Ise-Shima: Timeless World of Pearls - Journeys in Japan

Gems of the sea. Pearls have captivated hearts around the globe since time immemorial. In Iseshima, a collaboration between nature and human ingenuity created the world's first cultured pearl. Do Minkai, originally from Vietnam, lives in Tokyo with her husband and son. Hello, my name is Minkai. Everybody calls me Min. I have been focusing on my family and this is the first time I'm traveling alone. I heard a lot about Japanese pearls and I hope that today I can see a lot of beautiful pearls here. Wow, so beautiful. This time on Journeys in Japan, we go on a treasure hunt into the heart of pearls, Iseshima. Located in eastern Mie Prefecture, Iseshima is about 300 kilometers west of Tokyo. We'll explore three cities in the Shima Peninsula. The sea breeze is so great. A sense of freedom. I feel like I'm traveling. Oh, let's go. Oh, look. It's a pearl shop. The other one also a pearl shop. Oh, the next one also a pearl shop. It looks like a street of pearl shops. To cultivate the baby pearls for this delicate necklace requires elevated techniques. Sticky. It looks so good on me, isn't it? I want to have this one. The scenic Pearl Road connects Toba and Shima cities. The blue sea and the greenery creates a good atmosphere. And the name of the road, Pearl Road, sounds so nice. Ago Bay in Chiba is a famous pearl cultivation hub. Oh, it's the harbor. From Kashikojima Island, visitors can take in the scenery from sightseeing boats. Some even stop at farms offering pearl harvesting workshops. There are a lot of palm trees down there. Each palm tree is lined with a rope. The sea here looks so quiet. Not so much waves. And I can see a lot of shells and cutthroats here. There are a lot of small palm trees here. These are all the workshops for pearl harvesting. Hello. Nice to meet you. My name is Min. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. This is called Ako-yagai. The biggest one is... The biggest one is the pearl, right? Well, it's not always the biggest one. Oh, I see. Use your thumb to find the middle between the front and the back. And pull it back and forth like this. Oh, I put it in. Then pull it all the way to the middle. Yes, to the middle. Then turn it to the right. Turn it to the right. I can see the pearl! I can see it! Wow, I can see the pearl! I'm so moved. And I see a little pearl here. So shiny, so sparkling. This is the first time I saw this one. Amazing. Look, it's shining here. Let's do it. Let's do this. Please do it with this. Should I hold it? Yes, hold it. Put it on and decide the position. This is the necklace I made. It's so beautiful, right? It's the first time I made a necklace with a beautiful pearl. Cultured pearls were successfully produced in Iseshima about 130 years ago on an island off Toba. It looks like a Japanese garden. So beautiful. The first cultured pearls were semi-spherical. But after over a decade of trial and error, the ideal orbs were realized. But how do shells make pearls? Hello. I'm Min. Nice to meet you. I'm Ishikawa. Nice to meet you. Before making a pearl, we perform a surgery called a core insertion. This is called a core insertion. And this is called a piece, which is the cell of the shell. The core insertion is the process of inserting these two cells into one shell. Piece refers to the mantle tissue of Akoya pearl oysters. Nucleus is a small shell bead. The two must make contact when implanted into the oyster. They mature in the sea for about two years. In the first two or three weeks, the piece next to the shell repeats the cell division and wraps the shell in a bag. The pearl material, which is the luster of the inside of the shell, is distributed towards the shell. The pearls are made by layers and layers. Amazing. I see. But not all of the seeded oysters successfully bear pearls. About half die during the process. And only about 5% produce fine quality pearls. Mikimoto Kokichi is a legend in the world of cultivated pearls. I was very surprised. When I had a meeting with the inventor Edison, Mikimoto Kokichi, he said that only diamonds and pearls could not be made in his laboratory. He said it was a threat to the world. He praised me. Really? That's amazing. Kokichi did not achieve this feat alone. His wife, Ume, always supported Mikimoto Kokichi. She sold her belongings, such as clothes, and bought the oyster. This is a scene where a debt collector comes to Kokichi's house. When the debt collector came, Ume, his wife, became the shield of the family and protected Kokichi and his family. In 1893, he and his wife, Ume, created the world's first cultured pearls. But