Tenkara fishing is similar to fly fishing in a sense that you catch fish with a fly. It is very simplistic. It has no reel to it and is a very long rod. As in fly-fishing, it is the tenkara line that propels the weightless fly forward. In tenkara, the traditional and most commonly used line is a tapered furled line.
The rods are retractable because they are used to get places without having to carry a huge rod around. rtificial flies are used in tenkara fly-fishing. These are tied with thread, feathers and sometimes fur as in western fly-fishing.