Iriomote resident shows off her water buffalo with its massive horns. Near Yobu Island on Iriomote. Only the Yaeyama Islands have water buffalo, hinting at a cultural connection with the Austronesian world fiurther south., as water buffalo are common in the Philippines and Iriomote is closer to Manila than to Tokyo. Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan.
Their clean lines conceal how traditional Sabani boats were born out of necessity and nascent environmental concerns centuries ago. In the early 18th century, advisor to the King of Ryukyu, Sai On, crafted one of the most impactful forest-conservation plans still referenced today in Japan and the United States. Part of that plan forbade construction of ‘kuribune’ (dug-out) canoes, ubiquitous among fishermen, to protect trees of large girth in 1737. Confronted with the need to innovate, fishermen had to come up with a new kind of vessel - one that consumed less timber. //WHITLOWDELANOJAMES_sipa.30943/Credit:James Whitlow Delano/SIPA/2401101225