortune and fishermen, is often portrayed holding a red seabream. Due to its prestige, red seabream is sometimes called "The King of Hundred Fishes" (百魚の王) in Japan, where "hundred" is a metaphor for all other fishes. Several Japanese

idioms An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...

also reference the red seabream as a precious object: * ''Ebi de tai o tsuru'' (海老で鯛を釣る "To fish a sea bream using a shrimp as bait"): To gain a great profit or achievement with minimal investment. * ''Kusatte mo tai'' (腐っても鯛 "Even if it's rotten, it's still sea bream"): Something of high quality still retains its value even if it becomes degraded. * ''Tai no o yori iwashi no atama'' (鯛の尾より鰯の頭 "Better a sardine's head than a sea bream's tail"): It's better to be the leader of a small group rather than a follower of a large group. The ''tai no tai'' (鯛の鯛 "bream within bream") is a good luck charm consisting of a fish's

scapula The scapula (plural scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on eith ...

and

coracoid A coracoid (from Greek κόραξ, ''koraks'', raven) is a paired bone which is part of the shoulder assembly in all vertebrates except therian mammals (marsupials and placentals). In therian mammals (including humans), a coracoid process is prese ...

bones, which resemble a red seabream. The bones are interpreted as a "second bream" inside the original bream, which is discovered and collected after the fish's meat is consumed. ''Tai no tai'' are traditionally associated with red seabreams, but can come from the bones of any fish.

Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake, commonly sold as street food. It imitates the shape of , which it is named after. The most common filling is red bean paste that is made from sweetened adzuki beans. Other common fillings may be custard, choc ...

, a cake filled with

azuki bean paste Red bean paste () or red bean jam, also called adzuki bean paste or ''anko'' (a Japanese word), is a paste made of red beans (also called "adzuki beans"), used in East Asian cuisine. The paste is prepared by boiling the beans, then mashing or g ...

, is famously made in the shape of a red seabream (''tai''), which its inventor intended as a way to make street food feel luxurious. File:Osakatenman-gu Osaka Japan05-r.jpg, Red seabream as an auspicious object, with straw bindings and coins at Osaka Tenmangū shrine File:Japan- Fukuoka, Itoshima Tambo art 2015 1.jpg, Tambo art depicting a red seabream in a rice paddy in

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

File:Taiyaki-Plate.JPG,

cakes being made in the shape of red seabream (''tai'') File:Tai of Tai 001.jpg, A ''tai no tai'', the bones of a red seabream that resembles a second fish inside the original fish, used as a good luck charm

In art

The red seabream has historically been the subject of paintings, and its shape has also been used in crafts. File:Painting of a Red Sea Bream (Tai) by Ogawa Haritsu, 18th century.jpg, ''Tai on Bamboo Leaves'', painting by Ogawa Haritsu (1663-1747) File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.ART.429 - Pagrus major (Temminck and Schlegel) - Kawahara Keiga - 1823 - 1829 - Siebold Collection - pencil drawing - water colour.jpeg, Painting by Kawahara Keiga (1786–1860) File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.ART.509 - Pagrus major perhaps - Kawahara Keiga - 1823 - 1829 - Siebold Collection - pencil drawing - water colour.jpeg, Painting by Kawahara Keiga File:'A Tai Fish' by Shibata Zeshin, Honolulu Museum of Art 4597.1.jpg, Painting by

Shibata Zeshin was a Japanese lacquer painter and print artist of the late Edo period and early Meiji era. He has been called "Japan's greatest lacquerer", but his reputation as painter and print artist is more complex: In Japan, he is known as both too ...

(1807-1891) File:Japanese illustration from Bairei Gakan by Kono Bairei, from rawpixel's original plates 00003.jpg, Painting by

Kōno Bairei was a Japanese painter, book illustrator, and art teacher. He was born (as Yasuda Bairei) and lived in Kyoto. He was a member of the broad Maruyama-Shijo school and was a master of kacho-e painting (depictions of birds and flowers) in the Meiji ...

(1844-1895).

References

* Takahashi, K and Masuda, R. “ Nurture is above nature: nursery experience determines habitat preference of red sea bream Pagrus major juveniles” Journal of Ethology 37.3 (2019): 317–323. Web. Sep-2019.

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1196387 Pagrus Taxa named by Coenraad Jacob Temminck Taxa named by Hermann Schlegel Fish described in 1843 Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish of Japan Fish of Russia Fish of China Fish of East Asia Fish of Korea