Hyōtan Bottle

Antique Japanese vessel made from a bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria — sometimes called a calabash). A handwoven lanyard for carrying is attached. Gourds like this were commonly used for holding water while working in the fields (or rice wine, if going to picnic).

The bottle gourd is grown around the world, and was one of the first cultivated plants. Although young gourds are edible, they were grown primarily for use as containers. There is some debate as to whether the bottle gourd originated in Africa or Asia; however, the earliest examples are from archaeological sites in China and Japan, dating to to around 9,000 years ago.

In Japan, the bottle gourd is called hyōtan (瓢箪, ひょうた), and it has a special place in mythology and folklore. A common expression is “hyōtan de namazu wo osaeru” (or simply, “hyōtan namazu”) which means, "to pin down a catfish with a gourd." It’s a cognate of the English expression "as slippery as an eel".

This brings us to the famous riddle, or kōan, set forth by the shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimochi (足利 義持, born 1386) the "How do you catch a catfish with a gourd?" There are as many answers to this question as there are Zen masters! My favorite one is this: do nothing. Or rather, do as little as possible. For example, you can just cut off the top of your gourd, and let it sink to the bottom of the stream. Eventually, the curious catfish will swim inside, and you can just scoop it up! All that’s required is patience.

Catfish and gourd image for context only!