Culture in Okinoshima

What?
Nomenclature for the Okinoshima Islands (隠岐の島) is difficult. This group of islands off the coast of Shimane Prefecture (島根県) consists out of 4 different islands. The smaller three (Nishinoshima (西ノ島), Nakanoshima (中ノ島) and Chiburijima (知夫里島)) are called the Dozen Islands (島前), the biggest of the 4 is called Okinoshima (隠岐の島) as well as Dogo Island (島後) . On such small and remote islands, the best thing to do is to adjust to the island pace of life, but of course there are some other attractions as well. Ushi-zuki or “bull sumo” (牛突き) is an 800 year old tradition that is being kept alive in Okinoshima. The islanders pride goes so far that they have made a manhole cover design out of it. Ushi-zuki barely figures in the Oki Island Geopark Museum (隠岐自然館), but for other information about the Oki Islands, this museum is a nice place to start. It mostly focuses on fauna, flora, and the creation of the islands. Otherwise there are several shrines and a few traditional houses that are open to the public.
Where?
Okinoshima can be reached from Sakaiminato (境港) in Tottori Prefecture (鳥取県) by ferry, but is part of neighboring Shimane Prefecture. Alternitavely and more easily, Okinoshima can also be reached by plane from the ironically named Osaka International Airport (大阪国際空港), the domestic airport known as Itami Airport (伊丹空港 - which is located not in Osaka but Hyogo). The Oki Islands Geopark Museum is most centrally located, right next to the ferry terminal of Saigo Port (西郷港). Pretty much any bus passes here, but most likely you will pass here during your stay at least once. The Moo-Moo dome (モーモードーム) where the bull sumo demonstrations are held is a 15 minute bus ride away from the ferry terminal. But since the demonstrations are held irregularly it is difficult to depend on the buses. Walking there from the ferry terminal is a little too far, but if you don’t have a rental car you can always use a taxi, or rent a bicycle at the tourist information center inside the terminal building.
URL
Visit Oki Islands

The main reason of my visit here was to take in as much of the nature as I could, to slow down and forget work for a while, and to simply enjoy some quiet time alone.
More than on Nishinoshima which has arguably the most beautiful coastal cliffs of Japan, I was fascinated by the rocks on Okinoshima and more specifically the patterns in those rocks.
My kayak guide already explained some things about volcanic eruptions and lava streams, but I went to the Oki Islands Geopark Museum in the hope to find some more information. The museum is located in a for Okinoshima standards huge and modern building located just next to the ferry terminal.
In that sense I was a bit disappointed see how small the size of the actual museum was compared to the building, and even that they didn’t really use that space optimally. But that maybe shows more about how interesting I find the Oki Islands as I want to learn more about them.
The museum did have interesting information to teach. I did not know that on this small island, fauna that only grows in northern Hokkaido and fauna that only grows in southern Kyushu happily enjoy cohabitation. The same for plants that usually only grown on high altitude; not here on Okinoshima where it just settles along the coast.
There was also a movie about the volcanic origins about the Oki Islands, and in how Dozen and Dogo differ. While very interested I felt myself longing for more information.
It’s of course a difficult balance such museums have to obtain, because too much might frighten other visitors who are looking for more basic information. Nonetheless I believe that with the available space there is room for improvement.
English signage is available and without errors; the videos are only in Japanese.

Ushi-zuki or “bull-sumo” is an 800 years old tradition that continues on Okininoshima. Apparently finding its beginnings in the boredom of an exiled emperor, one can wonder whether it is a tradition that is worth upholding. But it’s not for me to judge, as I had only seen this bull sumo as a design of the local sewage cover lids.
The real tournaments of bull sumo are organized only 3 times a year, but demonstrations are held irregularly at the cutely named “Moo-Moo Dome”. They only hold demonstrations when there is a reservation from a large group, and so I was in luck that I could witness a demonstration.
I am someone who feels the need to arrive on time for any appointment, and especially if I have to drive a car first. So it happened that I was 30 minutes early. It gave me to admire the wooden arena and the banners flying inside. For such a small island I thought the venue was rather big. After 30 minutes of waiting one bull was led into the arena and paraded peacefully behind its masters. The second bull came rushing in though as if on drugs and immediately starting attacking the first bull. In all this, the bulls are held by their handlers and for some reason even listen to them. As furious the fight started, as choreographed it seemed to continue, with both bulls showing their strength, but also showing restraint.
During all this, an elderly announcer was announcing what I think were names and rules, but both because of his speech impediment and because of the low quality microphone, I had no clue what he was saying.

