Mikimoto Pearl Island

The story of Mikimoto Island is really the story of Mikimoto Kokichi, who pioneered the production of cultured pearls. Born the eldest son of an udon noodle maker in the Shima Peninsula’s town of Toba, Mikimoto developed a childhood passion for pearls after seeing the famous pearl diving “Pearl Maidens.”

By the 1890s he had developed a technique for culturing pearls, expressing a desire to “adorn the necks of all the women in the world.” The sheer volume of pearls he could produce was staggering. On several occasions he publicly burned tons of flawed pearls at a time to drive home the point that he only sold the finest, and his company created a number of superb artworks that appeared around the globe, including crowns, models of famous buildings, and a replica of the Liberty Bell for the 1939 New York World Exposition made from 12,250 pearls and 366 diamonds. On his death in 1954 at the age of 96, he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure.

Today, the Bell and many other works of art and jewelry are on display at Toba’s Mikimoto Pearl Island. The island is just a short walk from the town’s train station, and houses the Pearl Plaza, the Pearl Museum, and the Mikimoto Kokichi Memorial Hall. The museum is very well done, and will likely captivate even those who have no real interest in pearls or jewelry. The singular, idiosyncratic spirit of Mikimoto himself presides over the whole island.

A main attraction here is the women divers who entranced Mikimoto as a boy. Several times a day they enter the water in their white diving suits before crowds of tourists. Although diving for pearls is no longer widely practiced, several thousand women divers in the area continue to gather abalone, sea urchins and other offerings from the seas off of Toba.

Matt Mangham

1-7-1 Toba, Toba City, Mie Prefecture

JR/Kintetsu Toba station===(5min walk)===Mikimoto Pearl Island

8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Jan. 13th - March 19th, Nov. 24th - 30th),
8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (Jan. 1st - 12th, March 20th - Nov. 23th),
9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (Dec. 1 - 26th),
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (Dec. 27th - 31st)

Mikimoto Pearl Island Official Website: http://www.mikimoto-pearl-museum.co.jp/en/index.html