Hometown Stories S05E09 · Uniting the People of the Sea: Kumejima, Okinawa

Overview

Uminchu, literally "people of the sea", is the name for the fishermen of beautiful Kumejima in Okinawa Prefecture. Filled with coral, tropical fish, and the tuna varieties that swim the Kuroshio Current, the sea around Kumejima has a rich diversity of life. Many locals make their living fishing, and use traditional skin-diving skills and pole-fishing techniques that have been passed down for generations. Get to know the young people training to become uminchu, and the older fishermen who are mentoring them, eager to share advice. This is an island journey to meet people who have truly embraced the sea.

Torrents

Subtitles

Episodes

1. 1 1. A Hiroshima Family's Prayer2016-02-27 · 30mIn Hiroshima 70 years after the atomic bomb, many survivors' belongings have been inherited: items they wore the day of the bomb, diaries and more. Some families are coming to term
2. 2 2. For the Sake of the Classmates We Lost2016-03-26 · 30mHashikami Junior High School's class of 2011 graduated just after the devastating 3.11 earthquake and tsunami, in a school gym housing refugees. There should have been 57 students,
3. 3 3. Young Thunder: School Taiko Team2016-04-13 · 30mThe All Japan High School Cultural Festival is like a national arts championship. We follow the efforts of Osaka's Akutagawa High School taiko team, which includes every junior and
4. 4 4. Pearl Wedding: 30 Years' Worth of Thanks2016-05-29 · 50mNestled in Ise-Shima, a scenic coastal area of central Japan, is Toba, a city famous for its cultured pearls. Here on the 30th of each month a ceremony called a "pearl wedding" is
5. 5 5. Back to Grandma's Land: Chiemi's Story2016-06-26 · 50mRecently in Japan, more and more young people who were raised in the city are choosing to go back to the land as they relocate to the rural areas their grandparents call home. In e
6. 6 6. A Life of Service: The Station Barber of Obama2016-07-31 · 50mOn the JR Obama Line, a local railway that links Fukui Prefecture with Kyoto, stands Kato Station. Although unstaffed since 1973, the sleepy station building still contains a small
7. 7 7. One of Us2016-08-28 · 50mThe idyllic landscape of Murayama in Yamagata Prefecture is home to a rather unique family-run farm that welcomes visitors from all over the world. It is operated by the Sakai fami
8. 8 8. One Big Happy Family2016-09-11 · 50mElderly people in need of care lost their homes in the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and tsunami. At a care facility called Sumi-chan's Home, they're part of a new family, wh
9. 9 9. Uniting the People of the Sea: Kumejima, Okinawa2016-10-30 · 50mUminchu, literally "people of the sea", is the name for the fishermen of beautiful Kumejima in Okinawa Prefecture. Filled with coral, tropical fish, and the tuna varieties that swi
10. 10 10. Hang in There!2016-11-27 · 50mA community deep in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture is home to Japan's only circus school. The school's director is Nadezhda Tyshenko, a former acrobatic gymnast from Ukraine. In
11. 11 11. Finding Yourself on the Open Road2016-12-25 · 50mIn the city of Sapporo stands a barber shop where many young bicyclists pedaling their way across Japan's northern island of Hokkaido make a stop. Any rider who is making a complet