Japan Pearl Tour and the 7th Japan Pearl Fair hosted by the Japan Pearl Exporters Association

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Day 3. It is day 2 of my entries, but to keep this in sync with our itinerary, this is day 3 of our tour.

Thank you for noticing, Pella. Bunny is along for the adventure and has been safely nestling. I have been juggling more things than usual on these day trips and do not want Bunny to bounce away after losing Bunny 1 in Vietnam. I took a pic of Bunny to start the morning from my beautiful hotel room overlooking the water. We are surrounded by such beauty in every direction. There was a super moon last night that we were able to view from the decks.

We check out this morning and head to Sasebo Pearl Company where we meet Mr. Fujita, who is also a chairman with the Japan Pearl Society. He has been in the business for 60 years and started his company in 1966. This farm is inside of a National Park. Nature is preserved here. No trees are allowed to be cut, they are focused on recycling, and there is an emphasis on protecting the environment.

 

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Mr. Fujita said there were many difficulties but finally he managed to survive. He is a philosophical man with quite a sense of humor. He created his philosophy to create harmony and has this vision hanging in the meeting room.

Roughly translated:
1. Akoya and shellfish are living things. Take care of them quietly
2. Act in the body of the Akoya shellfish
3. Organization and tidying up
4.Morning and evening greetings
5. Take care of harmony

We hop on boats and ride through the waters of the National Park. We stop to pull up a net of Akoya shells that have already been nucleated. The interpretation of “shell”, “oyster” and “mollusk” have all been used interchangeably.

These Akoya had been in the water for 3 years before being nucleated, and will remain in the water another year after nucleation. Each farm has their own timeline, as we noted yesterday the shells stayed in the water for 2 years after nucleation. Staying in the water longer will create a thicker nacre, but it also runs the risk of affecting the color and shape of the pearl. These shells will produce 7mm pearls.

Mr. Kuramoto (president of pearl processing company) shared a little history of the Akoya market. The market peeked around 1967 where there were many more farmers and pearls were over produced. The market had a crash in 1969, so, much like the stock market, it was an opportune time for his father to enter the business.

Currently, the biggest market for Akoya pearls is China, with America second.

 

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We return to the shore and while waiting for our next move I notice random things, like this bowl of beads used for nucleating sitting on the deck.

They are pulling another net for us to view. The Akoya in this net are 5 years old and they begin opening them for us to dig in and find a pearl.

This is my pearl!

And Hisano found the catch of the day with the largest pearl found. Maybe around 10mm.

 

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We enter the grafting area where the room is separated into two sides. The senior more experienced graters sit along the right side of the room, and the younger grafters sit to the left.

Historically this process was such a guarded secret, but in changing times, we are allowed to view closely and can watch the grafters from all directions.

 

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We gather in the meeting room where Mr. Fujita joins us for final thoughts. He thanks us for traveling all the way to the western tip of Japan.

His farm harvests approximately 600,000- 700,000 pearls a year. If all the pearls could be used for strands this would create about 10,000 strands. His only son attended Tokyo University where he was an athlete, playing volleyball. He was supposed to work in the city, but Mr. Fujita asked him to work on the farm where he will someday succeed him. He has worked there for 14 years. His 18 year old grandson also works on the farm. He credits his son for the production volume. 2 years ago was his peak harvest and his farm has been moving in the opposite trend, increasing in production. He feels his son’s generation communicates and shares their skills and knowledge to improve. Nagasaki is considered to be the next leader of Japan’s pearl production. There is skill and a shift of a generation. The task that only humans can do is the insertion.

When asked about his best pearl so far, he replied, “Each pearl is his child so he doesn’t choose”. Even the round or irregular ones are all his children. He feels blessed with the beautiful sea to create such beautiful pearls and works everyday with appreciation for the sea. To create beautiful pearls, the most difficult part, to him, is to care for the oysters. “It is our destiny for how to get along with nature.”

 

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Our next stop takes us to Fukae Pearl Company. There was a whirl of ceremony as we approached. I ddn’t quite understand what was happening when we exited the bus but there was a line up of dignitaries from the government, including the governor of Nagasaki himself. They each handed out business cards as you proceeded with such titles as “Fisheries Department Director-General”.