just three years later, Ume passed away at the age of 32. Mikimoto Kokichi lived until he was 96 years old. But he never remarried. It was so sad, but a beautiful story. For a quarter century, an event in Toba commemorates the couple's love. The Pearl Wedding Anniversary. Couples married for 30 years are in the city to celebrate their anniversary. Wow, it's all white. So beautiful. The event is open to any couple anywhere in the world, marking three decades of matrimony. That's a good thing. I'm going to tell my husband about that. Shiomoto Sachiko creates art with pearls. Pearls are cut into various shapes, such as triangles, squares, and so on. The rest of the pearls are crushed, powdered, and used up. Pearls are made using gold leaf and platinum foil. It's gorgeous. For the designs, Sachiko collaborates with an artist in Bali, Indonesia. Almost all of the pearls she uses are substandard pieces. So beautiful. I want people all over the world to know how beautiful Japanese pearls are. That's why I'm doing this. When they dry, they become beautiful. It was so fun to make this pearl art. I want to be an artist. Look, it's done. It was so fun to make this art. Hello. Toshihiro Nakegita is a veteran pearl artisan. What are you doing now? I'm working on the engraving. I've never seen this before. This is amazing. This is a big piece. Do you have any tips? I've been doing this for over 70 years. That's amazing. That's a long time. His granddaughter, Nanami, is working in processing as well as marketing. My grandfather has been growing pearls since I was born. It's been a long time. When I was young, I couldn't imagine working with him. The work Toshihiro does is labor-intensive. He seeds as many as 20,000 oysters a year. And oysters must be lifted from the sea for cleaning, removing seaweed, barnacles, and other growth. What happens if you don't clean the oysters? If you don't clean the oysters, all the nutrients in the sea will be lost. And the oysters won't be able to grow. In the old days, everyone around here grew pearls. But now, the number of pearls has decreased a lot, and there are fewer successors. Also, because of environmental changes, the water temperature has risen, and the nature has changed. It's become a difficult environment to make pearls. That's a shame. Yes, it is. It's very difficult to make pearls. Not everyone can do it from tomorrow. But I want to share the pearls I grew in a beautiful place with the people of the world. Exploring market potential, she paused on the imperfect pearls that never reached the market. This is a shape that is not round. What does it look like? The shape and color are different. Is it a goldfish? Yes, it is. I thought it was a goldfish, so I called it goldfish-chan or goldfish-goldfish. Then I said, let's call it goldfish pearl. Then I named it goldfish pearl and sold it. The shape of each one was different, and it was very attractive. Also, because it doesn't sell in the industry, it was hard for the producers to buy it. So I bought it and made it into a product, and I thought it would be a support for the producers. This is the necklace. It's beautiful. Let me put it on you. Here you are. How is it? It's pretty. It's shiny. It's a golden fish shape, and when I wear it, I feel so elegant. What do you think of this goldfish pearl? I want to make a ring, but my granddaughter named it goldfish pearl, so it became popular. I'm happy. I can make both rings and goldfish pearls. Bye-bye. Thank you very much. Oyama Satoshi is the fourth generation in his family's 100-year-old pearl shop. He's added a space to serve a new creation. Craft beer enhanced with powdered pearls, created out of gratitude and respect to the passionate farmers. It doesn't have any pearls here. I don't see any pearls here. Let's have a taste. Wow. It tastes good. Look, fruity. In order to protect the brand of the pearl, we need a different shape like this. I made the first beer, and I hope it will protect the pearl of Ise Shima. Cheers. The trip to Ise Shima was very interesting, and I was so deeply moved by the delicate beauty of the jewelry made by pearls. I also felt the pride of people who live here. I was able to appreciate the charm of pearls amidst the natural beauty surroundings. I hope that the pearls here will be protected and keep shining for good. Next time, I would like to be back with my family to celebrate the pearl anniversary. To reach Ise Shima from Tokyo, travel to Nagoya by Shinkansen, which takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes. From there, head to Toba by JR local line or Kintetsu line, which takes about 90 minutes.