Kagawa, Japan

During the Chinese Sui and Tang dynasties, Japanese official diplomatic delegations that visited the Middle Kingdom departed from the Seto Inland Sea. Port Takamatsu was one of the strategic stops on this journey and in this city Boat Festival 2010 was held through June 13.

Director Toshiyuki Umehara, Chairman of Kagawa Prefectural Tourist Association, said, “Japan has developed as a maritime nation. The purpose of the festival was to increase awareness of the importance of ships and the sea, through Japanese culture and history.”

A Highlight of the festival: the sailing of the “Nippon Maru” from Port Takamatsu

On the afternoon of May 25, the quay at Port Takamatsu was filled with people taking part in a farewell ceremony to the tall ship, Nippon Maru. Even though it was after lunch on a weekday, ten thousand people came to see the ship off.

People coming to see the Nippon Maru

The ship is 110 meters long, 13.8 meters across the beam, and with thirty six sails, is nicknamed the “Pacific Swan.”

Ten minutes before departure, she cast off her moorings. One hundred nine marine trainees climbed the 43.5-meter mainmast barefoot, walked on the yards, and stood side-by-side on the footropes. The leader of the trainees, standing on the bow, shouted goodbye, at which the other youth all waved their hats and shouted goodbye together.

Farewell ceremony

At Sunport Takamatsu Tower, near the quay, a Nippon Foundation-sponsored exhibition of Meiji and Taisho era sailing posters was also held. The posters were originally created by Osaka Shosen Kaisha (today, the Mitsui O.S.K. Line) which connected Osaka/Kobe to Seto ports. The old posters are as important as art material as they are to the history of travel.

Poster of Ship Houraimaru released in 1923. The ship was purchased for the Taiwan-route.

The festival was held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Ukou ferry, which opened a sea route between Takamatsu and Port Uno. This year also marks 150th anniversary of first U.S. journey by the Kanrinmaru.

Because road travel has become so cheap, maritime passengers are decreasing. The festival was held from May 22 to June 13 for the purpose of attracting people back to the sea and increasing customers. There were about fifty events organized by shipping and shipbuilding industries, the tourism association, and local governments. Notable examples include the public exhibition of a manned research submersible, the “Shinkai 6500,” a lecture by Kenichi Horie, a symposium by scholars and specialists of the maritime industry and technology, and the boat rides at Marugame bout racing stadium.

Attendance rose to more than 120,000 during the exhibition.