Fishing Tools of the Miura Peninsula

The exhibition “Fishing Tools of the Miura Peninsula," a Nationally Designated Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property at Yokosuka City Museum (of Nature and Humanities), there’s a special "Cultural Heritage Storage Facility Open Day" held for a few days each during Golden Week and in November.

This is a rare opportunity to view 2,603 items, including large wooden boats and fishing tools from the Miura Peninsula, which are not on display at the museum.

To put it simply, the collection is “all brown.”

The items are made of natural materials like wood, bamboo, cotton, and unglazed pottery, all of which are biodegradable. Just 50 to 60 years ago, people in this region relied on a lifestyle where most daily items were handmade from wood and bamboo.

However, the arrival of FRP and plastic wiped out these traditional tools and materials.

Those beautiful wooden Japanese boats and the craftsmanship of shipwrights who once “were found in every port around the country” are truly admirable, so it would be wonderful if boat-building skills could be preserved, even if just for ceremonial boats.

The museum’s permanent exhibits are impressive and free, covering topics like the insects and plants, geological layers and fault lines, marine life of the Miura Peninsula, Yokosuka’s history, and the folk culture of fishing villages.

The English explanations are quite limited, but it’s recommended for those interested in the history and folk culture of this region.

https://www.museum.yokosuka.kanagawa.jp/information/information-english