Agriculture in Yakushima
There is an old Yakushima saying: “Ten days at sea, ten days in the village, and ten days in the mountains.” The islanders fish in the sea, farm in the village, and hunt and gather in the mountains. Ponkan tangerines (Citrus poonensis) and tankan oranges (Citrus tankan) are the main agricultural products of the island.
Sweet Potato Farms
Sweet potato, locally referred to as karaimo, is one of the main agricultural products of Yakushima, particularly since the climate and terrain are unsuited to rice production. Sweet potato is not only a staple but also the main ingredient in the local shochu liquor. A brewery on the island offers tours showing how this distilled spirit is made.
Orchards
Ponkan tangerines are sweet and easy to peel. The cultivation of ponkan began in 1924 when Tsuzurabara Kanenari (1868–1951), then mayor of Shimoyaku village in southern Yakushima, ordered 300 seedlings from Taiwan and planted them to revitalize the island’s agricultural industry. A decade passed, and ponkan were successfully cultivated in Japan for the first time. Tankan, an even sweeter and juicier crossbreed of ponkan and the navel orange, were introduced to Yakushima around 1970.
Ponkan and tankan are grown mainly in the warm southern part of the island, such as Mugio, Hara, Onoaida, and Hirauchi, as well as Nagata. Large differences in temperature between day and night, with an annual average temperature of 19 to 20°C, provide favorable conditions for these varieties. Yakushima is currently a leading producer of both, producing 299 tons of ponkan and 715 tons of tankan in 2019. Ponkan are harvested from December to January, while tankan are harvested from February to March.
Jugoya Tug-of-War Festival: A Farming vs. Fishing Contest in Isso
Villages on Yakushima hold the Jugoya Tug-of-War Festival on the night of the harvest moon (jugoya) on August 15 of the lunar calendar. The rope is said to represent a dragon deity, and the tug-of-war is not a “contest” but a ritual to purify the body and mind. The symbolic meaning behind the festival varies by village. That of Isso is distinctive in that the tug-of-war is held to pray for good fishing and abundant harvest of fields and orchards.
On the morning of the festival, village representatives cut vines and silvergrass and make a rope. The rope is around 30 centimeters thick and up to 70 meters long. When the moon rises, a ritual is performed to dedicate the rope to the harvest moon. Participants of all ages form two teams—one representing plentiful crops and the other representing bountiful sea catches—and take turns slowly pulling on the rope while singing epic poems to the same repeated melody. When the full moon is high in the sky, a tug-of-war match begins. In theory, it is said to determine if the village will have good crops or fish catches the following year, but the result is always a tie in Isso. If the rope breaks, it is used for a sumo ring, and children and young adults play sumo to pray for the physical and mental health of the community members.