Friendly to people and nature
Yaeyama Islands and Ishigaki salt
#04
culture
Birthplace of salt making in the Yaeyama Islands
More than 300 years ago in Nagura Sea
With the phases of the moon
Salt was being made.
#03
moon night
日本最南端に位置する八重山諸島では
蜜月と言えるほど生活に密着した
「月」との暮らしがあります。
「月」にまつわる文化や御神事の宝庫、
八重山諸島は京都と並び月にまつわる
神事行事が多い地域です。
#03
moon night
In the Yaeyama Islands, located at the southernmost tip of Japan, there is a life with the "moon" that is so closely related to life that it can be said to be a honeymoon.
A treasure trove of moon-related cultures and rituals, the Yaeyama Islands, along with Kyoto, have many moon-related rituals.
The culture of admiring the moon and the practice of the lunar calendar, which incorporates the cycles of the moon's phases into daily life, have been deeply rooted in island life since ancient times.
The moon as an object of island worship
People sing and dance along with the moonlight, give thanks for the blessings that nature has given them, and many "festivals" are held along with prayers!
"Salt" is also a symbol of the mystical power of nature, born from the coral sea on moonlit nights (full moon salt, new moon salt) and has been used in various rituals.
Also, in the Yaeyama Islands, the moon is an important motif in songs. One of them is a folk song called "Tsukinuma Piroma (Midday)", which is full of emotion and is a song about wishing for the fulfillment of a loved one's feelings towards the moon, which shines brightly like midday. There are many folk songs that sing about the moon, and they are indispensable to the lives of the islanders.
People's lives with the moon, the dyeing and weaving cloth spread on the sea of mangroves, and the festival of the full moon to pray for the prosperity of descendants.
Love the moon, live according to the lunar calendar, and incorporate the ebb and flow of the tide with the age of the moon.
