Unique Culture
Boats of Amami Islands
Surrounded by both the ocean and rugged mountains, boats used to be an important mode of transport to connect villages on different islands. Those boats riding through the Kuroshio Black Current carried not only people, but they also played a significant role in bringing different cultures, There exist a few moral shima-uta (island songs) making reference to such boats.
Itatsukebune, a boat constructed in joining boards, is a traditional wooden boat of Amami, Ainokobune (literary means a hybrid) was invented in 1921 by Mr. Mankichi Ebihara. He modified Itatsukebune by adding a bow structure of sabani, a traditional boat of Okinawa. Ainokobune in its present form was recreated through laborious efforts made by Mr. Yutaka Tsuboyama, who was a living memory keeper of these traditional boats. As a blueprint for this boat building technique did not exist for others to reconstruct, Mr. Tsuboyama had to start from scratch, from selecting wood materials. The know-how is not easily transferrable to younger generations and cultivating a new strain of memory keepers like Mr. Tsuboyama may prove to be a challenge.
Itasukebune/ Having a flat and wide bottom and a uniform shape of the bow and the aft peak, gives stability to the boat. It can navigate in all directions, both back-forward and sideways. In carrying people and load, the boat was an important mode of transport. A unique Amami boat, invented after the days of dugout canoes.
Construction process of Ainokofune/ Checking to see if a sew can go through evenly between patched up boards. When soaked in water, dried woods expand so as to seal off any gap thus, preventing any water leak.
Ainokobune/ These boats were made by combining Itasukebune and Sabani (Sabani is a fishing boat in Okinawa which has a narrow boat bottom to allow it to sail straight quickly by cutting through waves.) Integrating the advantages of both Itasukebune and Sabani, Ainokobune provides great rides on waves and its affordability have made it very popular in Amami.
Illustration of a local boat (from Nanto Zatsuwa, Miscellaneous stories in Southern Island by Sagenta Nagoya, ca. 1850-1855, Collection of Amami Museum)
Photos by Horizon Editorial Office
Text
Kazuko Izumi
member of Council for the Protection of Cultural Properties. Her literary works include Kokoro wo Tsutaeru Amami no Dento Ryori (Heart-delivering dishes in Amami).