I was watching the bulls clash horns time and again and got strangely into the fight, even though it clearly was a demonstration and not a real fight.
And then suddenly the handlers shouted something and the bulls immediately stopped skirmishing right then and there and meekly followed their handlers in a lap of honor.
Then they were tied by their nose on a railing on spectators could take pictures with them as if they were the most innocent bunny. What a strange yet enticing spectacle.
I looked at my clock and realized merely 10 minutes had passed. So that was a 30 minute wait for a 10 minute fake fight that cost me 1500 yen. And I don’t regret it.

The wooden, half open bull sumo arena: the Moo Moo Dome.

The clash.

The pretty spacious Oki Islands Geopark Museum.

From the museum you see the ferries arrive.

And then there are also a bunch of shrines and a few old houses. I usually don’t put these on my itinerary as they are not my main points of interest.
I did want to see the huge Yao-Sugi cedar tree on the grounds of the Tamawakasu-mikoto shrine, and with a trunk circumference of 11 meters, I can truly well say it is massive. I was equally impressed by the size of the rope over the entrance of the shrine.
Right next to it, there is the Oki-ke residence traditional house which wasn’t open yet when I visited. So was the next door small museum that houses 3 national treasures, but the way too cute old lady opened for me and explained me what these artifacts actually were.
There are two bells that feudal lords used during their travels. Upon the ringing of the bells their horses were switched, bringing new pace into their journey. There is a large coffin that was used to transport these small bells in (as opposed to an ordinary urn in which they were stacked or possibly hidden in an earlier phase), and then there is a feudal seal of some sort (the lady lost me here for a minute).
From the bells that were in the possession of every lord of a “Kuni” (old time province), the set here in Okinoshima are the only ones that still exists. From the seals there are only three left in the country (along with the seals of Tsuruga and Tajima), but the Oki one is the only one display. Without the explanation of the old lady, this one-room museum would have just been a place where they stacked some junk to me. Now the artifacts came a little bit alive and I really thank the lady for opening early for me - whatever google says: the place opens at 9, not at 8. Now I understand Japanese to a certain extent, but if you don’t: there is not a single word of English in this museum, except for a poem on display.

A 15 minute drive from the shrine is another old residence, the Sakaki-ke Traditional Residence. I was interested in this place because of the roof which is covered with bark and stones and is unlike I have ever seen. Even though there are some other specificalities about architecture on the Oki Islands, the rest of the house seemed like others strewn across Japan. Here too, an old lady guided me around, but it was the extremely informative English pamphlet that taught me all about the peculiarities of the house. The real pity here was that, although the lady guide did not live here, she had set up two rooms to make her as comfortable as possible, with a tv, a little couch, a fridge, … and because she thought it warm (it was only 22 degrees) she had placed run down fans in every room.
It made the gap between the pamphlet and the actual building quite large.

When I arrive in Okinoshima, I did what I regularly do: I visit the tourist information center. Despite its huge size and its sizeable staff, I thought I noticed a bit of reluctance. And when I asked if they had any walking courses on pamphlet, they said no although I know it exists. This impression was confirmed at a later stage by not less than three different locals; people apply for a job at the tourist office because it’s a comfortable job on an island that has little in the way of employment. But no one is really motivated and staff barely lasts longer than a few years. It is a huge pity as Okinoshima has a lot to offer, but I noticed several points that could be improved, like the museum, the traditional houses and the state of coastal walking trails.

That being said, I absolutely adore all 4 of the Oki Islands and I know I will be back again.