Tarai Bune of Sado Island  

(4/12/2002 - 5/12/2002)

Along the Ogi peninsula of Sado Island are villages where tarai bune (also called hangiri) are used for seaside fishing.  Riding in the tarai bune, fishermen take abalone and turbo from the sea-bottom using kagi (long hook) or yasu (long, pronged spear).  These fishermen are old, and there are very few tarai bune makers left.

The tarai bune is not a round boat, but an oval shaped one.  During the Meiji era, the idea reportedly came from a miso factory worker, who figured a boat could be made from a barrel which was cut in half.  These boats were adopted by the fishermen on Sado since there were coopers (barrel-makers) there who were already making barrels and pails for the gold-mining industry and the shipping industry.  Cedar and bamboo, the two materials the tarai bune are made of, are also abundant on Sado. 

The traditional art of building tarai bune is dying out though.  Most young people go into other, more lucrative trades; plus, plastic boats are also made and sold to fishermen.  Since 2001, Niigata Prefecture has had a project to revive the towns along the Ogi peninsula.  As part of this project, a special program for training tarai bune occurred in 2001. 

As part of this exhibit, an actual tarai bune will be constructed using traditional Japanese methods.

Mr. Brooks and Higuchi san working on building a tarai bune.