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How to get to and play at the Minamishima Folk Museum, a tourist attraction on Ishigaki Island!
Hello everyone!
Have you heard of the Minamishima Folk Museum on Ishigaki Island?
The Minamishima Folklore Museum is a private museum that has existed for about 180 years, using the residence of the ninth generation Touki family in Miyara-den.
Mr. Takazen Yoshino, who was the governor of Yaeyama Civil Government, collected and exhibited archaeological materials, folklore materials, folk tools, pottery, etc. to prevent cultural assets from leaking out. The souvenir shop "Minamijima Mingei" next to the museum offers many Yaeyama souvenirs, so it is a good place to buy Yaeyama souvenirs. This article introduces the Minamijima Folk Museum in Ishigaki Island.
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About Minamishima Folklore Museum
It is a hole-in-the-wall folk museum located in an alleyway from downtown Ishigaki Island. The Minamijima Folk Museum is a private museum that used the residence of Touki, the fourth son of the ninth generation of Miyara-dennai. It is a red-tiled building about 180 years old. It exhibits about 5,000 items collected by Mr. Kozen Yoshino, who was also the governor of Yaeyama Civil Government after the war, to prevent cultural assets from leaking out, archaeological materials of Yaeyama region, folklore materials, folk tools, pottery collection, and so on. The reception desk is located next door at "Minamijima Folk Crafts," which also sells shisa and other folk crafts, making it a good place to buy souvenirs.
Directions to the Minamijima Ethnographic Museum
Access by car
From Ishigakijima Remote Island Terminal, go north on Route 87. Turn left at the first left turn road at the four corners of Ishigaki City Cultural Association. From Ishigaki Airport, go south along Route 390. Turn right at the four corners in front of Bunkan, turn left at the first left turn of Tomino Okawa line, and go straight for a short distance.
Access by bus
From Ishigaki Bus Terminal, take the Higashi Unyu Bus/Yoshiwara Line to the Pier Dori. From the pier, go south, turn right at the second four-cornered corner, and go straight until you reach the four-cornered corner.
More information about Minamishima Folk Museum
It is a building located in the center of downtown Ishigaki Island, and is a private museum that used the residence of Toki, the son of Miyara Chikanunjo Touen, the fourth son of the ninth generation, who was the head of Yaeyama. Miyara Chikumo Jotoen's mansion is located in Miyara-dennai, one street over.
It is also the residence of a samurai family about 180 years ago, as he was the son of Miyara Oyunjojo.
The mansion is a Ryukyuan style with red tiles, and while the building is being repaired, the pillars and beams are being used as they were in the past, without the use of nails. The garden is planted with tropical plants and scarlet cherry trees. It is said that this shell was washed up by the tsunami of the Meiwa period. The exhibits were collected by Mr. Takazen Yoshino, who was also the governor of the Yaeyama Civil Government, to prevent cultural assets from leaking out.
It's a strange space, with items that should be in a museum to those that line the shelves alongside liquor store extras and figurines.
It is hard to tell what is what at first glance due to the mixture of gems, but when you listen to the explanation of the curator, you will understand how valuable the items placed there are. It is a deep museum where all of Yaeyama's folk culture is contained in both the exhibits and the building. There is a folk art shop next door, where plates and handmade folk art works fired in the island's kilns are sold. Why not buy some souvenirs at the Minamijima Folk Museum?
How to Play at the Minamijima Ethnographic Museum
To enter the Minamijima Folk Museum, you can visit the Folk Art Museum next door first, or call the cell phone number on the gate to have a staff member come and enter the museum. The house is a Ryukyuan style with red tiles, and the pillars and beams have been used as they were in the past without using nails while the building is being repaired. 180 years ago, the house was the residence of Mr. Touki, the fourth son of the ninth generation, the son of a samurai, Miyara Chikunjo, so the building itself is a very valuable and valuable cultural asset.
The garden is planted with tropical plants, scarlet cherry trees, and a large shako mussel. The garden is beautifully green and lush with green leaves from around Golden Week. The exhibited items were collected by Mr. Takazen Yoshino, who was also the governor of Yaeyama Civil Government, and range from pillows and other folk tools to farming tools, pottery, and textiles.
