The Path to the Jomon Ecomusee 04 | Why Minamikayabe?

Minamikayabe, located in the eastern part of Hakodate, is a small fishing town with a population of about 4,000.
The Pacific Ocean stretches out before it, and lush green mountains press right up to the coastline behind it.
The distance between the sea and the mountains is short, and many rivers connect the two. The rivers carry nutrients from the forest-covered mountains to the sea, forming a rich ecosystem.
This region has been supported by the "water cycle" created by these watersheds.

That bounty forms the foundation of the current fishing industry, which centers on kelp.
Dashi (soup stock) supports the umami of "Washoku," a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The finest dashi is produced from the "Ma-konbu" (true kelp) found in this area. It is a gift of this environment where the forest, river, and sea are one.

This watershed environment has continued since the distant Jomon period.
For this reason, about 90 Jomon archaeological sites are distributed throughout Minamikayabe, among which the Kakinoshima and Ofune sites are components of a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. Excavations of Jomon sites have continued for over half a century, and the "Hollow Dogu" (Late Jomon period), designated as Hokkaido's first National Treasure, was also unearthed here.

For ten thousand years, people have lived in this rich watershed environment.
The Jomon-era lifestyle supported by the water cycle of the sea, mountains, and rivers, and the modern life of the coast. We believe that it is precisely because of this place that the Jomon Ecomusee can be realized.
The concept of an Ecomusee is to connect the Jomon culture, the nature that supported it, and the current coastal life that thrives on the bounty of that nature, viewing the region itself as a "museum without a roof."

However, something unusual has been happening in this area recently.
In the offshore set nets, there is a bumper catch of yellowtail, a warm-current fish, while salmon, a cold-current fish, continues to see historic low catches. Furthermore, due to "isoyake" (denudation of seaweed beds), the local specialty, natural Ma-konbu, has plummeted and is facing the threat of extinction.
The rhythm of this land, which has lasted for ten thousand years, is beginning to waver.

The Jomon period left us with "a ten-thousand-year story of living supported by nature."
So, what kind of society should we aim for, and what kind of story will we pass on to the next generation? This is also a question posed to us by the Jomon.

Climate change, loss of biodiversity, division, and conflict. At the root of the challenges the world faces today lies the modern value system itself, which has separated humans from nature.
The value of living as a member of nature, which the Jomon people nurtured for ten thousand years, may be the most necessary foundation of thought for the international community from here on. It is a shift in perspective that could be called "value innovation," which cannot be reached through the renewal of technology or systems alone.

Through the Jomon Ecomusee, a "place to rethink the relationship between humans and nature" will be formed in this area.
There, people who agree with the thesis that "humans are the smallest form of nature," as well as people from diverse fields such as fisheries, food, environment, art, research, and tourism, will meet and weave new relationships. And, while walking through the Jomon sites, looking out over the sea, and experiencing life on the coast, each person will take their own questions home with them. That is what it means to convey the value of the Jomon not as knowledge, but through the body and senses.

Eventually, this place will take root as a "place to learn about the relationship between humans and nature," and the story of the region, along with the values of the Jomon, will be passed down through generations, becoming a "ten-thousand-year story for the future."

From this small fishing town of Minamikayabe, connecting the Jomon to the present and passing the seeds of new values to the future of the world. That may be the homework entrusted to us now.

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