By Cathy Hirano

Here, finally, is my sequel to the article on Takamijima, an island highlighted during the autumn session of the Setouchi Triennale 2013.



Visitors to the island were greeted by yellow flags, perhaps as a reminder of the pyrethrums once cultivated on the hill. Created by several thousand school age children (elementary through senior high) in the Tadotsu district, the flags flapping in the wind sounded like applause.



The settlement of Takamijima dates back to the 12th century when an entire community moved there from Okayama.



As you can see from the photo above, the island is far too steep for farming so why would people have chosen to live there? Perhaps because they could make a good living shipping cargo instead, like residents of so many of the Shiwaku islands.

The island’s shape was captured by Toshiro Komatsu’s “Sea Room”, a 3D rendition of the island using glass jars filled with seawater



and organisms.



Records from 1713 indicate that wooden cargo vessels accounted for 75 percent of the boats on the island whereas only 25 percent were fishing boats. By the late 18th century, however, that had changed, and fishing had become the main industry. That is still true today. The islanders farm Tai (sea bream) and Hamachi (yellowtail). They also catch sea lance and octopi. Ohji Yoshino’s House of Octopus provided a humorous representation of this aspect of island life.




The artist explaining his work.

The steep hill makes the one remaining village a great lookout spot.



Architect Masahito Nomura took advantage of this when he transformed a beautiful old house into a terrace restaurant.



The panoramic view achieved with mirrors was a nice added touch.



The corner tiles on the garden walls were zodiac animal motifs. Although sadly the worse for wear, they were endearing nevertheless, such as this earless hare and hornless ox that appear to be comforting one another.



The house itself was transformed into a gallery





To end our trip, we made a quick dash to the Itamochi Village Restoration Project, a 10-minute bike ride and 5-minute very steep hike. The last person living in this village left 7 years ago, and the project was a forewarning of what may lie ahead for the other village.



As we were leaving, however, a staff member told us that despite the island’s rapidly dwindling population, the islanders have decided to participate in the next Triennale in 2016. A small ray of hope for the village.



Takamatsu Access:
Takamatsu can be reached by direct flights from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, by express bus from Kansai International Airport (3 hr), and by direct flights from China and Korea. It can also be reached by taking the bullet train to Okayama and changing to the Marine Liner bound for Takamatsu (runs every 1/2 hour; takes 1 hour). For more info see http://wikitravel.org/en/Takamatsu