Dugout Canoe Successfully Reproduces Ancient Voyage to Japan

Yonaguni, Okinawa Pref., July 9 (Jiji Press)--A dugout canoe arrived at the island of Yonaguni in Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, on Tuesday, two days after its departure from Taiwan, successfully reproducing a voyage made by early settlers over 30,000 years ago. After crossing the strong Kuroshio current, the canoe reached the island shortly past 11:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. GMT). The direct distance between the departure and arrival points was about 200 kilometers. Upon their arrival, the canoe's five crew members joyfully hugged and shook hands with people who had waited for them on a beach on the island. The five included Koji Hara, a 47-year-old sea-kayaking guide from Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, Sung Yuan-kai, 64, a former competitive sea kayaker from Taiwan, and Michiko Tanaka, a 46-year-old corporate employee from Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, who was the only female member. "I was moved by the five members, who have overcome a variety of dramas," said Yosuke Kaifu, a 50-year-old official of Japan's National Museum of Nature and Science, one of the organizers of the ancient voyage reproduction project. "I think our ancestors wouldn't have arrived at an (Okinawa) island" without surmounting difficulties, Kaifu, head of the project, also said. He was aboard a ship accompanying the canoe during its voyage. The canoe left the east coast of Taiwan shortly past 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The crew members relied on geography, stars, the moon and the sun during the journey, without using a watch, map or compass. The winds were initially strong, but the sea became calm on Monday. The canoe temporarily meandered around noon on Monday as the crew members lost their way with the sun rising right above them. From late Monday night to early Tuesday, hours before the arrival at the island of Yonaguni, the canoe slowed down because the crew members were unable to see stars due to clouds and took some rest. Some 30,000 years ago, Taiwan was connected to continental Asia. As key routes to Japan for settlement, many of the migrants from the continent at the time are believed to have first come to Okinawa islands by sea although no boats used in such voyages have been found. The project proved that a dugout canoe made from a huge cedar tree can accelerate fast enough to cross the powerful Kuroshio current although the work to make it with a stone ax was tough, people engaged in the project said. Before the dugout canoe, grass boats and bamboo rafts were created under the project. But they did not sail fast enough. END