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TAKETOMI
ISLAND |
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 Scenery
in Taketomi-jima |
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| The Japanese Trip P.E.N.Club Prize |
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Architecture and Scenery Visitors to Takektomi-jima can see stone walls and roads of white sand laid out in a grid pattern. The houses, which blend beautifully with the surrounding landscape, are fine examples of building ingenuity. The sealing clay used under the red roof tiles expands on rainy days to prevent leaks. The clay then dries on fine days improving the ventilation of the house. Walls made of limestone obtained from the coral reef also provide excellent ventilation. Though the builders have made best use of the raw materials available to them, they have also designed these dwellings along the guidelines of the "Fuu-Sui" belief to guard their inhabitants from evil spirits and ward off illness. It is easy to navigate the white sand roads at night by the light of the moon reflecting off the sand. |
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Textiles "Minsa" obis are woven in unique
patterns incorporating Chinese characters representing the word
"forever". Both ends of the obi are said to resemble
the feet of a centipede. This design refers to a local legend.
According to this legend, a lady gave an indigo obi to her beloved.
Woven into the obi was the prayer: "Please visit me often
until the end of time as a centipede which has so many feet".
The textiles of the area are so highly regarded that at one time
the Ryukyu dynasty offered them to the Satsuma Domain as payment
for land tax. The arts of dyeing and weaving are still practiced
in Taketomi-jima. |
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TANEDORI FESTIVAL The six gods of Mitaki are the guardians of Taketomi-jima.
During the Tanedori Festival people pray to these gods for a bountiful
harvest. The festival is held for ten days in September in accordance
with the lunar calendar. The Tanedori Festival, designated as
"an important intangible cultural asset of the indigenous
people of the island ", reaches its climax on the 7th and
8th days. About seventy kinds of traditional performing arts are
held at Yuumuchi Mitaki. Yuukui is performed on the 7th night.
Performers are served sacred Japanese sake(rice wine) as they
go house to house singing old folk songs. Gongs and drums sound
throughout the town. |
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Dancing Dancing in Taketomi-jima has been influenced by the court dancing of the Ryukyu dynasty, a rhythmical folk dance with origins in everyday work chores such as farming and fishing; and also by dancing introduced from Japan proper, Taiwan and the South Pacific Islands. Many of the most famous dancers in the Yaeyama Islands are in fact from Taketomi-jima. This clearly shows the mastery of Taketomi-jima's dancers. |
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"Asatoya Yunta", a widely known folk song in Okinawa,
was actually adapted from an old Taketomi-jima song. The original
sounds more powerful with a more prominent rhythm. Folk songs in
Taketomi-jima contain compelling tales and legends. These tales
and legends have been passed on from one generation to the next
not only as songs but also as oral stories. More than three hundred
folk songs, based on such eclectic topics as rice growing, house
building and daily courtesies, have been handed down in Taketomi-jima. |
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Six Gods and Six Chiefs in Six Villages A long time ago, there were six villages on Taketomi-jima. Each village had a chief who cared for those under his rule. The chiefs cooperated with each other and lived in peace. All what they wanted were gods. The chiefs of the six villages prayed for these gods to appear before them. Finally, three gods came from the main island of Okinawa and one god each came from Kume-jima, Tokuno-shima, and Yaku-shima. Today these six gods are worshipped as the six gods of Mitaki. |
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Myths and Legends There are many myths and legends surrounding Taketomi-jima. One
tells of Hazama Mitaki, a man whose body was made of iron. Another
tells of Hanashiro Mitaki, who pitted himself in a competition of
strength against a samurai from Ishigaki-jima. Yet another tells
of Nakasuji Mitaki, the master of a dog which discovered a well.
Even now, on such joyous occasions as "Wakamizu" on New
Year's Day or "Meimeisui", which celebrates the birth
of a baby, water from the Nakasuji well is used. |
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Translated by Makiko Ono (Professor at Rakuno Gakuen University) and B.J.Sanewski (Associate at Rakuno Gakuen University) . Reproduction Forbidden |
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| National Association for the Preservation of the Culuture Of Taketomi Island |
| All rights reserved. Copyrightc2001 by NAPCOTI |