It has been about four years since I inquired at the Japanese Emigration to Hawaii Museum on Suo-Oshima Island, receiving only information from my wife's cousin (Nishimura Shikazo's great-grandson) who lives in California that "he was from Yamaguchi Prefecture, a fisherman in Hilo, and Shikazo's eldest daughter was the wife of Matsuno Kamezo, and was related to SUISAN."
When I visited the Immigration Museum and the Miyamoto Tsuneichi Memorial Museum, I heard that on a clear day you can see Kunisaki and Himeshima, which made me feel even closer and taught me a lot about Okikamuro connection to Kyushu.
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Himeshima is about 65 km away, and Oita City is about 97 km away!
１ About the Nishimura family name at Tashima Shrine in Karatsu
According to the collected works of Miyamoto Tsuneichi and other sources, the Nishimura family originated in Shitata, Suo-Oshima, and the family name "Awaya" comes from the introduction of the " one line fishing" technique from Donoura in Tokushima Prefecture (Awa). The third generation moved to Okikamuro, and the eighth generation, Nishimura Mantaro, was the "chief boatman" of the Karatsu group and controlled many fishermen.
I visited the stone lanterns at Tashima Shrine in Karatsu, and among the inscriptions on the two lanterns erected in January 1879 were "Nishimura" and "Yagi" (note), which were from the time of Shikazo's father and grandfather.
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(Note) Shikazo married Yagi Tomojiro's daughter, Towa, and took the surname Yagi. However, after immigrating, he reverted to the surname Nishimura as his children grew up and became U.S. citizens. At the same time, he restored the extinct Yagi family of Okikamuro to Iwatada, the son of Hatano Iwakichi, and they continue to this day. At Hakuseiji Temple, there is a Yagi grave built by Shikazo in the name of his second son, Yuichi (grandfather of my wife's cousin) (I learned about this for the first time during a visit to the area).
２ About the Nishimura family name in Oita Prefecture
There are approximately 1,400 people with the surname Nishimura in Oita Prefecture, but excluding the prefectural capital of Oita City, approximately 760 people (75%) are distributed in seven cities and towns in the north of the prefecture facing the Seto Inland Sea.
Among them, Himeshima Village, located 65km from Okikamuro Island, has an area of 7km², and 800 households. The largest number of residents is 200, and 25% of the islanders have the surname Nishimura. This data seems to allow us to infer a long-standing relationship with Okikamuro Island.
Incidentally, although it is an old story, Eiichi Nishimura, who served as Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, Minister of Construction, Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party, and was a key advisor to former Prime Ministers Eisaku Sato and Kakuei Tanaka, was born in Himeshima.
３ The spread of one-line fishing to Kyushu and other areas
According to the Collected Works of Miyamoto Tsuneichi and other sources, based on the experience of surviving the great famine of the Genroku era by borrowing nets from Agenoura, they introduced "one-line fishing" and transformed the island from agriculture to fishing. As a result, the population increased as a pioneer of one-line fishing, and the island came to be known as "the 1,000 houses of Kamuro."
When I discovered the following table in his work (the text in red is an addition), it became even more familiar to me.
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It is said that fishermen from Okikamuro Island traveled not only to the surrounding area but also to the Shiwaku Islands, Bungo, Shimonoseki, Karatsu, Imari, Tsushima, etc., and that the Bungo Group (Oita) was based in Hoto Island and sold their fish at Beppu Onsen and other places.
Currently, Hotojima is a base for the deep-sea tuna longline fishing (it once thrived on Tsushima as a spear fishing of tuna, and was named one of the "100 Best Fishing Villages to Preserve for the Future" along with Okikamurojima). nearby Saganoseki is famous as a source of Seki mackerel and Seki horse mackerel, one-line caught. I learned for the first time that one-line fishing has been spread and continued in this way.
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Unfortunately, a major fire in Saganoseki on November 18th affected approximately 30 fishermen, and a long-established factory that manufactured fishing hooks and sinkers for one-line fishing, popular both within and outside the prefecture, was completely burned down, putting its reopening in doubt.
４ According to the collected works of Miyamoto Tsuneichi and other sources, in addition to fishing, people from Suo-Oshima also migrated to Kyushu and other areas to work as stonemasons, carpenters, merchants, beach workers, and sailors.
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(1) Stone-built wharves constructed by Kuka stonemasons remain throughout the Seto Inland Sea, and I learned for the first time that Yoshimura Densuke was involved in the construction of the former Beppu Port in Oita Prefecture in 1871. Miyajima's single-stone torii gate was also made by Fukuda Ichisuke of Kuka, and many shrines built by Choshu carpenters remain in Yamaguchi Prefecture and Shikoku.
(2) After the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877, hundreds of people from Suo-Oshima went to work in the reconstruction efforts in Kumamoto.
(3) Before people fo Suo-Oshima began to go to Korea, Taiwan, and Hawaii in earnest, Iwase Mansuke and others from Kuka settled in Azamo, Tsushima in 1876. Yanagihara Nikichi of Hon-ura established the “Nikichi Barn” around 1877 (his wife was from Kuka). After it was handed over to Mr.Matsuo (Ogura Barn) of the Karatsu Group, according to Yamada Shigetoshi, He left Azamo for Honolulu, Hawaii.
Also, between 1887 and 1897, Sobana Sukejiro of Suzaki and Nakata Chutaro of Hon-ura advanced into Tsushima and flourished with over 200 households.
５ Following in the footsteps of these predecessors, fishermen from Okikamuro and the Seto Inland Sea immigrated to Hawaii, contributed to the modernization of Hawaii's fishing industry, and eventually developed it into an industry second only to sugarcane and pineapple production.
While migrant work originated from economic issues, I investigated the background to how fishermen from Okikamuro established the fishing company "SUISAN" in Hawaii. I found that in "Ageno-ura Night Stories" in Volume 20 of the Collected Works of Miyamoto Tsuneichi, he analyzed the background to Okikamuro's prosperity since the Meiji period, comparing Okikamuro and Ageno-ura on Suo-Oshima.
(1) Ageno-ura was a fishing village with about 40 households that had exclusive fishing rights since the Edo period (as distinct from the agricultural Agenosho-mura). It had the largest exclusive fishing ground (Otate-ura) among the five bays of Suo-Oshima, and prospered with unprecedented success in net fishing. However, at the end of the Edo period, the catch declined, and the village entered the Meiji period with difficulty in paying taxes.
(2) Until the mid-Edo period, Okikamuro was a primarily agricultural town with around 40 households. However, during the great famine of 1697, the town overcame the famine by borrowing sardine nets from Ageno-ura for five years. Based on this experience, Okikamuro introduced "one-line fishing," which was not subject to any regulations by the feudal domain, and by the end of the Edo period, the town began to flourish.
Even after the Meiji period, as incomes around the island dwindled, people sought fishing grounds in Kyushu, Korea, Taiwan, and Hawaii. Okikamuro was no longer just an island of fishermen, but a place where a variety of people, including merchants and artisans, gathered. The island had economic power, and the vitality and courage cultivated by migrant workers and immigrants, was overflowing with enterprising spirit.
(3) Since the Meiji period, Ageno-ura has maintained its right to net fishing in the surrounding area, and there have been few immigrants. On the other hand, Okikamuro points out that its drive and solidarity in constantly seeking better fishing grounds had built a "history from migrant labor to immigration."
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The collected works of Miyamoto Tsuneichi contain this history of the Sea People, making them truly valuable resources.
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