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The time in tune with the sounds of nature

As I continued my fieldwork from a young age, I became passionate about spending time in the middle of nature, as if I had been guided to do so at some time.

 

The farther I got away from civilization,  I am from the scalding Sahara Desert, the extreme cold of Alaska, the jungles of South America, and the high Andes Mountains, the more I found that in nature, which has remained unchanged since ancient times, there was a deeper and more magnificent natural system that was different from the system of human society.

 

And the indigenous people who have lived there have become my teachers, always teaching me what it means to be in tune with nature. 

And I have come to appreciate the time I spend in tune with the sounds of nature.

 

Now I am changing fields and learning through my research about the ancient art of reed boat building and its long-distance navigation, a beautiful wisdom that has been passed down for thousands of years and remains connected to nature.

 

I hope that I can continue to share and learn about the harsh and beautiful world of nature with you.

 

Jin Ishikawa

Crossing the Pacific Ocean by Reed Boat

Through the common element of the Pacific Ocean, in North and South America, Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia and greater Asia,we all share very similar myths, cultures and heritages.

 

Have you heard of the Ocean Highway before? 

 

For a while it seemed like a fairy tale, but no longer!  The North Pacific has a big current that turns clockwise. In the South Pacific, it goes counter-clockwise.  And the trade winds and the westerlies blow alongside them.

 

In ancient times our ancestors traded and communicated with each other through this Ocean Highway of currents and winds that traverse and connect the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

 

At this point you may start to see the relevance of the reed boat, as it was the common means of transportation for all of our distant ancestors.

 

And thus, by reviving the practice of traveling by reed boat, we may start to recover some of the ancient wisdom, which we have amputated and forgotten in our modern civilization.

 

We hope to prove that it is possible to voyage through open oceans by reed boat, and in doing so to resurrect the ancient wisdom of the ocean.

 

In other words, we believe that by traveling by reed boat we may tap into the resonant and accumulated wisdom, which human beings have been weaving for generations and generations.

 

This ancient wisdom coexists with nature.

 

So if one says that “humanity is a part of nature”, then it follows that the civilization which we have built is also a part of nature.

 

Thus through our project, we believe that we can create a connection between ancient wisdom and technology, and then voyage into a future that holds still more potential.

Reed boat Making workshop

 

In the workshop “Reed boat school”, conducted by Jin Ishikawa, you can build a reed boat yourself !  

 

The reed boat is the most primitive kind of boat, and it is made of reed stalks packed into bundles.  In a one to two day workshop, we are able to build a boat ranging from 12 to 18 feet (approximately 3.5 to 5.5 meters), which can accommodate up to two passengers.

 

Participants in the workshop can be any age,from 10 to 100 years old, and people with disabilities are of course also welcome!

 

The participants may try out the boat they make on any water they prefer, be it the sea, a river, a lake,or simply a pool!

 

Through this experience we hope that you may be able to enjoy a conversation with nature, as our ancestors did in the primordial era.

 

After a few days the boat will be returned with thankfulness back to the soil, where it will finish its life-cycle as a boat and the materials will decompose naturally without harming the environment.

 

The prime purpose of building a reed boat is to come closer to the wisdom of the ancients, the wisdom of nature itself.

 

We hope to share with you the pleasure of making something with one’s own hands and to learn together about nature.

 

If this all sounds good to you please contact Jin Ishikawa for more details.

 

ONE OCEAN 〜Dance with Ocean〜 

Reed ship does not take you to where you want to go.Reed ship takes you to where you should go, accompanied by the nature.The journey, in which you don’t know to where you go, seems reckless. But the journey is reminiscences of the feeling to entrust yourself to the nature.Opening your heart, listen to the voice of the wind, the hymn of stars, and the wisdom to live in the ocean. I believe that the voyage of reed ship is delivered of the “Wisdom learn from Ocean”.

 

 

... Profile ...  

 

Jin Ishikawa

Explorer.

Representative Director of “EXPEDITION AMANA”.

 

 

1987-1989: Backpack journey in North America, South India, and East Africa.

 

1990-1991: Crossed Sahara desert alone with a camel. 2700km. 6 months.

 

1992: Lived in Point Barrow, far north town in Alaska, with the Iñupiat. Participated in the building of Umiaq (Sealskin boat).

 

1994: Journeyed by dugout canoe for 2 months, 800km, through the Orinoco river, in the Colombian jungle. Worked as a tourist guide in Machu Picchu for 2 years.

 

1995: Traveled around Lake Titicaca by reed boat for 4 months. Joined UN official project “Expedition Mata Rangi” as a member.

 

1996: Built Mata RangiⅠ (first reed boat) in Rapanui (Easter island).

 

1998-1999: Built Mata RangiⅡ (second reed boat) in Alica, Chile. Voyaged to Marquesas Islands for 88 days, 8000 km.

 

2000 – 2002: Built Mata Rangi Ⅲ(third reed boat) in Barcelona. Voyaged to Cape Verde Islands for 60 days, 3000 km.

 

2002: Founded “Kamuna Project”. Started “Reed boat school”.

2005: Built a reed ship “Kamuna”. Traveled from Kouchi prefecture to the Izu islands in Japan for 13 days, 1000 km as a captain of 60ft reed boat.

 

2012 – 2013: Journeyed around Japan by Sail boat.

 

2013: Held “Reed boat school” in Korea. (The first reed boat school in a foreign country)

 

2014: Founded an association “ONE OCEAN”

 

Jin Ishikawa has built big and small total 320 reed boats and experienced more than 15,000 km reed boat navigation.

 

2015~2023: He is investigating a new expedition named EXPEDITION AMANA.

He is investigating the possibility that 8,000 years ago, Native Californians crossed the ocean to Hawaii in reed boat.

 

Currently, he is restoring a 60-feet reed boat and preparing for an experimental voyage of 2,500 nautical miles.

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   REED BOAT 「KAMUNA」 
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   REED BOAT  
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   REED 

CONTACT US

EXPEDITION ONEOCEAN 

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