Human and Nature Friendly
The delicious relationship between
Yaeyama Islands and Salt of Ishigaki
#04
Culture
In the Nagura Bay, the birthplace of salt production in the Yaeyama Islands,
salt production has been carried out for more than 300 years in accordance with the waxing and waning of the moon.
#04
The Moon Island
In the Yaeyama Islands, located in the southernmost part of Japan, people live with the "moon" so closely and intimately.
The Yaeyama Islands are place of the treasure house of moon-related culture, events, and the Shinto rituals, which are as many as Kyoto.
#04
Moonlit Night
The moon as an object of faith on the island, people sang and danced with the moonlight, showed a gratitutde to nature for the belssings it brought them, and held many "festivals (rituals)" with prayers.
"Salt", also a symbol of the mystical power of nature, was born on the night of the moon (full moon salt /new moon salt) from the coral ocean and used in various rituals.
The moon is also an important motif in the traditional songs of the Yaeyama Islands. One of them is a folk song called "Tsukinuma Piroma (Midday)," an emotionally rich song that wishes the moon, which shines brightly like midday, to fulfill one's love for a loved one. There are many folk songs about the moon in the Yaeyama Islands, and they are indispensable in the lives of the islanders.
Islander's lives with the moon watching the tides, weaving cloth on the mangrove sea, prayer of the moon for prosperity at the night of the fifteenday of the month, the full moon festivals and the new moon festivals.
"Salt" is handcrafted by the islanders who respect the moon, live according to the lunar calendar, incorporate the moon age, and the ebbs and flows into their work.
The island where they live is the origin and the birthplace of the moon culture in Japan.
