Japanese fish: the answer is initially obvious (3)

I believe the answer is:
tai
'japanese fish' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'the answer is initially obvious' is the wordplay.
'is initially' indicates taking the first letters.
'obvious' becomes 'i' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
The first letters of 'the answer' is 'ta'.
'ta'+'i'='TAI'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tai that I've seen before include "sea bream" , "... chi, Chinese system of slow meditative exercise" , "fish" .)