Many of Okinawa's islands are famous for their textiles, and the textile of Ishigaki Island is called mincer, which was given by women to men as a symbol of their love for each other in the days when there was a custom of common marriages. The pattern is called "yashira-mi" which means "forever and ever..." with a series of short horizontal stripes. It is a very romantic textile that is said to have the meaning of "love over and over" because it is dyed with many layers of indigo. The traditional textiles collected at the Nanshima Folk Museum are so valuable that they have been compiled, analyzed, and published as a book, so it is worth a visit.
Also, many people may not be able to understand what they are looking at when they see the collected items, but when they listen to the explanation of the director, they will understand how valuable the items are. It is a deep museum where all the exhibits and the building are filled with Yaeyama's folk culture. The Minamijima Folk Museum is the residence of Mr. Toki, the fourth son of the ninth generation of Miyara-dennai, but one street over is Miyara-dennai, the residence of his father, Miyara Chikanunjyo-den, who was the head of Yaeyama.
Visitors can tour the Ryukyu warrior residences that have remained from the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom and can only be seen here in the world. The wooden framework of the mansion is made of interlocking inumaki, sendan, and yakusugi cedar, which gives the house a sense of stability. In the garden, camellias, nanten (a rare species in Yaeyama), and other trees commonly planted in old Japanese houses are mixed with Okinawan trees such as Yaeyama kurogi, inumaki, and fukugi, which accentuate the karesansui style. The karesansui garden is composed mainly of coral limestone stones, and five hills are arranged from north to south, gradually getting lower and lower. The front of the garden is flat and sandy, while the back is planted with fukugi (Japanese cedar), and the mountains are planted with sycamores, shrubs, and Chinese junipers to create a three-dimensional effect. You can also feel the Ishigaki Island's typhoon-like nature such as the surrounding stone walls and hinpun.
You can see a model of the main building at the nearby Yaeyama Museum, so please stop by and take a look. Yaeyama Museum has a collection of local archaeological and folklore materials of Yaeyama including Ishigaki Island, and exhibits old stone tombs called Miyara-dennai and 300 Chinese tombs which mourned the suffering of Chinese people in the Chinese tombs, as well as arts and crafts such as Yaeyama Kamifu and Yaeyama pottery. It is a museum with a high reputation academically. It is a must-see museum for those who want to know more about the culture of Ishigaki Island. It is easy to visit as it is only 5 minutes walk from Miyara-dennai and 5 minutes walk from Minamijima Folk Museum.
The Minamijima Folk Museum is also close to the city center, so many stores are also nearby. One such shop is Hengin Shokudo, which produces Ishigaki Island raayu, which caused a huge boom throughout Japan and also sold "Potato Chips Ishigaki Island Rayu Flavor," which was sold exclusively in convenience stores by Calbee. Ishigakijima raayu is made entirely by hand using a variety of Ishigaki Island ingredients such as salt, island chili pepper, island pepper, spring and fall turmeric, brown sugar, garlic, white sesame seeds, black beans, and sansho. The production is so small that it is said to be a phantom raayu, but only those who visit the restaurant can enjoy the luxurious way of pouring it over various dishes. You may buy Ishigaki Island raayu as a souvenir.
Address: 188 Aza Okawa, Ishigaki City, Okinawa, Japan
Hours: 10:00 - 17:00 (souvenir store 9:00 - 19:00)
Closed: Sunday
Admission: Adults 350 yen, children 150 yen
Parking: None
summary
We have introduced the Minamishima Folk Museum. How was it? The Nanshima Folklore Museum is housed in the residence of the ninth Touki family in Miyara-den, a building that has existed for 180 years and is a very valuable cultural asset. In the well-kept garden, there are tropical plants and hikanzakura cherry trees, and a giant clam that was carried in by the tsunami is placed near the garden. The folk artifacts collected by Mr. Takayoshi Yoshino, who was also the governor of Yaeyama Civil Government, are culturally valuable masterpieces, and you can learn more about the exhibits by listening to the director's talk.
Visitors can also buy souvenirs at the folk art shop next door, so if you are thinking of buying island folk art, why not do so here? The following are some of the recommendations for the Minamijima Folk Art Museum.
Building in existence for 180 years.
Well-kept garden and the giant clam that was carried by the tsunami
Folk materials collected by Mr. Takayoshi Yoshino, Governor of Yaeyama Civil Administration Office
You can also buy souvenirs at the folk art shop next door.
Please check the above and visit the Nanshima Folk Museum.
Thank you for reading to the end.
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